A concise guide to Maori myths and legends, religious beliefs, folklore and history. More than 300 entries, arranged alphabetically, reveal the subtlety and complexity of the traditional Maori view of the world.

The Maori have a rich and colourful tradition of myth and legend. Some of their most important and popular tales are retold in this classic book. The stories range from the creation of the world and the coming of life, death and knowledge, to supernatural tales of love, terror and adventure. Read about the great god Tane, about Maui who tamed the sun, about the woman on the moon, about monsters, fairies, fabulous birds and moving mountains.

"Here there be dragons"--this notation was often made on ancient maps to indicate the edges of the known world and what lay beyond. Heroes who ventured there were only as great as the beasts they encountered. This encyclopedia contains more than 2,200 monsters of myth and folklore, who both made life difficult for humans and fought by their side. Entries describe the appearance, behavior, and cultural origin of mythic creatures well-known and obscure, collected from traditions around the world.

DIVCompares the discourses of indigeneity used by Maori and Native American peoples and proposes the concept treaty discourse to characterize the relevant form of postcolonial situation./div

"Maori story-tellers of the nineteenth century wrote these thirty traditional stories as they were accustomed to tell them. This illustrated anthology presents their writings in the original Maori and in ... [translation]"--Back cover.