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Dominion Museum Bulletin No. 9
First published 1925
Reprinted without textual alteration 1976
Page
Page number 213 should read 205 and page number 205 should read 213. The actual page content is in correct sequence.
An account of Maori agriculture, as practised in pre-European days, might be viewed as a task of no difficulty, and one to be soon disposed of. It has, however, taken many years to collect the data contained in this paper. The difficulties that arose during such collection were traceable to three causes, viz., the different methods employed in different districts, the unravelling of the myths and peculiar beliefs connected with various cultivated food plants and their origin, and, thirdly, the fact that the many ceremonial performances and ritual formulæ pertaining to the cultivation of the prized kumara were rapidly passing into the realm of oblivion.
On the whole the subject may be deemed one of considerable interest. Although ignorant of the use of metals, and possessing but extremely rude agricultural implements, yet we find that the neolithic Maori has preserved some highly interesting features in his practises and beliefs connected with agriculture. He has carried his economic plants across wide seas, and so made the arts of the husbandman known in many far scattered isles. He has had to change his principle cultivated products, his materials for clothing, and his manner of life, as he settled lands differing widely in climate and natural products. He has, in common with many other peoples, surrounded his principal cultivated food product with a network of myths, superstitions, tapu, and ritual performances. His procedure in the matter of cultivation of the kumara resembles a religious function.
There is certain evidence that, in long past times in far distant lands the Maori may have been a cultivator of grain, and that a rice goddess was transformed in to a "mother" of the sweet potato. One of the best of native authorities of the middle of the 19th century stated that the principal cultivated food product of the old homeland of Irihia was a small seed called ari, and ari is the Dravidian word for rice.
Our task is, however, to describe the methods of agriculture employed by the Maori of New Zealand in days of yore, and not to discuss theories as to his habits and habitat of twenty centuries ago. It will be seen that, when the ancestors of the Maori settled in these isles, they experienced a climate differing much from that of their former home, the isles of Eastern Polynesia. They would find that some of their food producing plants could not be grown here, and that others demanded increased labour and care. In some districts they could not be grown at all.
Ever the Maori was adaptable. If he had to give up the coco-nut and breadfruit in these isles, he made the so called fern root one of his principal food supplies. If he had ever known the sago palm, then he found some kind of a substitute for it in various species of Cordyline. And ever he looked to the gods, and the shining stars above, to provide him with necessary sustenance, as his forbears had done in the hidden homeland that lies far away beneath the setting sun.
My indebtedness to native friends for the necessary data is by no means limited to the few individuals whose names are mentioned in the narrative. They are as numerous as the sands of Hine-one, for I have been endeavouring to unravel tangled skeins for more years than I care to count. Thanks are also due to the curators of the Auckland, Whanganui, New Plymouth, and Hastings Museums for permission to photograph divers artifacts in their collections, likewise to Mr. W. H. Skinner, Dr. P. H. Buck, Mr. T. W. Downes and others who have made the necessary arrangements for obtaining such illustrations. In this work of procuring photographs from the various museums mentioned the Maori Ethnological Research Board has taken a leading part. The drawings of Miss E. Richardson and photographs taken by Mr. H. Hamilton show the forms of the old native implements, and serve that purpose more effectually than do the written descriptions.
Readers of this paper will note some tedious repetition, as in descriptions of old usages, but it is well to bring together the observations of early writers, and in most cases the various accounts illustrate certain differences in procedure, as in different districts or among different tribes.
Polynesians essentially an agricultural people. Polynesian sea rovers carried food plants across wide seas. Food plants introduced into New Zealand. The aute or paper mulberry. Maori tradition of introduction of coco-nut. Traditionary knowledge of homeland. Staple food products differed in different lands, Cook's remarks on cultivations of Anamuka and Lefuka. Changes in agriculture and clothing material. The far off lands of Uru and Irihia. An important food product of the homeland was ari. Polynesians have preserved rice names. Lately introduced fruit trees in Polynesia. Most of the Polynesian food plants came from the west. Many local varieties prove long continued cultivation. Original habitat of kumara and coco-nut doubtful.
In treating of the agricultural activities of the Maori folk of New Zealand it is necessary that we glance at those of the native inhabitants of Polynesia, inasmuch as we know that the two peoples are closely allied, that the Maori of these isles is but an offshoot of the adventurous race that has settled in so many isles of the great Pacific.
The Polynesians are essentially an agricultural people, and must have attained that culture stage prior to their leaving the original homeland of the race, wherever that may have been. This is shown, not so much by tradition, as by the fact that of the great number of scattered communities of this race throughout the island world, all depend to some extent on cultivated food products, save in such small isles whereon agriculture is impossible. Wherever the Polynesian has settled you find him a cultivator of such available food plants as will flourish in the locality. These food plants were undoubtedly carried from isle to isle by Polynesian voyagers, whose efforts at acclimatisation sometimes failed, but were often successful. Such failures are accounted for by settlement in small arid isles unsuitable for purposes of cultivation, or by the fact that the voyagers had reached a land the climate of which was unsuitable to the growth of certain plants. Thus we know that the coco-nut, carried far and wide by man athwart the Pacific failed to grow when brought to New Zealand, that the introduced kumara (Ipomoea batatas), taro (Colocasia antiquorum) and hue (Lagenaria vulgaris) produced good crops here in suitable situations, under careful treatment, but that an attempt to cultivate the kumara at the Chatham Isles was a failure. Concerning the yam we have but little information. Of other economic plants, the aute (Broussonetia papyrifera) was introduced into New Zealand, but presumably did not flourish here, for it had become rare in Cook's time. Apparently the only specimens seen by him were half a dozen growing at the Bay of Islands, which seem to have been viewed by natives as a rarity to be shown to visitors, and a few plants on the East Coast. The ti pore (Cordyline terminalis) is also probably an introduced plant, and according to the evidence of Cook and his companions, the yam (Dioscorea sp.) was cultivated by the Maori.
