Encyclopedia of Giants and Humanoids in Myth, Legend and Folklore by Theresa Bane

Author:Theresa Bane
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2016-05-26T04:00:00+00:00

Kopuwai

Maori of New Zealand have in their mythology a scaly GIANT, or OGRE, named Kopuwai (“belly of water” or “a wet place”). One of many GIANTS who settled in the south, he is the only one who has any number of tales attributed to him. In his best known tale he swallowed the entirety of the Molyneux River in order to capture a Rapuwai woman named Kaiamio; for this he was transformed into the Old Man of the Range and sent to live in the mountains of central Otago. Kopuwai was the master of a pack of ten two-headed dogs. When Kopuwai was finally transformed into a pillar of stone, his pack dispersed. Six of them took refuge in a cave on a riverbank; they too were transformed into stone and their heads are said to still remain sticking out of the water of the Ka-waikoukou to this day.

Source: Polynesian Society (N.Z.), Journal of the Polynesian Society, Volume 27, 152–53

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