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Maori (New Zealand people) --- Mythology, Maori. --- Religion.

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Stephenson Percy Smith (1840-1922) arrived in New Zealand as a boy, and soon became fascinated by Maori culture. After retiring in 1900 from his career as a government surveyor, Smith devoted himself to the study of the Maori and co-founded the Polynesian Society, which published this two-volume study in 1913-15. The book contains the Maori text of an important body of beliefs and traditions which had been committed to writing over fifty years earlier, when the young W. H. Whatahoro had acted as scribe for a group of senior elders concerned to preserve this ancient and sacred knowledge. Only long afterwards was Whatahoro willing to divulge it to Europeans, and he personally assisted Smith with the translation provided here. Although Smith's interpretative notes and 'comparative mythology' agenda are typical of their time, this pioneering work laid foundations for later research. Volume 1 focuses on the gods and creation myths.

Mythology, Maori --- Maori Language --- Social Science --- Foreign Language Study

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First published in 1882, Edward Shortland's study is an important account of Maori mythology, religion and concepts of authority. Shortland (1812-93), an English-born physician and ethnographer, first arrived in New Zealand in 1841 to work for the newly formed colonial government. He later served as a government interpreter, Sub-Protector of Aborigines, and Native Secretary during his time in New Zealand and spent much of his career interacting with Maori. This concise book is the result of years of careful research into Maori beliefs and customs, based on narratives and songs dictated to Shortland, or written down for him to translate. It includes a particularly detailed account of Maori cosmogony, lists of Maori vocabulary relating to kinship and to the spirit world, several karakia (prayers) and extensive notes on the naming and claiming of land and the Maori understanding of land tenure.

Maori (New Zealand people) --- Mythology, Maori. --- Land tenure (Maori law) --- Religion. --- Law, Maori --- Maori mythology --- Mythology, Maori (New Zealand people) --- Māori mythology --- Law, Māori

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First published between 1887 and 1890, this six-volume work, containing Maori texts with English translations and commentary, and engraved illustrations, was one of the first printed records of the oral traditions of the Maori. The project was commissioned by the New Zealand government in 1879 when it was observed that, due to the introduction of European culture and education, indigenous traditions were in danger of dying out. The material was collected by John White (1826-91), an ethnographer, public servant and writer who had arrived in New Zealand as a boy and first began documenting Maori poetry in the 1840s. Volume 1, published in 1887, includes narratives about the Horouta canoe, the first Maori gods and the creation of humans. The preface explains that although by this time many Maori had become Christians, certain passages in the myths were still deemed too sacred (tapu) to be revealed to outsiders.

Maori (New Zealand People) --- Mythology, Maori --- Legends --- New Zealand --- Social Science --- History

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First published between 1887 and 1890, this six-volume work, containing Maori texts with English translations and commentary, and engraved illustrations, was one of the first printed records of the oral traditions of the Maori. The project was commissioned by the New Zealand government in 1879 when it was observed that, due to the introduction of European culture and education, indigenous traditions were in danger of dying out. The material was collected by John White (1826-91), an ethnographer, public servant and writer who had arrived in New Zealand as a boy and first began documenting Maori poetry in the 1840s. Volume 5, published in 1888, contains narratives about the Tainui migration and describes some of the more violent episodes in Maori history, including famous intertribal wars.

Maori (New Zealand People) --- Mythology, Maori --- Legends --- New Zealand --- Social Science --- History