Reverting to the coco-nut, the late Mr John White collected in the far north an interesting tradition concerning it. It was recited by a native named Patiki, to whom it had been imparted by one Mato, a tohunga or wise man, in the year 1839. He gave some account of lands formerly occupied by the ancestors of the Maori. They once dwelt in a land called Waerota, from which they migrated to Hawaiki, and subsequently to Mata-te-ra, from which land they came to Aotea (New Zealand). "Our ancestors said that large animals existed on certain big islands adjacent to Waerota… Those islands were very warm places, where people wore but little clothing, a mere apron. Some of the peoples of those parts were exceedingly dark skinned, and smelt unpleasantly when near. Some were light skinned, an agricultural people. The dark skinned folk had curly hair; a dirty people, who cultivated but little … and wore no clothing. Their hair was reddish, and bushy … The clothing of our home over the ocean from which we came, was the aute, made from the bark of that tree … Oil was obtained from fruit of trees of those parts, the inner part being subjected to the heat of fire produced oil. The name of that fruit was Ni, it was the size of a child's head. That food product was brought hither, and the uhikaho [yam], but did not grow, hence are they no more in these times." Now ni and niu are names of the coco-nut in Polynesia, hence we have here a tradition of it as having been known to the ancestors of the Maori. The failure to introduce it here must have been a keen disappointment to the old Polynesian settlers, who, no doubt, would also attempt the introduction of the breadfruit and banana, the first being mentioned in old Maori songs under its Polynesian name of kuru.
Of the original homeland of the Maori people we know but little, a scant account of it appears in native tradition. Possessing no form of script, the Polynesians were compelled to rely upon oral tradition in handing down knowledge, and many centuries must have elapsed since they left the hidden motherland of the race. Of such traditions the Takitumu tribes have preserved the most complete version, owing probably to the fact that their forefathers brought with them from Eastern Polynesia several of the learned record keepers, conservers of the unwritten tribal lore. These traditions contain an interesting allusion to a food product of the original homeland. It would appear that the Polynesians, having been great wanderers, have, at some time in the past, been compelled to submit to great changes in their food supplies. Thus, in their original home, which is described as a great mainland, certain food products were utilised that are not again mentioned in tradition. It is probable that, when the ancestors of the Polynesians left the homeland and entered the great island system, as related in tradition, they were compelled to give up certain food products and utilise those of their new homes. Some of the latter would be peculiar to the new region, and unknown on the mainland, such as the breadfruit. Again, when voyaging across the Pacific, and settling on many isles, they would find that some of these produced a much greater variety of food than others. Apart from the products demanding true cultivation, such as the kumara (sweet potato) yam, taro and gourd, others that merely needed to be planted, such as the coco-nut, breadfruit, banana, etc., were undoubtedly carried to many islands by old time voyagers, and thus distributed over a wide area. Thus the coco-nut was found from Central America westward across the Pacific and Indian Oceans to Africa; the breadfruit from Malaysia to the Marquesas, the banana in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Isles, and the west coast of America. When settling some of the islands, however, it would be found that some food supplying plants would not flourish, hence such supplies would have to be given up. The breadfruit will not grow on many islets where the coco-nut flourishes. The kumara can be grown much further from the equator than most other Polynesian food plants, but the yam is less hardy. In such localities as Rapa and Sunday islands, and the Sandwich Group, the native settlers were compelled to do without some tropical products that flourished in the warmer isles.
In his account of Anamuka Isle, Tongan Group, Cook writes as follows:—"The island is very well cultivated, except in a few places, and there are some others, which, though they appear to
In speaking of Lefuka isle, he says:—"We observed large spots covered with the paper mulberry trees, and the plantations in general were well stocked with such roots and fruits as are the natural produce of the island. To these I made some addition by sowing the seeds of Indian corn, melons, pumpkins, and the like"
Cook introduced the pineapple at the Tongan Isles, also at Tahiti. He also introduced the shaddock at Tahiti, which fruit tree he had found the Tongans in possession of.
When Polynesians settled in New Zealand, they lost many of their food plants, and those introduced called for increased labour in cultivation. Also in certain areas of these isles they did not flourish, and considerable reliance on wild products became necessary. Thus it was that the aruhe, the rhizome of Pteris aquilina, became the principal vegetable food of the Maori in many districts. In like manner the Polynesian settlers in New Zealand were forced to make a marked change in their clothing, owing to the colder climate and the fact that the ante, from which their felted bark cloth was made in Polynesia, did not flourish in New Zealand when introduced. It is a curious illustration of the effect of long use and conservatism that a kind of such felted material was formerly manufactured from the bark of our "lace-bark" tree (Hoheria), soon to be abandoned for the more durable and satisfactory garments woven from Phormium fibre. A similar change occurred when the Chatham Isles were settled from New Zealand, when seal skins came into use as clothing material.
Return we to the old homeland of the Maori, there to note one of his food products. A tradition preserved by the Takitumu tribes runs as follows—The original home of the Maori was known as Uru, which is described as a tuawhenua or mainland. The ancestors of the Maori seem to have migrated from this land to a land named Irihia, lying to the eastward, which had been made known to them by one Tu-te-rangi-atea, who reported thus—"To the eastward lies a fine land named Irihia, inhabited by dark skinned folk, a spare, ari and hua a tai, and kata, and porokakata, and tahuwaero, and koropiri." These foods are described as being kai toto kore or bloodless foods, a curious expression, hence they were used as offerings to the gods. The hua a tai may have been ocean products, but the ari is said to have been a small seed. It was a cultivated food. Rarotongan traditions, as shown in Hawaiki, by Mr S. Percy Smith, state that, in their ancestral homeland of Atia, the main food product was vari, but all knowledge as to what that food was has been lost. Both the Rarotongan vari and Maori ari have been compared with vari, fari and pari, names for rice. The Bishop of Dornakal, South India, informs me that ari is the Dravidian word for rice The great hot land of Irihia, of Maori tradition, may also be compared with Vrihia, an ancient name of India, and vrihi was a Sanscrit name for rice. The Rarotongan account is that vari was the food of their remote ancestors until they obtained the breadfruit, which they would certainly not encounter until they entered the island system, say Indonesia. Maori tradition states that their ancestors left Irihia, owing to prolonged fighting with dark-skinned peoples, and migrated by sea toward the rising sun. They wandered on, sojourning in several lands, until we find them occupying recognised islands of Polynesia.
Those interested in these rice words and in the above traditions will find some interesting information in the Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 13, p. 133; also Vol. 22, pp. 12-13.
