A Maori Myth about Kiwi Birds

One day, as Tāne Mahuta (god of forests and of birds) walked through the forest, he looked up at his children, which were the trees, reaching for the sky.

Sadly, they had begun to get sick and die. Insects crawled the length of the trunks, eating away the life of the trees.

Tāne Mahuta talked to his brother, Tāne-hokahoka, who called together his children, the birds of the air.

Tāne Mahuta spoke to them.

“Something is eating my children, the trees. I need one of you to come down from the forest roof and live on the floor, so that my children can be saved, and your home can be saved. Who will come?”

Not a single bird spoke.

When asked personally, the Tūī, the Pūkeko and the Pīpīwharauroa all said no.

Tāne-hokahoka turned to the Kiwi bird.

“E Kiwi, will you come down from the forest roof?”

“I will.”

Great joy filled the hearts of the gods, for this little bird was giving them hope. But Tāne Mahuta felt he should warn Kiwi of what would happen.