Māori Myths & Tribal Legends

by Antony Alpers

Maori Myths Overview Students will read a number of Maori myths (focused mainly around animals and plants)

Genres: Nonfiction, History

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

Reviews

[Mindy McAdams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A carefully compiled collection for adult readers, this book retells important traditional stories about major figures in Maori culture. A central one is Maui, the trickster and super ancestor, who notably figured out how to cast ropes around the Sun to slow him down and thus make the days longer! Like American Indian myths and legends, these stories provided ideas, exemplars, and villains that all Maori (back before Europeans took over their country) shared and could relate to.

As a visitor to New Zealand, I quickly decided I needed to find a book like this to help me feel the roots of the place more accurately. I found this in a used-book shop, and it was exactly what I had wanted — definitely not a children's version of these stories! I happily read this cover-to-cover while traveling, and it gave a lot of depth to many references I came across and the artifacts I saw in museums in Auckland and Wellington.

I just looked on Amazon, and I could have gotten it for a much lower price from one of their sellers if I'd thought to buy it before I left the U.S. I'm not sorry I bought it in New Zealand, though, because it was great to read it during the journey.

The illustrations are fantastic!

[Kelly Lynn Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my New Zealand literature class. The illustrations in this book are absolutely gorgeous.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, but not stories I would recommend reading to your kids.