Although it is now impossible to say what food supplies of the old homeland of the Maori are represented by the names handed down in tradition, and given above, yet we are on surer ground when we come to his sojourn in Polynesia. In that region the natives are utilising the same food products that their ancestors did prior to the time when progenitors of the Maori left eastern Polynesia and settled in New Zealand, with the addition of certain food plants introduced by Europeans in modern times. The principal vegetable foods of the Polynesian area at the time when Europeans first came among them, were the bread-fruit, banana, yam, sweet potato, taro, coco-nut, gourd, arrowroot and ti or Cordyline terminalis. At that period the sweet orange, the mango, the avocado, and a number of other food plants now found there, had not been introduced.
In a paper on Cultivated Food Plants of the Polynesians, published in Vol. XXXIII. of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, Mr T. F. Cheeseman remarks as follows:—"The position Cordyline terminalis would increase the list to five.
When we consider this evidence, as also the fact that the Maori succeeded in introducing five and probably six of the economic plants of Polynesia into New Zealand, one of which is only propagated by cuttings, then we see how erroneous were the remarks of Colenso, when he stated that the Polynesians could not possibly have carried such plants from isle to isle of the island system, or to these shores.
An important fact in regard to the length of time during which certain economic plants have been cultivated, as also the question of their transportation, is the flowerless and seedless condition to which some of them have been reduced, such as the sweet potato and breadfruit. In these cases also a great number of varieties have been produced by continued cultivation, e.g., twenty-three varieties of breadfruit at Tahiti, and some dozens of the sweet potato in New Zealand. Ellis states that many more varieties of breadfruit were known to early missionaries.
Rutland makes comment as follows:—"The presence of the seedless breadfruit and bananas in eastern Polynesia, and of the aute or paper mulberry in New Zealand, proves beyond doubt that both regions were regularly colonised, and not accidentally peopled, as many writers have asserted." Again he writes—"What we particularly gather from the cultivated plants and domesticated animals of Polynesia is that in the history of the Pacific there was a period during which the region was in communication with the Malay Islands, and probably with the Asiatic mainland, and that this period was followed by a long interval of isolation, terminated only by the advent of Europeans."
The sweet potato and the coco-nut are two economic plants of which the origin is doubtful, the former having been cultivated in America, the Pacific Islands and Asia for a long period, while the coco-nut was known all across the Pacific and Indian oceans, from islands off Panama to Madagascar and the east coast of Africa.
We have seen that the inhabitants of Polynesia possessed a number of tropical and subtropical food plants well adapted to their needs, most of which are thought to have been introduced into that region from the west, but that only four such plants needing careful cultivation had they succeeded in introducing into New Zealand. We know that the Polynesian race, of which our Maori folk are a branch, is essentially an agricultural people. This stage of culture the Polynesians seem to have occupied for a long period of time, before they left the fatherland, where they cultivated ari, also several other plants which are unidentified. The old time Polynesian voyagers may have introduced certain food plants into the eastern Pacific, or he may have found them already acclimatised there by a previous people. When possible he led the life of an agriculturist, and cultivated his food products with much care and no small amount of ceremony; when forced to dwell in isles where no cultivation was possible, he accepted the position with equanimity and subsisted on such products as the gods might provide.
The original settlers of New Zealand. Fern root as a new food product. Non-agricultural tribes. Cultivated food products a mere luxury in some districts. Remarks by early writers. Cultivation of the sweet potato in Canterbury. Food supplies of the far south. Southern limit of food cultivation. Fern root an important food supply. Its mythical origin. Former dense population in certain districts favourable to agriculture. Manner of life in agricultural communities. Cook's remarks on Maori agriculture. Anderson's account. Bank's account. The aute or "cloth plant." The yam seen by early voyagers. Evidence of other early writers. All ranks joined in cultivation work. Neat aspect of native plantations. Post-European decadence of agricultural methods. Remarks by Archdeacon Walsh, by Rev. S. Marsden. Fences. The pernicious pukeko. Breakwinds. Soils and soil names. Proverbial sayings pertaining to agriculture.
It is evident that, when the ancestors of the Maori folk arrived from eastern Polynesia and settled on these shores, they found that the conditions of life in these isles differed widely from those in tropical Polynesia. Here they found an aboriginal folk of inferior culture who seem to have possessed no cultivated food products, and to have subsisted entirely on the natural products of forest, stream and sea. These aborigines are called Mouriuri, sometimes Maruiwi, in Maori tradition, though they do not appear to have had any national or racial name for themselves. Our Maori settlers found here none of the desirable food producing plants of their former island homes, nor do they appear to have introduced any for some time after the arrival of the first immigrants, though there is certainly a lack of agreement about the traditions of the introduction of the sweet potato.
This sudden change from a tropical clime, with its easily obtained food supplies, including the breadfruit, banana, and coconut, which demand no trouble in cultivation, must have been a startling one to the Maori immigrants. They were at once compelled to make considerable changes in their mode of life, and to devote much more time to the task of collecting food supplies than had been necessary in northern climes. Here we have a case in which an agricultural folk were compelled to exist in a lower culture stage aruhe, or rhizome of Pteris aquilina, as a food supply. In later times, when he had introduced the taro and sweet potato, he found that the cultivation of these plants called for increased labour in this land, and could not be grown at all in some parts, thus lessening the supply. Thus it became necessary to still rely on fern root as the principal vegetable food supply in most districts. Such favoured areas as the Auckland isthmus, certain alluvial valleys, and some other localities, may have produced crops sufficient to form the main food supply, but most places were not so favoured. Some sterile or high lying districts, as also parts of the South Island, never produced much cultivated food, the small amount so produced was merely viewed as a luxury. Hence we are told that the tribes of the Tuhoe and Taupo districts, both inland regions, were compelled to rely principally on products of the forest, birds and berries. It was in such places that enormous quantities of berries of the tawa (Beilschmiedia Tawa) and hinau (Eloeocarpus dentatus) were collected and stored for winter use, that birds and rats were carefully preserved for that season, and inferior vegetable products, also earthworms, grubs and the tuatara lizard were utilised as food supplies. In a coastal district of sterile soil, or lands unsuited to the cultivation of the sweet potato, such as the vicinity of Wellington, the natives possessed two main sources of food supply, sea and forest, every man was both a fisherman and a fowler. These advantages were superior to those possessed by the Tuhoe and Taupo natives. Again, we must include some districts and communities where no crops could be grown, where all supplies came direct from forest, stream or sea. The natives of Queen Charlotte Sound were thought by Cook and his companions to have been living in this manner, though it is probable that they had cultivations at places unseen by the voyagers. Cook himself wrote—"To the northward, as I have observed, there are plantations of yams, sweet potatoes, and cocoas [taro], but we saw no such to the southward; the inhabitants therefore of that part of the country must subsist wholly upon fern root and fish, except the scanty and accidental resource which they may find in sea fowl and dogs." The few natives seen at Dusky Sound by Cook were undoubtedly without cultivated foods. Many places occupied by the Maori in the South Island could have provided but a very negligible quantity
In his work Forty Years in New Zealand, the Rev. J. Buller states that the kumara was not cultivated in the South Island, but this was certainly an error. It was grown to a considerable extent in the Nelson district, and also on the eastern coast of the island, where, however, more care was necessary in tending crops than at Nelson. Probably it was never a very important food supply south of Marlborough on the east coast, but would be easier to cultivate at Nelson than in some districts of the North Island.
