World › New Zealand
Māori Wāhi Tapu Sacred Groves & Tapu Trees
Aotearoa / New Zealand (North & South Islands)
New Zealand
Active (Heritage NZ wāhi tapu listings)
Regional cluster
- Location
- Aotearoa / New Zealand (North & South Islands)
- Coordinates
- ~38.5°S 176.0°E (region)
- Elevation
- Varies
- Size
- Varies (groves, tūāhu shrines, tapu trees)
- Age / Founded
- Pre-European (Māori tradition)
- Status
- Active (Heritage NZ wāhi tapu listings)
- Deity & Religion
- Atua & ancestral tapu; Māori traditional religion
- Community & Guardians
- Māori iwi/hapū (kaitiaki)
- Vernacular name
- Wāhi tapu / tūāhu (sacred grove)
- Record type
- Regional cluster
Cultural practices & uses
Tūāhu shrines & tapu groves; burial/wāhi tapu sites; rock & tree art as visual language (pātikitiki, poutama, koru, kowhaiwhai) communicating status & warnings
Plant species
Native forest incl. tapu trees (e.g., tōtara, karaka groves)
Biome & fauna
Aotearoa temperate rainforest
Threats & protection
Protected via Heritage New Zealand (wāhi tapu); kaitiakitanga
Source
Te Ara — Tūāhu and wāhi tapu; Heritage NZ — Wāhi Tapu; Te Ara — whakairo