Taniwha suffer from bad branding says academic

Media Release 13 June 2011

Taniwha suffer from bad branding says academic

Recent controversy about taniwha – especially as they affect public works – is down to a misunderstanding of their role, says Maori Studies Professor Paul Moon.

Dr. Moon attributes part of the problem to the popular portrayal of taniwha as some sort of indigenous swamp-dwelling dragon.

“Traditionally”, says Dr. Moon, “taniwha existed in some circumstances as a warning. They were invoked in order to get people to pause from a particular activity and force them to think about the processes, issues, and consequences of that activity.

Taniwha were part of the pre-European method of resource management in New Zealand”. Dr. Moon believes that if taniwha are seen in this context, they will be much less likely to be ridiculed.

And when it comes to dealing with the presence of taniwha, he suggests a simple remedy: “Taniwha are placated only when all the issues associated with the place where they reside have been adequately resolved”.

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