In his account of Cook's first voyage, Anderson remarks:—"We saw no plantations of cocoas, potatos, and yams, to the southward, though there were many in the northern parts." In his narrative of Cook's third voyage, however, he gives some data supplied by a native of Queen Charlotte Sound, in which occurs the statement that the local natives, at certain times moved to other parts to work in their cultivations. It must be remembered that Queen Charlotte Sound was the only place in the South Island whereat Cook landed during his first voyage. Had he done so in the Nelson district, or certain parts of the coast north of Banks Peninsula, he would have observed proofs of native cultivation of food products.
The Rev. J. Stack in his Kaiapohia gives some account of the cultivation of the kumara in the South Island—"The inhabitants of Kaiapoi were obliged to devote much of their time to the cultivation of the kumara, or sweet potato, and to the preparation of kauru or cabbage tree stems, which they bartered with the inhabitants of other parts of the island for whatever else in the shape of food they stood in need of. The kumara being a native of a tropical climate they found great difficulty in growing it so far south, where frost was likely to prove fatal to its existence. To regulate the temperature of the soil, and to secure perfect drainage, they covered the surface of the kumara plantations with fine gravel to a depth of six inches, which was afterwards formed into mounds about two feet in diameter, and arranged over the field with the precision of the squares on a chess board, and in these mounds the kumara tubers were planted. Breakwinds of manuka branches, varying from two to four feet in height, were erected every few yards apart, and in such a way as to secure the largest amount of sunshine and shelter to each plant."
In Mr Beattie's Murihiku notes we are told that the kumara did not flourish south of Banks Peninsula. Also that, according to kumara was there introduced about the end of the 13th century.
Mr H. Beattie has contributed the following data regarding pre-European agriculture in the South Island:—"My old friend John Puahu Rakiraki, of Te Karoro, Port Molyneux, says that a variety of kumara was grown in the South Island in little mounds formed of, or covered with, sand and gravel, but as to how far south it was grown he cannot exactly define. About 1868 or 1869 the natives at Port Molyneux procured some taro from the North Island and planted them in a suitable environment below Kuru Kowhatu's house on the Whawhapo creek. They were carefully tended, and came up, but never came to anything fit to eat. The same soil grew excellent potatoes. At the same time (1868) the natives planted maize at Whawhapo, but it did not mature.
We must not imagine that, because the southern natives did not grow kumara, taro and hue, that they did not live well. My informant says that by means of the custom of kaihaukai the people of Murihiku obtained kumara and taro from the more favoured people of the north in exchange for mutton birds and other foods which abounded in the south. Various species of duck, also weka, kiwi, kaka, pigeons, swamp-hens, quail, etc., simply swarmed in the south, according to the accounts of the early white settlers. Eels, fresh water crayfish, and kokopu (native trout) were also numerous. The forest furnished a considerable amount of vegetable food. The open lands provided fern root, the roots of the cabbage tree, and some other things. The sea yielded fish, shellfish, seals and edible seaweed. The native rat was also taken in considerable numbers, and a large lizard called karara was at least occasionally eaten.
When Rakai-hautu, forty-two generations ago, explored the South Island, tradition records that he carried his ko (wooden spades) with him. The fact that he brought them over the ocean from Patu-nui-a-Aio to New Zealand in his vessel Uruao shows that the people of that land were agriculturists, and hoped to pursue that profession in the new land. As to whether the immigrants planted any kumara here, we are left in ignorance. It is alleged that this vessel brought the aruhe (Pteris aquilina) and kauru (Cordyline), but that we take as a legendary embellishment. The tradition tells that the Kahui-roko people had the kumara but says that they stopped back at the last Hawaiki, while the Waitaha and Kahui-tipua came on. A chief of the Kahui-roko called Roko-i-tua visited New Zealand about 27 generations ago [See Transactions of N.Z. Institute Vol. 12, pp. 159-162]. It is also said that the vessel Arai-te-uru landed some of its cargo at Whitiaka-te-ra, on the east coast of the North Island, but, a storm arising, the vessel ran south, and was wrecked off Matakaea, near Moerangi, where the kumara it carried became petrified, and are still to be seen there in the form of boulders."
The Rev. F. Dunnage, writing in Canterbury Old and New (p. 163), says relative to Maori life:—"The kumara, being a semi-tropical plant, needed careful attention and protection from the wind and cold. The large pits and trenches still to be seen round the old kumara plantations, for example at the back of St. Stephen's Church—testify to the patient industry of the Maoris in providing the plants with a light, warm, well drained soil. The planting and gathering of the crops were times of solemn interest; special honour was paid to the gods of the harvest. The shrine of one of these was close by where St. Stephen's Church now stands."
A passage in Shortland reads:—"Taumutu occupies a position at the extremity of the Waihora, a very large hapua (lagoon) which extends as far as Banks Peninsula, a distance of 20 miles. This is the most southern part of the island at which maize or kumara has ever been cultivated."
