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  1. Maori Books
  2. Māori Legends & Mythology

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  • Maori Books
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    • Rongoa / Plant Medicine
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Maori Books > Māori Legends & Mythology

Large 9780947506230

A Wild Wind from the North: Hongi Hika's 1823 Invasion of Rotorua by Don Stafford

$39.99 NZD

Available Stock:
3

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology

Hongi Hika's invasion of the Rotorua area in 1823 is one of the most dramatic and daring assaults in New Zealand history. Armed with muskets, Hongi's forces had roamed the North Island seeking utu (revenge) for past slights. Te Arawa, inland and with their island stronghold of Mokoia on Lake Rotorua, fe lt impregnable. They did not count on Hongi's determination - which led to an epic portage of canoes to the lake shores, from which an attack on Mokoia became inevitable. A Wild Wind from the North not only tells the story with Stafford's flair and sense of drama, but is also richly illustrated, including modern photos of the locations depicted. Launch of the book in 2007 occasioned a major meeting of Ngapuhi and Te Arawa that aided reconciliation for the past conflict. ...Show more

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Large 9781775501664

Arohanui: Revenge of the Fey (Matawehi Fables) by Helen Pearse-Otene

$25.00 NZD

Available Stock:
3

Category: Graphic Novels | Series: Matawehi Fables

Part of The Matawehi Fables series, this graphic novel is a story of two hostile tribes: one thriving, the other starving and forced to enter into a hard bargain to survive. In the midst of the conflict, two lovers from opposing tribes, Kahu and Kuratawhiti, plan to bring their warring tribes together t hrough their marriage. But tragedy looms as Kahu defends his beloved Kuratawhiti against his treasured sister, Mira, who unleashes a lifetime of rage on Kuratawhiti and her people. ...Show more

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Large legends of rotorua

Legends of Rotorua and the Hot Lakes by A. W. Reed

$29.99 NZD

Available Stock:
1

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology

First published in 1958, this is the classic collection of myths relating to that cradle of Maori culture, Rotorua - with relevance across New Zealand Rotorua is one of New Zealand's most visited cities. It is impossible to avoid the area's Maori history and, in this book, it is easy to learn about the most popular legends of the area. These include Ngatoro the Fire-Bringer, whose avoidance of fire demons left them raging underground to make the famous geyser and mudpool formations in the Rotorua area; and Hatupatu, who bravely escaped from the birdwoman, who would have him as her slave. A.W. Reed is renowned for his collections of Maori stories. His list of published works in this area is long and deep and his popularity has rarely waned. The Dennis Turner illustrations are reproduced unaltered, speaking to the era of the book's original publication, retro in their flavour but quite beautiful on close inspection. ...Show more

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Large 9780947506223

Favourite Maori Legends by A.W. Reed & Ross Calman

$29.99 NZD

Available Stock:
2

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology

Maori myths and legends have an important role in transmitting and regenerating traditional knowledge. Yet as Ross Calman points out in his introduction to this new edition, they are also simply great yarns - reflective of a time when telling and listening to stories was a key leisure activity in Maori society. Favourite Maori Legends is an invitation to enjoy over 30 of the most memorable legends, grouped into themes of the spirit world, patupaiarehe (ghosts), taniwha, supernatural creatures, heroes and deeds of daring. Concise yet complete, these gripping stories are enlivened by the timeless illustrations of Roger Hart. ...Show more

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Large 9781877246104

Maori Myths and Legendary Tales by A. W. Reed

$29.99 NZD

Available Stock:
2

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology | Reading Level: good

This book was first published in 1946 as Myths and Legends of Maoriland, and subsequently reprinted four times before the second edition was published in 1958, followed by the third edition in 1961. It went on to become one of New Zealand's most recognised books of the genre, winning an Esther Glen meda l for the best children's book in 1947, and enjoyed considerable popularity in London, New York and Australia. This new edition retains the work of illustrator Dennis Turner and is presented with a stunning new cover based on the 'Rangi and Papa' mural, by highly acclaimed artist Cliff Whiting, which now hangs in the Beehive in Wellington. ...Show more

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Large 9780854671038

Maori Love Legends...and True Stories by Murdoch Riley

$14.99 NZD

Available Stock:
2

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology

Compiled by Murdoch Riley. Stories by Murdoch Riley, James Cowan, Alfred Grace, Thomas Lambert, Johannes Andersen, Richard Taylor, Hari Hongi (H.M. Strowell) etc.

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Large 9780854671243

Manu Maori: Bird Legends and Customs by Murdoch Riley

$35.99 NZD

Available Stock:
1

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology

A book about Maori and their legends and customs involving birds - includes CD "Forest and Ocean" by Hirini Melbourne.

