The tradition of a man-eating taniwha at Parapara Inlet, Golden Bay appears to have been transferred almost wholesale from the island of Taha‘a in Tahiti. According to the tradition, a taniwha named ‘Aifa‘arua‘i (New Zealand’s Kaiwhakaruaki) terrorised people travelling between Parapara, Taha‘a (Tākaka in New Zealand) and Motue‘a (Motueka).
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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Jock Phillips
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