Story: Te aitanga pepeke – the insect world

Giraffe weevil

Giraffe weevil

The odd-looking giraffe weevil may have been the ‘pepeke-matarūwai’ (insect with a silly face) in the tradition about Tāne fetching the baskets of knowledge. The pepeke-matarūwai was among the army of insects sent by Tāne’s brother Whiro, who also wanted the baskets.

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Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand
Reference: In0549Mrt.tif
Photograph by John Marris

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How to cite this page:

Bradford Haami, 'Te aitanga pepeke – the insect world - What is te aitanga pepeke?', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/12609/giraffe-weevil (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Bradford Haami, published 24 Sep 2007