taniwhan.
/ˈtanɪwɑː/, U.S. /ˈtænəˌfɑ/, /ˈtænəˌwɑ/, New Zealand English /ˈtʌnifʌ/, /ˈtʌnɪfə/, /ˈtʌnɪfɑː/ New Zealand.
A mythical monster supposed to reside in deep water.
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the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [noun] > aquatic monster or serpent
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1840 J. S. Polack Manners & Customs New Zealanders II. xiii. 126 The additional name of Taniwoa is added, (a water god).
1842 W. R. Wade Journey Northern Island N.Z. i. 34 One of our boatmen quickly repeated that the place was tapued for the tanewa (a water demon).
1863 F. E. Maning Old N.Z. ii. 26 Down, villain! down to..the Taniwha cave!
1882 W. D. Hay Brighter Britain! II. 214 They [sc. the Maori] have a tale of these taniwha..somewhat parallel to our nursery stories of dragons.
1905 W. Baucke Where White Man Treads 38 His [sc. the Maori's] existence was burdened with the knowledge of huge reptilian monsters, ngarara on land, and taniwha in the water.
1921 H. Guthrie-Smith Tutira x. 70 They felt the net being dragged away from them by the taniwha known to haunt the bay.
1938 R. Finlayson Brown Man's Burden 66 The carved taniwha monsters of the meeting-house.
1948 J. K. Baxter Blow, Wind of Fruitfulness 37 Riding the logs upstream, and waiting for the taniwha.
1966 Encycl. N.Z. I. 48/2 Places along the sea shore were feared because they were the haunts of the taniwha, awesome water monsters with man-killing tendencies.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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