Title: The Maori As He Was : A Brief Account of Life as it Was in Pre-European Days

Author: Elsdon Best

Publication details: Dominion Museum, 1934, Wellington

Part of:

• The Published Works of Elsdon Best
• New Zealand Texts Collection

This text is the subject of: Introduction to The Maori As He Was

License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand Licence

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Chapter III

Mythology and Folk-lore

32

Myth and religion. Folk-lore. Two versions of many Maori myths. Cosmogony. Personification. The Sky Parent and Earth Mother. Light and darkness personified. Persian concepts in Maori mythology. Origin of light. The waiora a Tane. Tane as the origin of occult knowledge. The twelve heavens. Creation of woman and vegetation. The Dawn Maid. Two spirit-worlds of the Maori. The Maori genius for personification. The Maui myths. The origin of the rainbow. Miscellaneous myths. Rongo and moon. Rona the Tide-controller. The legend of Mataora. Folk-lore. Greenstone myths. Taniwha and tipua. Supernatural beings. Fairy folk. Fables. Mountain lore. Mental condition that produces myths. Maori mentality. Superstitutions, omens, signs.