Again in Vol. XXVII. of the Journal of the Polynesian Society, at p. 148, Mr Beattie makes the following statement:—"The kumara was brought by Rokoitua [Rongo-i-tua in the North Island dialect] some four or five generations before A.D. 1350, and did not flourish south of Banks' Peninsula."
A considerable amount of information concerning the introduction of the kumara is preserved in White's Ancient History of the Maori, Vol. 4, also in the Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 2, p. 99; Vol. 24, p. 108, and Transactions of the N.Z. Institute, Vol. 37, p. 130.
Dr. Thomson, in his Story of New Zealand, writes:—"The small finger-shaped sweet potato, brought by the New Zealanders from Hawaiki, furnished much food. The edible part is several inches long. Sweet potatoes are planted in November and are ripe in March. Light sandy soils suit them best, and the warmer the climate the better. In the Middle Island [South Island] they grow with difficulty. After being dug up they are carefully preserved in houses built for their reception, and are eaten either cooked or raw, or after being steeped in the sea and dried in the sun."
We may thus see that there were four phases of domestic economy in Maori life, as regards food supplies:—
It was owing to the fact that the aruhe or fern root was necessarily exalted to an important position in the list of native food supplies, that to it was assigned a special mythical origin, and personified form, in Haumia, said to be one of the offspring of the Sky Parent and the Earth Mother. In fact this humble root may be said to have been given almost divine honours, and in this incident we see how the Maori relied on mythopoetic conceptions in order to exalt a common product of nature, and to account for its origin.
When traversing fertile regions of the North Island, the traveller may often note numerous remains of a former dense population in the form of the earthwork defences of villages, storage pits for crops, and lands cleared of forest, or of surface stones. Such remains are remarkably numerous on the Taranaki coast, in the Bay of Plenty, on the Auckland isthmus and certain other parts of the northern peninsula.
In speaking of the numerous population of the northern peninsula in former times, Judge Maning has written as follows:—"There is also the most unmistakable evidence that vast tracts of country, which have lain wild time out of mind, were once fully cultivated. The ditches for draining the land are still traceable, and large pits are to be seen in hundreds, on the tops of the dry kumara were once stored; and these pits are, in the greatest number, found in the centre of great open tracts of uncultivated country, where a rat in the present day would hardly find subsistence. The old drains and the peculiar growth of the timber, mark clearly the extent of these ancient cultivations ............ These kumara pits, being dug generally in the stiff clay on the hilltops, have, in most cases, retained their shape perfectly, and many seem as fresh and new as if they had been dug but a few years. They are oblong in shape, with the sides regularly sloped. Many collections of these provision stores have outlived Maori tradition, and the natives can only conjecture whom they belonged to. Out of the centre of one of them which I have seen there is now growing a kauri tree one hundred and twenty feet high, and out of another a large totara. The outline of these pits is as perfect as the day they were dug, and the sides have not fallen in in the slightest degree, from which perhaps they have been preserved by the absence of frost, as well as by a beautiful coating of moss, by which they are everywhere covered."
The same authority, a very good one, has left us the following account of the ordinary life and pursuits of the Maori people:—"Their ordinary course of life, when not engaged in warfare, was regular, and not necessarily unhealthy. Their labour, though constant in one shape or other and compelled by necessity, was not too heavy. In the morning, but not early, they descended from the hill pa (fortified village) to the cultivations in the low ground; they went in a body, armed like men going to battle, the spear or club in one hand and the agricultural instrument in the other. The women followed. Long before night, it was counted unlucky to work till dark, they returned to the hill with a reversed order, the women now, and slaves, and lads, bearing fuel and water, in front; they also bore, probably, heavy loads of kumara or other provisions. In the time of year when the crops did not call for their attention, when they were planted and growing, then the whole tribe would remove to some fortified hill at the side of some river, or on the coast, where they would pass months fishing, making nets, clubs, spears, and implements of various descriptions; the women, in all spare time, making mats for clothing, or baskets to carry the crop of kumara in when fit to dig. There was very little idleness, and to be called lazy was a great reproach. It is to be observed that, for several months, the crops could be left thus unguarded with perfect safety, for the Maori, as a general rule, never destroyed Old New Zealand is the best written book on the Maori.
"When the Maori went to cultivate the soil," writes J. A. Wilson, "he did not go by himself, taking perhaps his son or sons, as a European would. No, when he went he went with the commune. It was not his motion, but the motion of a body of people, whom the chief apparently led, while instinctively following the democratic desire. Men and women, boys and girls, all went together as to a picnic, cheerful, happy and contented, and it was a pleasant sight to see them ranged in rows, and digging with their wooden spades, as they rose and fell, and their limbs and bodies swayed rhythmically to the working of the spade, and the chorus of an ancient hymn, invoking a blessing on the fruit of their labour. Still a large yield was not always a benefit, for it would sometimes induce friends and relations to come from a distance and eat the commune out of house and home."
The term ahuwhenua means to cultivate the soil, while ihu-oneone (soiled nose) is applied to an industrious person, a hard worker. Pukumahi means industrious.
We now turn to our early voyagers in search of information as to Maori agriculture as practised when Europeans first landed on these shores. Inasmuch as Tasman did not so land, we obtain no such knowledge from his Journal, and we have to begin with the journals of Cook and his companions.
The first native cultivations seen by Cook seem to have been on the coast between Poverty Bay and the Mahia:—"In sailing along the shore we saw the natives assembled in great numbers, as well upon Portland Island as the main. We could also distinguish several spots of ground that were cultivated; some seemed to be fresh turned up, and lay in furrows like ploughed land and some had plants upon them in different stages of their growth."
The first native plantation visited by these voyagers was at the place called by Cook Tegadoo, just north of Tolaga Bay. In Banks' Journal we read—"Their plantations were now hardly finished, but so well was the ground tilled that I have seldom seen land better broken up. In them were planted sweet potatoes, cocos [taro], and a plant of the cucumber kind, as we judged from the seed leaves which just appeared above ground. The first of these were planted
In Anderson's account of Cook's first voyage we note the following:—"Their tillage is excellent, owing to the necessity they are under of cultivation or running the risque of starving. At Tegadoo their crops were just put into the ground, and the surface of the field was as smooth as a garden, the roots were ranged in regular lines, and to every root there remained a hillock. A long, narrow stake, sharpened to an edge at bottom, with a piece fixed across a little above it, for the convenience of driving it into the ground with the foot, supplies the place both of plough and spade. The soil being light, their work is not very laborious, and with this instrument alone they will turn up ground of six or seven acres in extent." This weird name of Tegadoo was applied to a bay just north of Uawa, or Tolaga Bay.
