Many Europeans were fascinated by Māori mythology. One was the German artist Wilhelm Dittmer, who visited New Zealand to collect oral traditions. He also illustrated many traditions with ink drawings. Here Māui, with his frightened brothers clinging to the canoe, heaves up the fish that is the North Island. The sun, to whom Māui and his brothers are linked in another tradition, watches on.
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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
PUBL-0088-049
Drawing by Wilhelm Dittmer
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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