Puhi

An atua, a personified form of the eel. A place near Tauranga was called Te Rua-o-Puhi, the Pit of Puhi, whereat, in a hole, lived a huge eel that was looked upon as a supernatural being. It seems to have been viewed as an ancestor, or representing one. A local saying was "The descendants of Puhi do not eat eels."

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References

Sources

  • Best, Elsdon. (1924). The Maori. Wellington: Harry H. Tombs, p. 141.
  • Burrows, Edwin G. (1938). "Western Polynesia: A Study in Cultural Differentiation." ES 7:1-192, p. 85.