Te Tohunga: The Ancient Legends and Traditions of the Maoris

About this book

The world is still taking shape. Māui performs his astonishing deeds, and ancestral beings move through a landscape alive with sacred history. W. Dittmer gathered Māori traditions and gave them a remarkable illustrated form.

Stories of creation, legendary figures and powerful encounters appear beside Dittmer's distinctive paintings and decorative designs, with contributions from James Cowan. The images make this edition especially compelling, though its early twentieth-century presentation should not be confused with a complete account of Māori tradition. The retellings and images belong to a specific historical edition; the Māori traditions they draw on remain living traditions with their own histories.