Patupaiarehe
Patupaiarehe are supernatural beings in Māori mythology, often described as pale-skinned with red or blonde hair. They look human but live in misty forests or mountains, away from people. Sunlight harms them, so they are active mostly at night or on foggy days.
↻ synthesized from 5 sources
When
- First attested
- 1642 CE
- Attested period
- 1642 – 2020
- Historical notes
- First contact with Europeans in 1642 may have been interpreted as encounter with Patupaiarehe.
Relationships
- syncretized with
- Engkanto
- co occurs with
- Leprechaun, Korpokkur, Paupueo, Sihirtia, Vazimba, Hinerehia, Tuehu, Te Rangitamai, Tongakohu, Rotokohu, Papatūānuku, Ranginui, Io Matua Kore, Matakerepō, Mataaho, Ohomatakamokamo, Trow, Huldufólk, Taotao Mona, Anito, Menehune, Rūaumoko, Mahuika
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“In Māori culture, Patupaiarehe are beings similar to Philippine engkanto and European elves and fairies. Patupaiarehe are supernatural beings in Māori mythology, often described as pale-skinned with red or blonde hair. They look human but live in misty forests or mountains, away from people.”
#7140 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Patupaiarehe, similar supernatural beings in Māori mythology”
#8533 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Patupaiarehe Menehune Taotao Mona Anito”
#8580 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“In the South Island, patupaiarehe are mostly replaced by the Maero, a different race of supernatural beings, though legends about patupaiarehe are still present. James Cowan suggested that if the patupaiarehe did exist they might have been descendants of an early South Island iwi called Hāwea, whose skin was described as 'ruddy or copper-coloured'”
#8624 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“made as punishment against a tribe of patupaiarehe, supernatural beings living in the Waitākere Ranges, who used deadly magic from the earth to defeat a war party of patupaiarehe from the Hunua Ranges”
#31597 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5