Taniwha

In Māori mythology, taniwha (Māori pronunciation: [ˈtanifa])[1] are beings

that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in
places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers (giant waves). They
may be considered highly respected kaitiaki (protective guardians) of
people and places, or in some traditions as dangerous, predatory beings,
which for example would kidnap women to have as wives.

Contents
Etymology and Pacific analogues
Characteristics
As guardians
As notorious monsters
Relationships with people
Modern controversy
Similarities with other Polynesian cultures
In popular culture
See also
Notes
References
External links

Etymology and Pacific analogues Ureia, guardian taniwha of the

Hauraki people. Carving from the
Linguists have reconstructed the word taniwha to Proto-Oceanic *tanifa, meeting house Hotunui, 1878
with the meaning "shark species". In Tongan and Niuean, tenifa refers to
a large dangerous shark, as does the Samoan tanifa; the Tokelauan tanifa
is a sea-monster that eats people. In most other Polynesian languages, the cognate words refer to sharks or
simply fish.[2] Some anthropologists have stated that the taniwha has "analogues that appear within other
Polynesian cosmologies".[3]

Characteristics
At sea, a taniwha often appears as a whale or as quite a large shark;[4] compare the Māori name for the Great
white shark: mangō-taniwha. In inland waters, they may still be of whale-like dimensions, but look more like a
gecko or a tuatara, having a row of spines along the back. Other taniwha appear as a floating log, which
behaves in a disconcerting way (Orbell 1998:149-150, Reed 1963:297). Some can tunnel through the earth,
uprooting trees in the process. Legends credit certain taniwha with creating harbours by carving out a channel
to the ocean. Wellington's harbour, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, was reputedly carved out by two taniwha. The
petrified remains of one of them turned into a hill overlooking the city.
Other taniwha allegedly caused landslides beside lakes or rivers.

Taniwha can either be male or female. The taniwha Araiteuru is said to

have arrived in New Zealand with the early voyaging canoes and her
eleven sons are credited with creating the various branches of the
Hokianga Harbour (Orbell 1995:184-185).[5]

There has been some speculation based on several marine sightings and
on purported habitat & physical representations that the Taniwha myth A rock carving of taniwha near
may be based on periodic populations of Saltwater Crocodile which Lake Taupo
rarely end up crossing the straight from Australia. Northern New Zealand
presently appears to be just outside the temperature range where a
population can sustain itself indefinitely, dying out during unusually cold
winters.[6]

As guardians
Most taniwha have associations with tribal groups; each group may have
a taniwha of its own. The taniwha Ureia, depicted on this page, was
associated as a guardian with the Māori people of the Hauraki district. A drawing by an artist
Many well-known taniwha arrived from Hawaiki, often as guardians of a
particular ancestral canoe. Once arrived in New Zealand, they took on a
protective role over the descendants of the crew of the canoe they had accompanied.[7] The origins of many
other taniwha are unknown.

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. In harvest time, the first kūmara (sweet potato) or the first taro was often presented to the
taniwha.[8]

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: Waikato taniwha
rau (Waikato of a hundred chiefs) (Mead & Groves 2001:421).[9]

Witi Ihimaera, author of The Whale Rider, says that he has a female kaitiaki (guardian) taniwha named Hine
Te Ariki who lives in the Waipāoa River.[10]

As notorious monsters
In their role as guardians, taniwha were vigilant to ensure that the people respected the restrictions imposed by
tapu. 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.[11] When Hotu-puku, a taniwha of the Rotorua district, was
killed, his stomach was cut open to reveal a number of bodies of men, women, and children, whole and still
undigested, as well as various body parts. 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.[12]

Many taniwha were killers but in this particular instance the taniwha Kaiwhare was eventually tamed by
Tamure. Tamure lived at Hauraki and was understood to have a magical mere/pounamu with powers to defeat
taniwha. 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. Kaiwhare still lives in the waters but now lives on kōura (crayfish) and wheke (octopus).[13]

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 whom 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. In the version of Wainui Bay, and the Takaka Maori, the tail
lands in the pool at the base of Wainui Falls.[14]

Relationships with people

Sometimes, a person who had dealings with taniwha during their lifetime might turn into a taniwha after they
died. This happened to Te Tahi-o-te-rangi, who had been a medium for the taniwha, and had been rescued at
one time by one of the creatures. Tūheita, an early ancestor who drowned, became a taniwha despite the fact
that he had no prior dealings with the mythical beasts. Sometimes relationships are formed between humans
and taniwha. Hine-kōrako was a female taniwha who married a human man, and Pānia was a woman from the
sea who married a human and gave birth to a taniwha (Orbell 1998:150).

