pūrākau

Pūrākau is a Māori term for traditional narratives—myths, legends, and stories that convey ancestral knowledge, values, and worldviews.

These aren't mere entertainment but living repositories of cultural wisdom, explaining origins, relationships between people and land, and proper conduct.

In contemporary usage, pūrākau has been adopted in New Zealand education and research as an indigenous storytelling methodology: The researchers used pūrākau to center Māori perspectives in the study.