20 Oct 2011

Researcher says there's a growing understanding of taniwha

7:25 pm on 20 October 2011

An Auckland taniwha researcher says there seems to be a growing understanding of the spiritual guardians thought to live in local waterways.

The first taniwha exhibition at the Auckland War Memorial Museum in July was so popular, it's run again and closes on 21 October.

The show's providing further stories and locations associated with local taniwha, with the aim of demystifying them.

Pita Turei, who worked with the museum, says the display and theatre production has inspired audiences into being more inquisitive about taniwha and the role they play in guarding traditional marine reserves.

He says people are now starting to value taniwha rather than regarding them as just the mythical creatures of Maori legends.

Mr Turei says the show has helped crowds to grasp the importance and recognition of the less tangible things we can't see or touch.

He says taniwha are evidence of the first marine reserves set aside by ancestral Maori to protect waterways, as a way of cautioning about the dangers associated with them, and to help sustain kaimoana stocks.

Mr Turei says his research has helped the Waitangi Tribunal to identify how different rivers, lakes and harbours in Tamaki Makaurau have deep historical connections to tangata whenua, and the origins of Maori place names.