Anderson also states that the three native boys captured at Poverty Bay:—"Informed us of a particular kind of deer upon the island, and that there were likewise tars [? taro], capers, romara [?kwnara], yams; a kind of long pepper, bald coote, and black birds." In his narrative of the sojourn at Tolaga Bay, this writer makes the curious statement that sweet potatoes and plantains are cultivated near the houses." Of the same locality he says—"The only roots were yams and sweet potatoes, though the soil appears very proper for producing every species of vegetables." Elsewhere he remarks—"We found ... of eatable plants raised by cultivation only cocoas, yams, and sweet potatoes. There are plantations of many acres of these yams and potatoes. The inhabitants likewise cultivate the gourd; and the Chinese paper mulberry-tree is to be found, but in no abundance."
Of the coastline in the vicinity of Maketu, Anderson writes—"The mainland … appeared to be of a moderate height, but level full of plantations and villages." Of Mercury Bay he says—"Very little of the land was cultivated, and sweet potatoes and yams were the only vegetables to be found." He also states that cultivations were seen on Portland Island and on the mainland in its vicinity.
As to what this writer meant by inserting plantains as a local product one cannot say.
In Becket's account of Cook's first voyage occur the following remarks concerning Tegadoo Bay:—"The lands in the adjacent vallies being regular fiats were neatly disposed in small plantations; the ground appearing to be well broken as if designed for gardens. Sweet potatoes, like those of Carolina, of which they have large quantities, commonly occupy a considerable part of these plantations. In many places we observed the cloth plant growing without cultivation." This final remark is of doubtful truth, and all other evidence points to the shrub being by no means plentiful.
These observations by Cook and his companions were made in October, during the season in which the Maori performed his principal tasks in his plantations.
Parkinson does not tell us much, but states that:—"Adjoining to their houses are plantations of kumara and taro. These grounds are cultivated with great care, and kept clean and neat."
At Mercury Bay Banks speaks of seeing half an acre planted with gourds and sweet potatoes, but later on saw in the Thames district 'very large plantations of sweet potatoes, yams, etc.' Near a pa visited on December 4th were 'very large plantations of yams, cocos and sweet potatoes.' Cook alludes to the fact of 'little plantations of the natives lying dispersed up and down the country.' Of the East Coast district he remarks:—"The soil of both the hills and valleys is light and sandy, and very proper for producing all kinds of roots, but we saw only sweet potatoes and yams among them; these they plant in little round hills, and have plantations of them containing several acres neatly laid out and kept in good order, and many of them are fenced in with low paling which can only serve for ornament." The low paling alluded to would be a breakwind or brush fence to shelter the kumara plants, or a fence to exclude the destructive bird pukeko.
"After we had rounded the East Cape," continues Cook, "We saw, as we run along shore, a great number of villages and a great deal of cultivated land; and in general the country appeared with more fertility than what we had seen before." On the next day, November 1st, 1769, he makes a similar remark—"As we stood along shore we saw a great deal of cultivated land laid out in regular inclosures, a sure sign that the country is both fertile and well inhabited." In running along the coast past Matata, Maketu, etc., in the Bay of Plenty, Cook describes the coastal lands as being 'pretty clear of wood and full of plantations and Compare remarks by Anderson and Banks on pages 29 and 30.aute (Broussonetia papyrifera), which was apparently a somewhat rare object at that period:—"We met with about ½ a dozen Cloth plants, being the same as the inhabitants of the Islands lying within the Tropics make their finest Cloth of. This plant must be very scarce among them, as the Cloth made from it is only worn in small pieces by way of Ornaments at their ears, and even this we have seen but very seldom. Their knowing the use of this sort of Cloth doth in some measure account for the extraordinary fondness they have shew'd for it above every other thing we had to give them. Even a sheet of white paper is of more value than so much English Cloth of any sort whatever; but, as we have been at few places where I have not given away more or less of the latter, it's more than probable that they will soon learn to set a value upon it, and likewise upon Iron, a thing not one of them knows the use of or sets the least value upon." The next port of call during this voyage was Queen Charlotte Sound, where no sign was seen of any cultivations or products thereof. Of the natives of this Sound, Cook writes:—"They live dispersed along the Shore in search of their daily bread, which is fish and firn roots, for they cultivate no part of the lands." In his final account of the country and its natives, Cook remarks:—"Cocos, Yams and Sweet Potatoes is not Cultivated everywhere."
The furrowlike appearance referred to by Cook in regard to cultivations in Te Mahia district, as seen from shipboard, doubtless through glasses, would be caused by the straight rows of diminutive but isolated mounds in which sweet potatoes were grown. The plant of the cucumber kind mentioned by Banks, was, of course, the gourd. From the many references to sweet potatoes and yams, it is evident that the yam (Uhi and uwhikaho, Diascorea sp.) was cultivated on the East Coast and at the Bay of Islands in Cook's time, though it has since been lost. The name, however, has been preserved by the natives. Apparently the yam was more difficult to cultivate here than the kumara (sweet potato), hence its cultivation was given up when our potato (Solanum) was introduced here. It would also appear that the cultivation of the yam was not so widespread as that of the sweet potato; it was probably confined to the warmer parts of the North Island.
It was a somewhat unfortunate thing for our present day writers on native industries that Cook saw little of Maori Agriculture. His short sojourns at Tolaga Bay and the Bay of Islands were the only occasions on which he had any opportunities of observing native methods in the cultivation of food products, hence the information we gather from his journal is somewhat scanty. During his lengthy sojournings at Queen Charlotte Sound he saw no cultivated grounds.
Banks made the following remarks:—"Tillage, weaving, and the rest of the arts of peace are best known and most practised in the north eastern parts; indeed, in the southern there is little to be seen of any of them; but war seems to be equally known to all, though most practised in the south-west."
