The Patupaiarehe
Māori tradition tells of the patupaiarehe, fair-skinned people of the misty hills, who play haunting music on their flutes at night.
What was reported
In Māori tradition, the patupaiarehe are a people who live in the high, misty forests of mountains such as Pirongia and the Hunua Ranges. They are said to be pale-skinned, with red or fair hair, and to come out only at night or in mist, as sunlight is harmful to them.
Stories tell that their flute music can be heard drifting from the hills, and that it sometimes lured people away.
Explanations offered
The patupaiarehe are figures of folklore, like the fairies of European tradition. Some writers have suggested the stories reflect early contact with other peoples, but there is no evidence for this, and many Māori see them as part of a spiritual landscape rather than a historical one.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- Mount Pirongia, Waikato, New Zealand
- Witnesses
- Māori tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.