Tāwhaki: The Deeds of a Demigod recalls the miraculous life of Tāwhaki. Similar to Māui, Tāwhaki was a demigod who possessed mighty powers. Tāwhaki almost died at the hands of his brothers-in-law but was found by his wife Hine-piripiri and revived. This near-death experience revealed Tāwhaki's status as a demigod, and from this point Tāwhaki continued to use his powers and gifts to help those around him in ways no human could. This book explores many of these stories, including those of Tāwhaki restoring sight to his blind grandmother and climbing the heavens to find his wife and child.

This is the Māori language edition of Te Hiakai Tangata:The Taniwha of Tuarā-Rangaia. This is a story of a taniwha that lives beside a track between villages and menaces travellers and the surrounding iwi. When a chief's son is taken by the taniwha, Te Hiakai, the people devise many plans to trap and kill the taniwha, but each time Te Hiakai outwits them. In the end, Pōhutukawa, a chief's daughter, speaks to the taniwha. Through her words a spell is broken, and the taniwha transforms into a young warrior, Te Haeata, who had been cursed by a tohunga long ago. Pōhutukawa and Te Haeata fall in love and live out their lives together. But Te Haeata never quite shakes off the spell, and in old age, he transforms into an eel and becomes a guardian in the Rangitāiki river.

This is the Māori language edition of Tāwhaki: The Deeds of a Demigod. The book recalls the miraculous life of Tāwhaki. Similar to Māui, Tāwhaki was a demigod who possessed mighty powers. Tāwhaki almost died at the hands of his brothers-in-law but was found by his wife Hine-piripiri and revived. This near-death experience revealed Tāwhaki's status as a demigod, and from this point Tāwhaki continued to use his powers and gifts to help those around him in ways no human could. This book explores many of these stories, including those of Tāwhaki restoring sight to his blind grandmother and climbing the heavens to find his wife and child.

This is a story of a taniwha that lives beside a track between villages and menaces travellers and the surrounding iwi. When a chief's son is taken by the taniwha, Te Hiakai, the people devise many plans to trap and kill the taniwha, but each time Te Hiakai outwits them. In the end, Pōhutukawa, a chief's daughter, speaks to the taniwha. Through her words a spell is broken, and the taniwha transforms into a young warrior, Te Haeata, who had been cursed by a tohunga long ago. Pōhutukawa and Te Haeata fall in love and live out their lives together. But Te Haeata never quite shakes off the spell, and in old age, he transforms into an eel and becomes a guardian in the Rangitāiki river.