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Large 9780854671007

Maori Bird Lore: An Introduction by Murdoch Riley

$93.99 NZD

Available Stock:
1

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology

Beautifully illustrated and presented. A book that is a work of art. For many a century the pre-contact Maori developed a sophisticated structure of beliefs and customs about the birds of this land, this Aotearoa, this New Zealand.  The basic myths and traditions came with the immigrants from legendary Hawaiki, the original homelands in the Pacific.  Changes the Maori made here to these legends were to give them relevance, to make make them understandable in the new-found natural world.  This is shown in the stories of Maui, the man-god hero who is known to islanders throughout the Eastern Pacific.  When Maui sought to slay the goddess of death, the Hinenuitepo, it was small local birds such as the fantail, the robin and the whitehead that he took along in his company. Larger birds like the harrier (kahu) and the morepork (ruru) had other tasks in the Maori world, they acted as messengers to the gods in the heavens, winging their ways there along spiritual paths.  They were the mediums used by tohunga experts to communicate with the gods. Tohunga also applied their skills to practical methods of bird-catching. They read the signs signs in the sky , of the foliage, of the bird life.  They oversaw the manufacture and storage of the traps, lines and ladders used in hunting in the forests of Tane.  They knew that Tane was the power and origin of all tree, bird and even human life. They recited the proper chants to him and other gods so that the birds would be plentiful and the hunting successful.  The importance of birds in everyday life is clearly shown in the book. Their economic value for their flesh, feathers, oil, bones and skins.  Their abilities to be able to announce the seasons of the year, to predict weather changes, to speed success in love or war, to caution against breaking ritual protocols, and to take significant roles in birth and death ceremonies.  After contact time with the Europeans both the number of bird species and numbers of birds in each species in New Zealand dropped dramatically, some indeed becoming extinct.  In one fifty year period 28 of 70 indigenous bird species were lost, one third of them flightless and unique to this country.  Hence there are few, if any, experts alive today, who have had the opportunity of using the correct chants to lure members of individual bird species, or of employing the old methods of bird taking.           ...Show more

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Large 9780143565475

Maori Myth and Legend: Traditional Stories by A. W. Reed

$25.00 NZD

Available Stock:
0

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology

The Maori have a rich and colourful tradition of myth and legend - many of their most important and popular tales are retold in this classic, bestselling book. Written with the general reader in mind, the stories range from the creation of the world to the coming of life, death and knowledge. They incor porate the great god Tane, Maui who tamed the sun, the woman on the moon, monsters, fairies, wondrous birds and moving mountains. ...Show more

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Large 9781108039635

The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions Volume 5 by John White

$86.00 NZD

Available Stock:
0

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology | Series: Cambridge Library Collection - Anthropology Ser.

First published between 1887 and 1890, this six-volume work, containing Maori texts with English translations and commentary, and engraved illustrations, was one of the first printed records of the oral traditions of the Maori. The project was commissioned by the New Zealand government in 1879 when it w as observed that, due to the introduction of European culture and education, indigenous traditions were dying out. The material was collected by John White (1826-91), an ethnographer, public servant and writer who had arrived in New Zealand as a boy and first began documenting Maori poetry in the 1840s. The first three volumes focus on myths relating to deities, creation, and the Horouta canoe. The second three include narratives about the Tainui migration, intertribal warfare, and the first European settlers. Volume 6 also records genealogies of gods, ancestors and humans that were recited in ritual contexts such as births and burials. ...Show more

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Large 9781108039628

The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions Volume 4 by John White

$99.00 NZD

Available Stock:
0

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology | Series: Cambridge Library Collection - Anthropology Ser.

First published between 1887 and 1890, this six-volume work, containing Maori texts with English translations and commentary, and engraved illustrations, was one of the first printed records of the oral traditions of the Maori. The project was commissioned by the New Zealand government in 1879 when it w as observed that, due to the introduction of European culture and education, indigenous traditions were dying out. The material was collected by John White (1826-91), an ethnographer, public servant and writer who had arrived in New Zealand as a boy and first began documenting Maori poetry in the 1840s. The first three volumes focus on myths relating to deities, creation, and the Horouta canoe. The second three include narratives about the Tainui migration, intertribal warfare, and the first European settlers. Volume 6 also records genealogies of gods, ancestors and humans that were recited in ritual contexts such as births and burials. ...Show more

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Large 9781108039611

The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions Volume 3 by John White

$85.00 NZD

Available Stock:
0

Category: Māori Legends & Mythology | Series: Cambridge Library Collection - Anthropology Ser.

First published between 1887 and 1890, this six-volume work, containing Maori texts with English translations and commentary, and engraved illustrations, was one of the first printed records of the oral traditions of the Maori. The project was commissioned by the New Zealand government in 1879 when it w as observed that, due to the introduction of European culture and education, indigenous traditions were dying out. The material was collected by John White (1826-91), an ethnographer, public servant and writer who had arrived in New Zealand as a boy and first began documenting Maori poetry in the 1840s. The first three volumes focus on myths relating to deities, creation, and the Horouta canoe. The second three include narratives about the Tainui migration, intertribal warfare, and the first European settlers. Volume 6 also records genealogies of gods, ancestors and humans that were recited in ritual contexts such as births and burials. ...Show more

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