In the legend "The Taniwha of Kaipara" three sisters went out to pick berries. One of the sisters was
particularly beautiful. The taniwha caused havoc on their walk back and the sisters fled. The taniwha caught
the sisters one by one, trying to capture the beautiful one. On succeeding, he then took her back to his cave.
Many years passed and the woman bore the taniwha six sons, with three like their father and three fully
human. She educated all her sons and in particular taught her human sons the art of war, helping them to
fashion and use weapons. The human sons then killed their three taniwha brothers, and eventually their father.
They all went back to their homes.[15]

Modern controversy
"In more recent years, taniwha have featured prominently in New Zealand news broadcasts—due to taniwha
spirits being referenced in both court cases and in various legal negotiations."[3] Beliefs in the existence of
taniwha have a potential for controversy where they have been used to block or modify development and
infrastructure schemes.

In 2002, Ngāti Naho, a Māori tribe from the Meremere district, successfully ensured that part of the country's
major highway, State Highway 1, be rerouted in order to protect the abode of their legendary protector. This
taniwha was said to have the appearance of large white eel, and Ngāti Naho argued that it must not be
removed but rather move on of its own accord; to remove the taniwha would be to invite trouble. Television
New Zealand reported in November 2002 that Transit New Zealand had negotiated a deal with Ngāti Naho
under which "concessions have been put in place to ensure that the taniwha are respected".[16] Some like the
journalist Brian Rudman have criticised such deals in respect of 'secretive taniwha which rise up from swamps
and river beds every now and again, demanding a tithe from Transit New Zealand'.[17]
In 2001 "another notable instance of taniwha featuring heavily within the public eye was that of a proposed
Northland prison site at Ngawha which was eventually granted approval through the courts."[18]

Māori academic Ranginui Walker said that in the modern age a taniwha was the manifestation of a coping
mechanism for some Māori. It did not mean there actually was a creature lurking in the water, it was just their
way of indicating they were troubled by some incident or event.[19]

In 2010 there was an episode of Destination Truth where Josh Gates and his team went looking for the
taniwha, but turned up no good evidence.[20]

Similarities with other Polynesian cultures

Mo’o or Moho, reptilian deities which can be seen in Hawaiian lore, strongly share characteristics with
Taniwha as being both protector and harmful to men, shape-shifting, and so on.[21]

In popular culture
The Power Rangers Dino Charge episode "Deep Down Under" mentions the Taniwha myth but identifies it
with such cryptids as the Loch Ness Monster.

In the song "Dirty Creature", by New Zealand art rock group Split Enz, the Taniwha is described as rising
from "the river of dread" and paralyzing its victims with "tentacles on the brain" that "bind and gag [their]
wits."

In the first episode of the second series of Wellington Paranormal, the police investigate missing fishermen
around Wellington Harbour and encounter two taniwha.

Taniwha (http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Discussion.aspx?multiverseid=3366) is a legendary creature

in the trading card game Magic: The Gathering.

In 1874, the mosasaur Taniwhasaurus, first discovered in New Zealand, was named for the Taniwha.

In the movie Once Were Warriors, the character Grace Heke can be seen telling her siblings a story about
Taniwha outside the family home. [22]

