Taniwha

I've been better.

But at least the Taniwha didn't eat me.

Ha ha.

I'm not joking.

I'm sort of inspired by that.

I've kind of got... landscape i call them landscape paintings i don't really know what but i'm just really wanting to um you know respond to respond to the land in a very different way as opposed to how i might paint a tiki yeah but i love having them in the same room to have a conversation with one another as well and um that's really the sort of thing i'm doing at the moment um but i love living in the north and living in proximity to Ngāti Rangi and to the Taniwha and being able to just travel there every day.

You know, going up to the Utapa to pay my respects.

It's easy.

Both of us are given the squinty eyes of like, ooh, Gilman.

Descriptions of inland river-dwelling Taniwha described them as large and almost lizard-like.

Ooh, maybe they were the lizard people.

Maybe this is the...

Yes.

And I'm going for the Taniwha.

Oh, yeah, the Taniwha.

A lot of mana on

the line for the Taniwha as well.

Who's running for the Bay of Plenty Steamers? Is it Horry Bop?

No, I think they've got

Why would I? You don't see everything, do we? And that kind of taught me, kind of taught me a few harsh lessons i was like okay i need to reel in the access a little bit take people a bit more on if they're messaging me a lot a lot i know that i've probably got to be a bit more careful whereas they've just messaged me back and forth a few times and they're just telling about their story and then we just happen to have a little tail end chat about it fine

yeah dan mispronounced a new zealand's Tanifa or something.

I can't remember what it was.

And he got New Zealanders up in arms.

You don't know.

The Taniwhas look after it up there.

It will be.

No, but the Taniwhas have blessed it.

Yeah.

Up the whas, you know?

Number six.

From Maori mythology, what sacred water guardians shape rivers and protect tribes? Taniwha.

They can look like giant reptiles, sharks, whales, or logs.

Number seven.

So he was good.

Um, Sam Knock for, for the Taniwha, they were good too, and it was cool 'cause they did the haka in the beginning, the, the, the Northland team.

And it's good to see the crowd in the stands, [laughs] like, all those Northland supporters, eh? Man, they, they love the team, and that's good to see.

After seeing, you know, when you watch a Wellington game, there's no one in the stands.

Growing up in New Zealand in the 80s, 90s, Maori culture was a little less protected and less sensitive politically.

So it was just like everyone would just say Taniwha to mean monster, really, when I was a kid.

So when we talked about, oh, the Taniwha will get you, that's like saying the monster will get you.

But nowadays, and the reason we probably haven't had a movie is Maori culture and Maori language, everything in the last 15 or so years has just become a lot better understood.

respected, protected, slash people are learning the language again.