Supernatural forest and mountain people in M?ori traditions, associated with mist, secrecy, music, and places beyond ordinary settlement. Patupaiarehe are usually heard before they are seen: flute music travels through cloud or deep bush and may draw a listener away from a safe path.
Accounts differ by iwi. Some describe pale or reddish hair and avoidance of cooked food or daylight; others emphasize specialist knowledge, net-making, or relationships with human communities. Older English writing often called them 'fairies,' a comparison that can obscure a specifically M?ori body of tradition. The archive retains the name patupaiarehe and treats local accounts as authoritative.