In Māori mythology, taniwha are large supernatural beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers . They may be considered highly respected kaitiaki of people and places, or in some traditions as dangerous, predatory beings, which for example would kidnap women to have as wives.
Tūmatauenga is the primary god of war and human activities such as hunting, food cultivation, fishing, and cooking in Māori mythology.
The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand among Māori between 1807 and 1837, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an intertribal arms race in order to gain territory or seek revenge for past defeats. The battles resulted in the deaths of between 20,000 and 40,000 people and the enslavement of tens of thousands of Māori and significantly altered the rohe, or tribal territorial boundaries, before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion, It also has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi with an estimated 92,349 people according to the 2018 census. The traditional rohe or tribal area of Ngāti Porou extends from Pōtikirua and Lottin Point in the north to Te Toka-a-Taiau in the south. The Ngāti Porou iwi also comprises 58 hapū (sub-tribes) and 48 mārae.
Ngāi Tūhoe, often known simply as Tūhoe, is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. Tūhoe is a Māori-language word meaning "steep" or "high noon". Tūhoe people also bear the sobriquet Nga Tamariki o te Kohu. Tūhoe traditional land is at Te Urewera in the eastern North Island, a steep, heavily forested area which includes Lake Waikaremoana. Tūhoe traditionally relied on the forest for their needs. The tribe had its main centres of population in the small mountain valleys of Ahikereru and Ruatāhuna, with Maungapohatu, the inner sanctum of the Urewera, as their sacred mountain. The Tūhoe country had a great reputation among the neighbouring tribes as a graveyard for invading forces.
The sinking of Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Opération Satanique, was a state terrorism bombing operation by the "action" branch of the French foreign intelligence agency, the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), carried out on 10 July 1985. During the operation, two operatives sank the flagship of the Greenpeace fleet, Rainbow Warrior, at the Port of Auckland on her way to a protest against a planned French nuclear test in Moruroa. Fernando Pereira, a photographer, drowned on the sinking ship.
The traditional Māori greeting, the hongi is performed by two people pressing their noses together; some include, at the same time, the touching of foreheads. The greeting is used at traditional meetings among Māori people, and at major ceremonies, such as a pōwhiri. It may be followed by a handshake.
Hongi Hika was a New Zealand Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the iwi of Ngāpuhi. He was a pivotal figure in the early years of regular European contact and settlement in New Zealand. As one of the first Māori leaders to understand the advantages of European muskets in warfare, he used European weapons to overrun much of northern New Zealand in the early nineteenth century Musket Wars. He was however not only known for his military prowess; Hongi Hika encouraged Pākehā (European) settlement, built mutually beneficial relationships with New Zealand's first missionaries, introduced Māori to Western agriculture and helped put the Māori language into writing. He travelled to England and met King George IV. His military campaigns, along with the other Musket Wars, were one of the most important motivators for the British annexation of New Zealand and subsequent Treaty of Waitangi with Ngāpuhi and many other iwi.
The battle of Moremonui was fought between Ngāti Whātua and Ngāpuhi, two Māori iwi (tribes), in northern New Zealand in either 1807 or 1808. The Ngāpuhi force had a few muskets, making this the first occasion Māori used muskets in warfare. The Ngāti Whātua force ambushed the Ngāpuhi, and won the battle, which occurred at Moremonui Gully where it enters Ripiro Beach, 19 kilometres south of Maunganui Bluff on the west coast of Northland. It could reasonably be called the first battle of the Musket Wars between Māori, which took place over the next few decades.
Māori mythology and Māori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's Māori may be divided. Māori myths concern fantastic tales relating to the origins of what was the observable world for the pre-European Māori, often involving gods and demigods. Māori tradition concerns more folkloric legends often involving historical or semi-historical forebears. Both categories merge in whakapapa to explain the overall origin of the Māori and their connections to the world which they lived in.
Miriama Te Rangimarie Smith is a New Zealand film and television actress who has played roles in various TV shows such as Xena: Warrior Princess, Karaoke High and Shortland Street. Her best-known roles, however, were the role of Moz in the third season of The Tribe, and also the role of Elsa / Principal Randall in the 2004 Power Rangers series, Power Rangers Dino Thunder. She was one of the three judges on the first season of entertainment show New Zealand's Got Talent that aired on Prime TV in 2008. She starred as Brady Trubridge on the TVNZ 2 drama series Filthy Rich.
Eruera Maihi Patuone was a Māori rangatira (chief), the son of the Ngāti Hao chief Tapua and his wife Te Kawehau. His exact birth year is not known, but it is estimated that he was at least 108 years old when he died.
Glenn Standring is a New Zealand scriptwriter, producer and film director, working in the action, horror and fantasy genres.
Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Kawerau a Maki, or Te Kawerau-a-Maki is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It had 251 registered adult members as of June 2017. Auckland Council gave it land for a marae at Te Henga in 2018; it has no wharenui yet.
The Seekers is a 1954 British-New Zealand adventure film directed by Ken Annakin. It starred Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns, Noel Purcell, and Kenneth Williams. The film was produced by the Rank Organisation and was shot at Pinewood Studios with location shooting around Whakatane. The film's sets were designed by the art director Maurice Carter with costumes by Julie Harris. It was the first major international studio film shot in New Zealand. The film was adapted from the novel The Seekers by New Zealander John Guthrie. It was released in the United States by Universal Pictures as Land of Fury.
Turikatuku was a notable New Zealand Māori tribal leader who was the wife of Hongi Hika, who accompanied him during the Musket Wars.
Whakatōhea is a Māori iwi located in the eastern Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand.
Shudder is an American over-the-top subscription video on demand service featuring horror, thriller and supernatural fiction titles, owned and operated by AMC Networks. The streaming service offers original films and TV series like Creepshow, inspired by the 1982 movie of the same name directed by George A. Romero. Shudder also has well-known movies like 1978's Halloween, documentary series, and an annual Halloween "Ghoul Log" reminiscent of the Yule Log that's on TV during the holiday season.
The Dead Lands is a Māori language horror television series based on the film of the same name. In 2019, AMC Entertainment's streaming service Shudder and TVNZ said they would create a TV series based on the film The Dead Lands. The first two episodes of The Dead Lands premiered on 23 January 2020 on Shudder's platforms. It also aired on TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand immediately after its international debut. Subsequent episodes premiered on both Shudder and TVNZ OnDemand weekly.
