In Māori mythology, tipua or tupua are a type of differing shaped and often shape-shifting spirit or "uncanny thing". [1] Tipua were often associated with natural landmarks or phenomena but could also be more common objects; sometimes even trees …

Whiro-te-tipua (aka Whiro) is the lord of darkness and embodiment of all evil in Māori mythology. [1][2] Usually depicted as a lizard-like creature, he inhabits the underworld and is responsible for the ills of all people, a contrast to his brother and enemy Tāne. [3]

Mythical Attributes: Tipua are supernatural guardian spirits usually attached to natural features like rocks, trees, or caves. Role in Mythos: In Maori lore, Tipua serve as guardians or protectors of specific areas, often deterring intruders with supernatural occurrences.

Growing up to 30 metres (98 ft) in height and 20 metres (66 ft) wide, Tipuana tipu is well known for its use as a shade tree. The leaves of the tree are pinnately compound, 10 inches (25 cm) long; the pinnules typically are 1 to 3 inches (2 to 7 cm) long, and are variably paripinnate or imparipinnate on the same tree.

Rona whakamautai represents the moon, and in one tradition is said to be a daughter of Tangaroa, god of the sea. In tradition there are some important female tipua (supernatural creatures) or taniwha who represent the kaitiaki (guardians) of different geographical features.

The very title of the book, He Tipua, is an indication of the profoundly rooted Maori perspective from which it grows. "Tipua" is a word that will be unfamiliar to most Pakeha. It...

Our earliest oral histories of the Tāmaki region refer to the Tipua, Tūrehu and Patupaiarehe - divine ancestors from Rarohenga that were capable of traversing the upper and lower realms of existence, and credited with raising volcanoes and similar cataclysms.

He was a ‘bad as’ tipua who had a human face and great big scales on his massive, lizardy body. Kōmakahua banished him too. Ngārarahuarau lived alone in a cave in Wainui Bay, at Mohua.

1. (modifier) strange, supernatural, abnormal, terrifying. Ko tēnei tū tohorā he tohorā , kāore e pērā ana i ētahi atu tū āhua tohorā e patua ana i konei, arā i te hamupēke, i te pāmu-wēra (TP 10/1902:11). / This type of whale is a demon, it's not like some other kinds of whales which are killed here, such as the humpback and the sperm whale.

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