Moremore... the shark with no tail |
Her son Moremore turned into a taniwha. He lives in and around the Ahuriri area and even roams the wider east coast. Moremore is a kaitiaki (guardian) and generally posses no danger to the locals. His presence serves as a warning of potential danger. In the Ngai Tamanuhiri area around Te Kuri-a-Paoa Moremore takes the form of a shark with no tail or no dorsal fin. He is a protector and will appear to warn of an unsafe area or unsafe practices. At the very point of Te Kuri, a place called Pikopiko there lives a species of shark the locals call Moremore. It has no dorsal fin.
My book Taniwharau |
Taniwharau is published by Penguin Books (NZ) and focuses on the special relationships that developed between various taniwha around Aotearoa and the local people of the land. It celebrates the many and various kaitieki (kaitiaki ranei) that inhabit our whakapapa and punctuate our oral histories. These magnificent creatures came in all shapes and sizes including lizards, sharks, whales, kiwi, pigeons, dogs and even giant eagles. Some were a weird mix of creatures; half man-half dog, half bird-half woman but all had a special place in the history of the various tangata whenua who claimed them as guardians.
Taniwha often played a dual role in our history as most were seen as a good omen by the tangata whenua, yet any stranger to the area saw them only as dangerous beasts that would kill to protect their territory. Indeed the reputations of these great beasts traveled the width and breadth of the country with many a defeated war party. Those war parties made it their business to remember them as Maori will always give credit where credit is due and there is no disgrace in losing to a superior foe.
The ancient Maori were a very spiritual people and believed the universe was made up of different realms that were separate yet very much connected. The mortal realm; inhabited by man and animals, was largely governed by the supernatural realm; inhabited by the many gods, demi-gods, guides and guardians. Both realms were linked by a spiritual bridge to allowed travel between the two worlds and overcame the communications barrier between the species. Man accepted that as he had gods and ancestors, so did all the animals.
This basic acceptance allowed the magic of belief to manifest itself in the minds and memories of Maori. Indeed, like many indigenous cultures around the world, Maori culture personifies absolutely everything, animate or otherwise.
Warren Pohatu
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