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Story: Kurī – Polynesian dogs

Kōpūwai

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Kōpūwai

This drawing shows the giant Kōpūwai and his two-headed dogs. Kōpūwai lived with his kurī in a lair by the Mataau (Clutha) River in Otago. When he kidnapped a young girl, he was hunted down and killed along with his dogs by the girl’s relatives.

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Private collection

Reference: Pauline Cartwright, Kopuwai the water swallower. Auckland: Scholastic, 1998, p. 9

by Phillip Paea

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

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How to cite this page

Basil Keane, Kurī – Polynesian dogs – Traditional accounts of kurī, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/16232/kopuwai (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Basil Keane, published 1 March 2009.