Tukoio is the name of a legendary or mythological chief in Māori mythology. In a story from the Māori tradition of the

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

area, Tukoio, a mortal man, came across a

Maero In Māori tradition, the Maero (or Mohoao) are an iwi-atua or supernatural people from New Zealand. They are sometimes described as giants or wild men of the woods, and inhabit mountains and forest, particularly in the South Island and Tararua ...

Mohoao In Māori tradition, the Maero (or Mohoao) are an iwi-atua or supernatural people from New Zealand. They are sometimes described as giants or wild men of the woods, and inhabit mountains and forest, particularly in the South Island and Tararua ...

, a wild person or monster much feared in Maori legend. The creature instantly attacked him, fighting fiercely until Tukoio cut off its limbs and head, which he took as a trophy back to his village. However, when the severed head cried out for help from its clan, Tukoio instantly dropped the head and ran, fearing retaliation. When he and some of his villagers returned, they found the Mohoao gone, having reassembled itself and returned to the forest.

References

* Tukoio, A chief of the upper Whanganui. ''

Journal of the Polynesian Society The Polynesian Society is a non-profit organisation based at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, dedicated to the scholarly study of the history, ethnography, and mythology of Oceania. History The society was co-founded in 1892 by Percy ...

'', Vol 15:43-44, 1906. * Bacon, Ronald Leonard, 2004. ''Mohoao, the fierce fairy person: a story from the forests of Whanganui''. Waiatarua Pub: Auckland, New Zealand. ( A children's reader). Legendary Māori people {{Māori-myth-stub