tamatane

A talisman used to dispel enchantments of others. The tamatane was thrown at Tama-nui-a-raki in the underworld by the ancestral spirits, and Tama leaving his shape as a white heron, resumed his human form.

References

Sources

  • Tregear, Edward. (1891). Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Wellington: Government Printer, p. 458.
  • Wohlers, J. F. H. (1876). "Mythology and Tradition of the Maori." New Zealand Institute, Transactions 8:108-123, p. 112.