In Du Clesmeur's Journal of the voyage of the Marquis de Castries, the writer gives us a brief note on cultivated products seen at the Bay of Islands in 1772:—"In the country round Port Marion we noticed some slopes which were cultivated with great care. They only produce, however, sweet potatoes and pumpkins in small quantities." Apparently the writer had not seen the taro in those gardens on the uplands; the taro crops would be situated in low lying situations. His pumpkins were doubtless gourds.
Capt. Furneaux, of the Adventure, who visited Tolaga Bay in November, 1773, tells us that—"The natives here are the same as those at Charlotte Sound, but more numerous, and seemed settled having regular plantations of sweet potatoes, and other roots, which are very good; and they have plenty of cray and other fish,
Nicholas, who visited the Bay of Islands district with Marsden in 1814-15, made some remarks on native methods of cultivation:—"We observed some plantations of kumara and potatoes belonging to Bennee and his tribe; these were not contiguous to any village or habitation, and I consider it a great proof of the insecurity in which these people live, that their grounds are rarely cultivated to any extent in the immediate vicinity of those places where they reside in congregated bodies. The plantations, though they very frequently surround the village, are generally at some distance from them; and the latter are always constructed either upon the summit or at the foot of some high and almost inaccessible hill. This is most certainly occasioned by that state of disunited barbarism and feudal enmity in which the different tribes reside among each other; who, having no moral institutions, but resorting on all occasions to physical strength, are obliged to choose those places for their defence which are best calculated for that purpose, without any regard to the barrenness or fertility of the situation. Hence the plantations are commonly in detached places, where the soil is favourable, and they have no idea of concentrating their industry. But this casual plan of cultivation is, however, disadvantageous to the regular improvement of the island; and could the tribes be brought to live in amity with each other, and build their villages on the fertile grounds, their respective districts would in a short time assume a much more civilised appearance."
The lack of concentration in industry was owing to an objection on the part of the Maori to putting all his eggs in one basket, as illustrated in the popular saying: "Ka mate kainga tahi, ka ora kainga rua," showing that single homed folk perish, or are overtaken by disaster, when two-homed people survive.
In Crozet's account of his sojourn at the Bay of Islands in 1772 he remarks that 'the basis of the food of these people is the root of a fern absolutely similar to ours, with the sole difference that in some places the New Zealand fern has a much bigger and longer root, and its fronds grow to a greater length…. They also live on potatoes and gourds ... I think it well to repeat here that fern root forms the basis of their food.'
Regarding Maori agriculture, Crozet writes:—"These people have already made a start in the art of agriculture. They cultivate a few small fields of potatoes similar to those of the Two Indies; ? taro] and a sort of reed [? Phormium tenax] which, when ripe, furnishes them, after retting, with thread to make their cloth, and cords for various uses. In the cultivation of these crops they make use of the same instrument [the ko] of which I have just spoken, sharpened and trimmed so as to form a sort of spade. It seemed to me that they confined their whole agriculture to two or three objects. They have no knowledge of any sort of grain, and excepting some small fields planted with potatoes, gourds, aloes-pite, and very small flax, the whole country appeared to me to be lying fallow, and producing only the wild natural growths. I saw nothing which might be taken for an orchard, and I did not even meet with the least fruit, either wild or cultivated." It is difficult to say what this writer meant by "very small flax."
In a work entitled New Zealand and its Aborigines, by W. Brown, published in 1845, occurs the following statement:—"Chiefs do not cultivate the ground themselves, the labour being always left to the slaves." This statement is absolutely wrong, and conveys a totally false impression of Maori custom and the attitude of the people toward the art of the husbandman. All persons took part in some of the tasks of clearing and preparing the ground; planting, tending and gathering the crop. Chiefs, warriors, commoners, slaves, women, old and young, all assisted in some way. "They broke up," says Colenso, "and prepared their extensive tribal kumara plantations, working regularly together in a compact body, chief and slave, keeping time with their songs, which they also sang in chorus."
With regard to the principal crop, that of the sweet potato, when it was planted, tended, dug and stored with proper attention to ceremonial functions, only chiefs and freemen were permitted to take part in the more important labours, that is to say those affected by the law of tapu. It is assuredly a fact that the art of agriculture was one held in high respect by the Maori, as will be shown in this paper.
Earle, who spent some months in the north during the year 1827, wrote as follows:—"The regularity of their plantations, and the order with which they carry on their various works, differ greatly from most of their brethren in the South Seas, as here the chiefs
Dieffenbach wrote as follows:—"The kumara are planted in regular rows, and the caterpillars of a sphinx which feed in great numbers upon the leaves, are at all times carefully removed. In neatness such a field rivals any in Europe. Every family has its own field, and the produce is its private property."
In his essay on the Maori race published in Vol. 1 of the Transactions of the N.Z. Institute, Mr. Colenso writes as follows on cultivated products:—"A large portion of their time and attention was necessarily given to their cultivations, especially as the few plants they cultivated, two edible roots, the kumara and taro, and a gourd like fruit called hue, and the cloth plant, or paper mulberry tree, aute (Broussonetia papyrifera), each required a different soil to bring it to perfection; added to which they always wisely preferred cultivating in patches far apart, so as perchance to save one or more in case of a sudden inroad from a taua (war party)."
These remarks would not, of course, apply to some districts where but little cultivation was done, as we have already seen.
Some remarks should be made on the subject of the decadence of agriculture among the Maori people.This has been going on for many years, since the settlement of Europeans here, and has led to many strictures being passed on the indolence of the natives. We hear occasionally of a great dearth of food among them, owing to the failure of the potato crop, and marvel how it is that they should rely to so great an extent upon one product. Possessing fertile land of ample area, and in a position to cultivate the many species introduced by Europeans, as well as their own products of preEuropean days, yet but little advantage is taken of these facilities, little energy and no enterprise is now shown by native cultivators of the soil. European settlers on the same land would assuredly cause it to produce many species of food plants, and would store ample supplies for winter use. The Maori has become careless and indolent in such work, and seems to look on unsatisfactory circumstances generally with the mental outlook of a fatalist. When the potato blight assailed the crops at Ruatahuna some years ago, the natives appeared inert and accepted the Heoti ano ta matau he mihi ki te ao marama."
