Patupaiarehe

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Patupaiarehe stamp

In Māori tradition patupaiarehe, also known as tūrehu and pakepakehā, were fairy-like creatures of the forests and mountain tops. Although they had some human attributes, patupaiarehe were regarded not as people but as supernatural beings.

They were seldom seen, and an air of mystery and secrecy still surrounds them. In most traditions, those who encountered patupaiarehe were able to understand their language. But in one account they were unintelligible.

Physical features

Patupaiarehe had light skin, and red or fair hair. Historian James Cowan was told that ‘they were a lighter complexion than Maori; their hair was of a dull golden or reddish hue, urukehu, such as is sometimes seen in Maori of today.’

Unlike Māori, they were never tattooed. Mohi Tūrei of Ngāti Porou described their skin as white, albino or the colour of red ochre. Their eye colour varied from light blue to black.

There is still debate about their height. The Tūhoe tribe records that they were small, but others say they were similar in size to humans. Whanganui stories claim them to be giants, more than 2 metres tall.

Where did they live?

Patupaiarehe were generally found deep in the forests, or on mist-covered hilltops. In these isolated places they settled and built their homes, sometimes described as forts. In some stories their houses and pa were built from swirling mist. In others, they were made from kareao (supplejack vine).

In the North Island they were said to live mainly in the Waikato–Waipā basin, the Cape Colville–Te Aroha range, the hills about Rotorua, the Urewera ranges and Wairoa districts, and the Waitākere ranges in the Auckland region.

South Island traditions had them living mainly in the hills around Lyttelton Harbour, Akaroa and the Tākitimu range, and in the hills between the Arahura River and Lake Brunner.

What kind of people were they?

Patupaiarehe society was kinship-based, similar to Māori society. In 1894 Hoani Nahe, an elder of the Ngāti Maru people, recalled three sub-tribes of patupaiarehe: Ngāti Kura, Ngāti Korakorako, and Ngāti Tūrehu. Tahurangi, Whanawhana, and Nukupori were important chiefs. They were generally a closed group who shunned intruders, and were unfriendly to those who ventured into their midst.

Patupaiarehe were hunters and gatherers, surviving on raw forest foods and sometimes fishing from the shores of the sea or a lake. Their canoes were made of kōrari (flax stalks). Cooked food was offensive or foul to them. In different traditions, albino birds and eels, red flax and red eels were considered their property, and trouble befell Māori who took any of these.

Fearing the light, they were active mainly in the twilight hours and at night, or when the mist was heavy enough to shield them. They wore flax garments (pākērangi), dyed red, but also rough mats (pora or pūreke). They were also known for playing kōauau and pūtōrino (flutes).

Written by Martin Wikaira. ‘Patupaiarehe – Patupaiarehe and ponaturi’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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