Māori mythology in the context of "Marlborough Sounds"

In Māori mythology, taniwha (Māori pronunciation: [ˈtaniɸa]) are large supernatural 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.

Haast's eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) is an extinct species of eagle that lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the pouākai of Māori mythology. It is the largest eagle known to have existed, with an estimated weight of 10–18 kilograms (22–40 pounds), compared to the next-largest and extant harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja), at up to 9 kg (20 lb). Its massive size is explained as an evolutionary response to the size of its prey—the flightless moa—the largest of which could weigh 200 kg (440 lb). Haast's eagle became extinct around 1445, following the arrival of the Māori, who hunted moa to extinction, introduced the Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans), and destroyed large tracts of forest by fire.

Aotearoa (Māori pronunciation: [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa] ) is the Māori name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference only to the North Island, with the whole country sometimes referred to as Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu, especially in the South Island. In the pre-European era, Māori did not have a collective name for the two islands.

Several meanings for Aotearoa have been proposed; the most popular translation usually given is "land of the long white cloud", or variations thereof. This refers to the cloud formations which are believed to have helped early Polynesian navigators find the country in Māori oral tradition.

A wharenui ([ˈɸaɾɛnʉ.i]; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a marae. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called whare (a more generic term simply referring to any house or building).Also called a whare rūnanga ("meeting house") or whare whakairo (literally "carved house"), the present style of wharenui originated in the early to middle nineteenth century. The houses are often carved inside and out with stylized images of the iwi's (or tribe's) ancestors, with the style used for the carvings varying from tribe to tribe. Modern meeting houses are built to regular building standards. Photographs of recent ancestors may be used as well as carvings. The houses always have names, sometimes the name of a famous ancestor or sometimes a figure from Māori mythology. Some meeting houses are built at places that are not the location of a tribe, but where many Māori gather; typically, a school or tertiary institution with many Māori students.

The wharenui is considered the realm of the peace deity Rongo while the surrounding marae is sacred or tapu being for Tūmatauenga; entrance thus is often described as "climbing up" (piki or eke) instead of "arriving" (haere) inside it to discard trailing tapu. While a meeting house is considered sacred, it is not a church or house of worship, but religious rituals may take place in front of or inside a meeting house. On most marae, no food may be taken into the meeting house; a special eating house (whare kai) is made separate of it.

Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to the 2023 census. The traditional rohe or tribal area of Ngāti Porou extends from Pōtikirua and Lottin Point in the north to Te Toka-a-Taiau (a rock that used to sit in the mouth of Gisborne harbour) in the south. The Ngāti Porou iwi comprises 58 hapū (sub-tribes) and 48 mārae (meeting grounds).

Mount Hikurangi features prominently in Ngāti Porou traditions as a symbol of endurance and strength, and holds tapu status. In these traditions, Hikurangi is often personified. Ngāti Porou traditions indicate that Hikurangi was the first point to surface when Māui fished up the North Island from beneath the ocean. His canoe, the Nuku-tai-memeha, is said to have been wrecked there. The Waiapu River also features in Ngāti Porou traditions.

Kiwa is one of several male divine guardians of the ocean in the traditions of some Māori iwi tribes of the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

A poetic name for the Pacific Ocean is Te moana nui a Kiwa (The great ocean of Kiwa). Kiwa's first wife, in some of these traditions, was Parawhenuamea, ancestor of streams that flow from the land to the sea and of fresh water generally. Kiwa's second wife was Hinemoana (Ocean woman), a personification of the sea. Kiwa and Hinemoana had a number of children.

In Māori tradition, Tokomaru was one of the great ocean-going canoes that were used in the migrations that settled New Zealand. It was commanded by Manaia. His brother-in-law had originally owned the canoe. When Manaia's wife was raped by a group of men, he slew them, including the chief Tupenu. Killing his brother-in-law, he took the Tokomaru and set sail with his family for New Zealand. Landing at Whangaparaoa, they finally settled at Taranaki. Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama iwi trace their ancestry back to Tokomaru.

In Māori tradition, Te Hoiere was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that was used in the migrations that settled New Zealand. Ngāti Kuia tradition states that their founding tupuna Matua Hautere, a descendant of Kupe, came to Te Waipounamu in his waka Te Hoiere, guided by the kaitiaki (tribal guardian) Kaikaiawaro.