See also
Te Wheke-a-Muturangi
Pania

Notes
1. As is usual with Māori words, taniwha is both the singular and plural form
2. Polynesian Lexicon Project Online, entry tanifa (http://pollex.org.nz/entry/tanifa/)
3. A. Asbjørn Jøn, 'The Road and the Taniwha (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2833186
70_The_Road_and_the_Taniwha)' in Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies
22 (2007), pp.85-94 (p.85). ISBN 1-86389-831-X
 4. Jøn, A. Asbjørn (2014). "The whale road: Transitioning from spiritual links, to whaling, to whale
watching in Aotearoa New Zealand" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288579743).
Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies. University of New England (29).
Retrieved 11 February 2016.
5. "A white dolphin that regularly met ships in the French Pass region became known to Pakeha
as Pelorus Jack, but was recognised by Maori people Tuhirangi".Orbell,M. The Illustrated
Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend (1995),p225
6. Taniwha Mystery Solved: Saltwater Crocodiles visit NZ? (https://investigatemagazine.co.nz/202
19/taniwha-mystery-solved-salt-water-crocodiles-visit-nz) Investigate Daily Magazine
7. One Maori legend mentions taniwha, in the form of wheke (octopuses), escorting two canoes in
the Ngāti Toa migrations of the 19th century. Another story concerns three taniwha which
escorted (Ngāti) Ruanui and Ngā Puhi on the journey from Hawaiki after the people called out
to the atua (spiritual overlords) seeking a means of safe passage. Two taniwha oversaw the
safety of Ngā Puhi and the other guarded Ruanui.
8. Orbell 1998:149-150
9. A fuller version of the saying, "Waikato taniwha rau, he piko he taniwha, he piko he taniwha"
(Waikato of a hundred taniwha, a taniwha on each bend) implies that there is a taniwha, that is,
a powerful chief, on each bend of the Waikato River.
10. Keane, Basil (1 March 2009). "Taniwha Today: Taniwha and identity" (http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/
en/taniwha/8). Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
11. The Maori As He Was : A Brief Account of Maori Life as it was in Pre-European Days Folk-lore
P.49 (http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-BesMaor-c3-9.html)
12. Orbell 1998:149-150, Reed 1963:299. Reed makes the comment that Hotu-puku's stomach
contents constituted a fairly standard list that was repeated in many other taniwha stories.
13. Reed A,W.,`Reed book of Māori mythology`(2004), pp.288-289
14. Mitchell, Hilary; Mitchell, John (2004). History of Māori of Nelson and Marlborough (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=mFb8fALKJuIC&q=isbn:1869690877). Wellington New Zealand: Huia
Publishers. pp. 23–25. ISBN 1869690877.
15. Reed A,W.,`Reed book of Māori mythology`(2004), pp.285-286
16. "Taniwha roading concerns eased" (http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/423466/147106). Television
New Zealand. 12 November 2002. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
17. Rudman, Brian (6 June 2007). "Brian Rudman: Suffer, little children - and watch out for the
spaceship" (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/brian-rudman/news/article.cfm?a_id=1&objectid=10443
860). The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
18. A. Asbjørn Jøn, 'The Road and the Taniwha The Road and the Taniwha (https://www.researchg
ate.net/publication/283318670_The_Road_and_the_Taniwha)' in Australian Folklore: A Yearly
Journal of Folklore Studies 22 (2007), pp.85-94 (p.86). ISBN 1-86389-831-X
19. CORBETT, JAN (2002-11-09). "Transit and the taniwha" (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/). The New
Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1170-0777). Retrieved
2018-02-12.
20. "Destination Truth" Haunted Mining Town/The Taniwha (TV Episode) (https://www.imdb.com/titl
e/tt1603572/) on IMDb
21. Moo - Shapeshifting Dragons Hawaiian Mythology (http://mauimagazine.net/the-sacred-spine/)
22. https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/sites/default/files/warriorsstudyguide.pdf

References
A. Asbjørn Jøn, 'The Road and the Taniwha' in Australian Folklore 22 (2007), pp. 85–94.
ISBN 1-86389-831-X
 H.M. Mead, N. Grove, Ngā Pēpeha a ngā Tīpuna, The Sayings of the Ancestors (Victoria
University Press: Wellington), 2001.
M. Orbell, The Concise Encyclopedia of Māori Myth and Legend (Canterbury University Press:
Christchurch), 1998.
M. Orbell, "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legends" (Canterbury University
Press: Christchurch), 1995.
M. Orbell, "Traditional Maori Stories (Reed Publishing: Auckland), 1992.
A.W. Reed, "Reed book of Maori Mythology" (Reed Publishing: Auckland), 2004.
A.W. Reed, Treasury of Maori Folklore (A.H. & A.W. Reed: Wellington), 1963.

External links
Taniwha (https://web.archive.org/web/20080802013004/http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/Und
erstandingTheNaturalWorld/Taniwha/en), Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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