Note B

According to the common belief of the Maoris the Taniwha is a saurian monster residing in the caves and recesses of the forests and mountains. No one was ever found among them who had seen one of these creatures, but smaller taniwhas in the form of lizards have been page 375encountered at intervals. These the natives never fail to destroy, and they are convinced that some evil will fall upon the man who first espies one of these lizards. The taniwha superstition has been peculiarly deep-rooted in the Maori, and an ache or a pain in any portion of the body was supposed to be the work of the particular taniwha who had power in that part.