Te Ika a Maui

Richard Taylor's Te Ika a Māui is a mid-19th-century missionary account documenting Māori customs, myths, and history from a European missionary perspective.

The book frames Māori origins and society through biblical and missionary interpretations common to that era.

Taylor's writing influenced early Pākehā discourse about Māori but reflected colonial and religious biases.

It has historical value for its records but must be read critically because of its interpretative lens and cultural assumptions.

Scholars use it as a source for how missionaries understood and represented Māori in the 1800s.