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Fairy Folk Tales of the Maori

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List of Contents
Introduction.
Maori Legends of the “Patu-paiarehe.” Page
The Patu-paiarehe and Maero—Magic and Mystery of the New Zealand forest—The fairy tribe of Pirongia—The lost tribe Ngati-Mamoé—People of the Mist—The fairy bridge on the Waitematā—Daylight interrupts the Fairy Labours—Fairy flute-players—“The sweetest music ever heard”—Celtic and Maori fairy beliefs compared 1
Chapter I.
Told in the Wharepuni.
A Maori Night's Entertainment.
The village meeting-house at Otukou—Wairehu and his clan—Maori prayers and olden legends—The tale of the Mountain Gods—How Ngatoro-i-rangi came to Tongariro—The bringing of the magic fire—Origin of the names Tongariro and Ngauruhoe—Rangi-Po, the Place where the Sky was Dark—How Hape-ki-tua-rangi was destroyed—Pihanga, Tongariro and Taranaki—The Battle of the Mountains—The man whose thoughts were wings: a legend of the Waitotara—The legend of Miru and the Heavenly Maid—A love romance of the tropic islands—The House of Knowledge in the Fairy Isle—“Hui-te-Rangiora,” the Home of All Beautiful Things 11
Chapter II.
The Fairy Folk of Ngongotaha Mountain.
Te Matehaere and his ancestral walled village—The Fairy Tribe and “The Altar of the Gods”—Appearance and customs of the forest folk—How the explorer Ihenga met the Fairies—An adventure on Ngongotaha Mountain—How Ihenga evaded the Fairy Chieftainess—The songs of the Patu-paiarehe—A New Zealand “Lochaber No More”—The sound of the fairy flute. 33
Chapter III.
Once on Kakepuku.
A volcanic cone of the old Maori frontier—Kakepuku's romantic associations—The loves of the mountains—The Tohunga's expedition to Kakepuku—In the depths of the forest—Gathering the bush-vine juice—Panapa's mysterious disappearance—The voices of the fairy woods—Panapa's strange story—Carried off by the Fairies—The Patu-paiarehe home on Pirongia Mountain 43 page vi
Chapter IV.
Whanawhana of the Bush. Page
Ruarangi and his wife Tawhai-tu—Stalked by a fairy hunter—The abduction of Tawhai-tu—Carried off to the fairy mountain—The fastness of the Patu-paiarehe tribe—Under the fairy spell—How the Tohunga circumvents the Patu-paiarehe—The foiling of Whanawhana 55
Chapter V.
The Wars of the Fairies.
Fairy Legends of Te Aroha and Rangitoto Mountains—Ruatane of Te Aroha carries off a Maori woman—Tarapikau's stratagem—Ruatane's raid against Tarapikau—A magic dart—Ruatane hurls his blazing spear—The burnt totara tree on Rangitoto—The enchantments of the sacred mountain—A curious religious cult, the “Pao-Miere” 65
Chapter VI.
Tokahaere, the Walking Rock.
The trail to Aotearoa—A King Country ride—The monolith in rhyolite, a curious volcanic rock—How Tokahaere came from Titi-raupenga Mountain—Daylight breaks the magic powers—A sacred landmark, and an ancient rite 73
Chapter VII.
A Basket of Eels.
A folk-tale of the Upper Waikato—Tu Takerei's story of Ngati-Raukawa's guardian dragon—The ngarara and his cave—The greedy children, and the dragon's revenge—The ngarara migrates to Maungakawa mountain and preys on Maori travellers—How the Waikato warriors captured and slew the dragon 77
Chapter VIII.
The Wizard Who Was Marooned.
A Legend of White Island.
The carved house at Whakatane—Mermaids and gods of the sea—Hurinui tells the story of the Tohunga Te Tahi-o-te-Rangi—A man of magic and makutu — A canoe expedition to White Island—The Whakatane tribe's stratagem—Te Tahi is marooned on the volcano-isle—He summons the ocean gods to his aid—Tutara-kauika, the great sperm whale—How the Tohunga reaches the shore and defeats his enemies' scheme—Te Tahi becomes a god of the sea 89 page vii
Chapter IX.
The Battle of the Mountains. Page
Maori personification of mountains—The loves of Kakepuku, Karewa and Kawa—A duel of the volcanoes—Kakepuku drives his rival to the Western Ocean—The hills of faerie and the ancient tale of love 101
Chapter X.
The Bishop and the Tohunga.
A Memory of Mokoia Island.
The Holy-Isle-of-Tinirau—A place of wizardry and enchantments—Bishop Selwyn's visit to Unuaho the tohunga and magician—The Merlin of the Arawa—The Bishop's attempt to convert the pagan priest—Unuaho proposes a test—The blasting of the cabbage-trée—Unuaho withers the Ti and revives it again—The wizard's triumph—“Hori Herewini” of Mokoia 109
Chapter XI.
The Story of Hatupatu and Kura-of-the-Claws
The Sacred Grove of Mokoia and the lone totara tree—Tamati Hapimana's folk-tale—Hatupatu the bird-spearer is captured by Kura-ngaituku the ogress—His escape and Kura's pursuit—The rock refuge and the magic incantation, “Matiti, Matata!”—Kura's fate in the boiling-mud cauldron—Hatupatu's wonderful swim to Mokoia Island—Possible origin of ogre tales 119
Chapter XII.
The Dragon of the Sacred Lake.
Folk-lore of Tikitapu Lake—“The-Place-Where-a-Human-Heart-was-Cooked”—Kataore, the saurian monster of Tu-wiriwiri Forest—A dragon whose food was man—The terror of the lake-side trail—Kataore slays the beautiful maid Tuhi-Karaparapa—An Expedition of revenge—The dragon-slayers' snare—Pitaka the brave challenges Kataore the monster—How the dragon was captured and slain—The cave in the mountain-side 129
Chapter XIII.
When Tamaohoi Awoke.
The Wizard of the Wairoa—The tale of Mount Tarawera and the great eruption—Tamaohoi, the cannibal god of the Mountain—Wicked Wairoa and Tuhoto's curse—He invokes the spirit of the volcano—The midnight catastrophe—Destruction of the Tuhourangi villages—The resurrection of Tuhoto—“Cover him up again!”—The Wizard's end—The ban on buried Wairoa 145 page viii
Chapter XIV.
The Fairy Woman of Takitimu Mountain. Page
A folk-tale of Southland—The Takitimu Range and its legendry—Giant people of the mist—A Maori bird-hunter's adventure—He captures a fairy woman—The rite of the sacred fire—The escape of the fairy—A vision in the fog 153
Chapter XV.
Hills of the Wild Men.
Magic and mystery of the Alpine Lakeland—The fairy tales of Lake Wakatipu—Rakaihaitu's wonderful spade—“Footsteps of the Rainbow God” —Kopuwai, the ogre of the Matau River—Capture and escape of the woman Kaiamio—Hone te Paina's story—Paitu the woodhen-hunter in the haunts of the Maero 165

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