Māripi (shark-tooth knife)

Māripi (shark-tooth knife)

Sharks’ teeth form a serrated blade on the māripi (shark-tooth knife). In tradition, Ao-kehu, a taniwha slayer, climbed into a hollowed log, to be swallowed by the taniwha in the Whanganui River known as Tūtaeporoporo. He used two māripi to cut his way out, killing the taniwha in the process.