Polynesian Mythology

What is Polynesian Mythology about?

Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race is George Grey’s landmark collection of Māori myths, legends, and oral traditions. First published in 1855, this work compiles narratives Grey gathered directly from Māori elders during his tenure as Governor of New Zealand. The collection includes creation myths, tales of demigods like Māui, accounts of ancestral migrations across the Pacific, and stories of supernatural beings and heroic adventures. Grey learned the Māori language to conduct his research firsthand, giving the collection an authenticity that distinguishes it from many contemporary ethnographic works. The book covers Māori cosmogonic traditions—the origins of the world, the separation of Rangi and Papa (Sky Father and Earth Mother), and the exploits of culture heroes. It also documents historical traditions relating to the great canoe migrations that brought Polynesian peoples to New Zealand. As one of the earliest systematic collections of Polynesian oral literature, this work remains a foundational text in Pacific anthropology and comparative mythology.