Māori legend says the North Island of New Zealand is a giant fish that the demigod Māui hauled out of the sea — and the bays and harbors are bite-marks where his brothers ate it. The South Island is his canoe, and Stewart Island is his anchor. Māori cosmology blends Polynesian voyaging tradition with the unique landscape of Aotearoa, weaving together gods, ancestors, and the land itself into a living whakapapa (genealogy).
Each round presents 10 randomized questions from a pool of 50, with four multiple-choice options and instant feedback after every answer. Your final score comes with a performance tier and shareable results.
You'll cover Ranginui and Papatūānuku, Tāne Mahuta's separation of the parents, the trickster Māui's exploits, the fish of Māui, the haka, Aotearoa's mythical homeland Hawaiki, the Great Fleet canoes, tā moko, the marae, Te Reo Māori, and the spiritual concepts of mauri, mana, tapu, and wairua.
Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga is the great Polynesian trickster culture-hero. In Māori tradition, he fished up the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui), slowed the sun by snaring it with a noose, and brought fire from the goddess Mahuika — but died trying to win immortality from Hine-nui-te-pō.
The haka is a Māori posture-dance traditionally performed for war, welcome, and ceremony. The most famous is "Ka Mate," composed by chief Te Rauparaha around 1820 and performed by the All Blacks rugby team since 1905. The All Blacks also use "Kapa o Pango," composed in 2005.
Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand, usually translated as "Land of the Long White Cloud." It refers to the cloud bank that the wife of Polynesian voyager Kupe is said to have spotted, leading the first canoes to the islands around 1300 CE.
Last updated: May 2026