Traditional Maori Stories

In strange and marvellous tales of the supernatural, heroes battle with giant lizards, enormous birds and taniwha.

Sometimes they are menaced by fairies, beautiful creatures with uncanny powers who fall in love with human women.

The heroes triumph over evil adversaries, and they undertake dangerous journeys to the underworlds and the distant island of Hawiki.

The great Maori story-tellers of the nineteenth century wrote these stories as they were accustomed to tell them.

This illustrated anthology presents their writing in the original Maori and in accomplished, lively translations that make these taonga accessible to a wider audience.