- 1988 Facsimile Reprint of of the 1885 second edition
- Publisher: Silver Fern Books Ltd, Hamilton, NZ (A Silver Fern Echoes Paperback)
- Format: Paperback, 22 pages
- Condition: Very good. Minor shelf wear. Some tanning to page edges
- Rare edition.
Introduction by Sidney Moko Mead.
These myths and traditions of the Maori were written down and translated from information gathered by Governor Grey from Maori Chiefs and leaders in the late 1840s and early 1850s. They are the earliest written version of Maori mythology and are an indispesable source of undisputed authority.
In these pages we are told of the wondrous feats of the gods and the stirring exploits of Maori ancestors. Here are accounts of the Creation, the deeds of Maui and Rata, the story of Hinemoa, the narrative of the discovery of Aotearoa, the building of the canoes and migration across the seas from Hawaiki to a new home in the South Pacific..
As well as the fantastic legends of the gods there are simpler tales of love and hatred, loyalty and betrayal, war and revenge.
These stories have been passed down from generation to generation of Maoris through the centuries. They are the unique story of Aotearoa.
Legends of Aotearoa was first published in 1855 under the title Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race, as furnished by their Chiefs and Priests. This was a translation of the bulk of Nga Mahi a Nga Tupuna ('The Deeds of Ancsetors') Grey's collection of legends published in 1854. This reprint is a facsimile of the text of the second edition of Polynesian Mythology , published by Brett in Auckland in 1885.
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