Taniwha

When the ethnographer Elsdon Best heard it, he compared the sound to the whistling of the wind. He was said to have finally disappeared because his people had taken shellfish from his lagoon. Another enchanted log was Mataura, who would mourn the death of a chiefly person by appearing as a huge tree on the water. They often used ingenious methods to capture the dangerous creatures. He raced into a large noose woven from cabbage tree leaves.

Led by Pitaka, these slayers used a different method for a taniwha named Pekehaua in Rotorua. They wove a large basket from supplejack and bush lawyer, and decorated it with pigeon feathers. Some of the men climbed into the basket and were lowered into the depths of a spring, where they said karakia charms to weaken the taniwha. Pitaka placed a noose around the taniwha, tugged on the rope, and the rope was pulled up, killing the creature. Vast as a rock he lies!

How angrily his eyeballs glare! How flash his fiery eyes! Kaiwhare was a taniwha who lived near Manukau Harbour in an underwater cave and blowhole, named the Gap, south of Piha. Te Kaiwhakaruaki was a fearsome taniwha who lived near Collingwood, in Golden Bay. A seal hunter tried to slay him by punching him in the snout. His party divided into three, the first to lure the taniwha into a trap, and the other two groups to flank him — one would attack and as he swung to them they would retreat and the other group would attack.

Ngake and Whātaitai the taniwha of Wellington harbour

This plan succeeded and the beast was slain. In many cases, like the dragon slayers of old, these heroes also rescued maidens from the clutches of the taniwha, and were rewarded with their love. In the early s, two construction projects caused debate because they were planned for areas where taniwha were believed to live.

Eventually, Transit New Zealand agreed to partially reroute the highway. Ultimately, against these objections the prison was built. In both cases, raising taniwha as an objection led to controversy. Some people suggested that the objection was an attempt to get compensation, and that the taniwha could be paid to go away. Witi Ihimaera, author of The whale rider , says that he has a kaitiaki guardian which is a taniwha.

While debate continues, taniwha continue to play an important role in the cultural identity of many tribal groups. Canterbury University Press, This Wikipedia article on taniwha covers traditional aspects and modern controversy.

Story: Taniwha

This news feature from the New Zealand Herald site outlines a conflict with Transit New Zealand about taniwha locations. How to cite this page: A creature of many forms Taniwha are supernatural creatures whose forms and characteristics vary according to different tribal traditions. Taniwha and chiefs Taniwha were also a symbol for great chiefs. There is a proverb from Waikato: Waikato taniwha rau, he piko he taniwha. Waikato of a hundred taniwha, every bend a taniwha.

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Unuhia noatia te taniwha i te rua. Withdrawn now is the dragon from his lair. Polynesian Society, , pp. Taniwha of the sea Many taniwha were associated with the sea.

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Tuhirangi Kupe was the great navigator who is reputed to have discovered New Zealand while travelling in the Matawhaorua canoe. Freshwater taniwha Taniwha were also believed to inhabit lakes, rivers and other freshwater areas. Takere-piripiri Takere-piripiri looked like a giant tuatara with a spiky tail. Sharks Some taniwha took the shape of sharks. Whales, dolphins and enchanted logs Whales In some traditions, taniwha took the shape of whales. Is that really a taniwha? As the years went by the two taniwha grew bigger, and the boundaries of their lake seemed to grow smaller.

Ngake crossed to the north side of the lake and coiled his tail into a huge spring shape. He focused his sights on the cliffs to the south and suddenly let his tail go. With a mighty roar Ngake was thrust across the lake up over the shore and smashed into the cliff face. Ngake hit the cliffs with such force that he shattered them into huge hunks of rock and earth, effectively creating a pathway through to Te Moana o Raukawa Cook Strait. Ngake, cut and bruised, slipped into the sea, finally free to explore as he had dreamed.

He said a prayer to the taniwha gods, then let his tail go. His stomach dragged on the ground, eventually slowing him to a stop.

But when the tide finally came in, it only helped to dampen his scaly skin and provide fish to sustain his hunger. Once arrived in New Zealand , they took on a protective role over the descendants of the crew of the canoe they had accompanied. When accorded appropriate respect, taniwha usually acted well towards their people. Taniwha acted as guardians by warning of the approach of enemies, communicating the information via a priest who was a medium; sometimes the taniwha saved people from drowning.

Because they lived in dangerous or dark and gloomy places, the people were careful to placate the taniwha with appropriate offerings if they needed to be in the vicinity or to pass by its lair. These offerings were often of a green twig, accompanied by a fitting incantation. Arising from the role of taniwha as tribal guardians, the word can also refer in a complimentary way to chiefs.

The famous saying of the Tainui people of the Waikato district plays on this double meaning: In their role as guardians, taniwha were vigilant to ensure that the people respected the restrictions imposed by tapu.

Taniwha of the sea

They made certain that any violations of tapu were punished. Taniwha were especially dangerous to people from other tribes. There are many legends of battles with taniwha, both on land and at sea. Often these conflicts took place soon after the settlement of New Zealand, generally after a taniwha had attacked and eaten a person from a tribe that it had no connection with. Always, the humans manage to outwit and defeat the taniwha.

Many of these taniwha are described as beings of lizard-like form, and some of the stories say the huge beasts were cut up and eaten by the slayers. The taniwha had swallowed all that his victims had been carrying, and his stomach also contained weapons of various kinds, darts, greenstone ornaments, shark's teeth, flax clothing, and an assortment of fur and feather cloaks of the highest quality. Many taniwha were killers but in this particular instance the taniwha Kaiwhare was eventually tamed by Tamure. The Manukau people then called for Tamure to help kill the taniwha. Tamure and Kaiwhare wrestled and Tamure clubbed the taniwha over the head.

Although he was unable to kill it, his actions tamed the taniwha. Nagarara Haurau is a taniwha known from the myths of several groups of Maori in the northern South Island. In most versions of the story, the monster eats several villagers and captures a young woman who he keeps in a cave by the sea. Nagarara Haurau is eventually enticed to come to the local village for a feast, where he is ambushed and killed by the villagers.

In each version of the story, upon his death the monster's tail detaches itself and is thrown far away into a body of water. Sometimes, a person who had dealings with taniwha during their lifetime might turn into a taniwha after they died.