To such a condition, then, has the old time ordered industry of the Maori descended. "We are apt, at the present time," writes Mr. T. F. Cheeseman in his above mentioned paper—"To think of Maori agriculture as being slovenly, careless, and without method. But it was not always so. Let anyone read the account given by the first visitors to New Zealand, especially Cook, respecting the Maori cultivations of those days, the care that was taken to keep them free from weeds, the labour expended in conveying gravel to hill up the kumara, the trouble taken to protect them from strong winds by means of temporary screens or fences … the amount of patient care and selection required in raising new varieties, for it is not generally known that more than fifty varieties of the kumara alone were cultivated—when all this is considered it cannot be denied that the Maoris were patient, careful, and expert agriculturists."
In this connection the following apt remarks taken from a paper on See The Passing of the Maori, by Archdeacon Walsh are of considerable interestTransactions of the New Zealand Institute, Vol. 40, p. 154.tohunga [priestly adept] and the regulation enforced by the chief. Growing crops were under strict tapu, and it was believed that any tapu would involve serious disaster. In this way punctuality was secured, the labour was greatly lightened, and the work done with cheerfulness and hope. All hands worked together like a well ordered team, and each bore his full share of the common burden. For a time the new system seemed to promise very well, and as long as something of the old tribal spirit was kept up large quantities of wheat, maize, potatoes, etc., were grown, with the assistance of European implements, all over the country. But, as the authority of the chief declined, the co-operative spirit passed away, while the mere fact that the work was easier induced an element of failure. The fatal indolence and procrastination of the Maori asserted itself, and the crops were often put in too late, or under improper weather conditions, to be neglected during the growing season; or, perhaps, in the middle of a job a death would occur in the neighbourhood, or some other reason for a hui (meeting) would eventuate, when all hands would clear out for a week or more, and leave the work to take care of itself. The consequence is that the Maoris have become disheartened, and the whole thing is done in an abortive and slovenly manner. There is less and less cultivation done every year; large areas of fertile land lie waste. In many districts there is a chronic shortage of provisions, often even semi-starvation."
The following paragraph is taken from Rev. S. Marsden's account of his wanderings in the Bay of Islands district in 1814. Having reached a village near Omapere Lake, he writes:—"Shunghee's [Hongi] people here appeared very industrious. They rose at the dawn of day, both men and women. Some were busy making baskets for potatoes, others dressing flax, or making mats. None remained unemployed … Shunghee had near the village we were at one field which appeared to me to contain forty acres, all fenced in with rails and upright stakes tied to them to keep out the pigs. The greater part of it was planted with turnips, common and sweet potatos, which were in high cultivation. They suffer no weeds to grow, but with incredible labour and patience root up everything likely to injure the growing crop. Their tools of agriculture are chiefly made of wood, some formed like a spade and others like a crowbar, with which they turned up the soil. Axes, hoes and spades are much wanted. If these could be obtained their country would soon put on a different appearance. No labour of man without iron can clear and subdue uncultivated land to any extent. The New Zealanders seem to do as much in this respect as the strength and wisdom of man in their situation is equal to."
We have already noted that fences were seen surrounding native plantations by Cook and other early visitors to these shores. These, however, were not such fences as we are wont to see, as erected for the purpose of preventing the encroachment of animals, for in Maoriland the animals were not. The so-called fences referred to were light erections to serve one of two purposes, the sheltering of the somewhat tender sweet potato plants from wind, or to protect the crops from the depredations of the pukeko, or swamp hen. The first mentioned were breakwinds made by thrusting branches or brush, often manuka, into the earth. The bird-proof fence was made of closely set reeds or rods thrust into the ground, with a light containing rail lashed to them. In some cases, when no such barrier was employed, persons were stationed at the plantations in order to drive away inquisitive and persistent pukeko (Porphyrio melanotus). Such work often assigned to old men, and certain set forms of words were employed by those who drove away the birds, shouted out by the crop tenders. One such cry was:—
The word hie means "Be off!" while the verb whakahie means "to drive off" or banish. We note this word in a well known East Coast saying—"Ko nga pakura enei a Toko-rakau, kaore e rongo ki te hie." (These are the swamp hens of Toko-rakau, who will not obey the hie.) Pakura is another name for the pukeko. Our bird scarer's cry may be rendered as—"Hie! Hie! Go to the swamp. Depart to the swamp lands. Go to Hine-wairua-kokako. Hie! Hie!" The lady of the long name mentioned is looked upon as the origin and personified form of the red legged swamp hen. In Tahiti the word hie means "Be off!" Sir W. Buller, in his Birds of New Zealand gives an account of the head of an enemy being used by natives of the Turakina district as a scarecrow to protect their crops from the pukeko. It was probably employed as a fructifying symbol.
In some situations, such as exposed hill sides, as also others subject to strong wind, the brush breakwinds were quite necessary, in order to prevent the kumara plants being bruised and damaged. There was, however, no strong or stable fence ever erected round a Maori plantation in olden times, and for the very best of reasons,
The terms ahau, hoka, pahao, pahauhau, putahui, patakitaki, takitaki, titopa, &c., all denote such frail breakwinds, screens and light fences as were used in cultivation grounds. The words hoka, pahoka, pahokahoka and tihokahoka are all used to describe a breakwind formed by sticking the butts of branches in the earth. Ato, as a verb, denotes the fencing of a plantation with reeds or light sticks. Ahuriri is a low pig-proof fence.
After the introduction of the pig, most persistent of crop ravagers, the Maori soon discovered that he must bestir himself and ring-fence his plantations. In taking up this new task he practised two modes of fencing: the one usually employed was constructed on the lines of his defensive stockades, but of slighter materials. This taiepa, as it was called, was made by inserting stakes, split timber or sapling poles, in the earth in an upright position, and then lashing the same to a horizontal rail placed some three to four feet from the ground. The mode of inserting the upright stakes in the earth was unlike our own, for one end was sharpened and the stake was used as we often use a crowbar for punching a hole; when deep enough it was allowed to remain, and the next one punched down. This form of fence is depicted in Fig. 1 (p. 40).
The other method of fencing consisted of fewer uprights and many horizontal pieces. Two upright stakes were driven into the earth in a similar manner every four feet or so along the line on which the fence was to be erected. Each two stakes were four to five inches apart. In these confined spaces between the stakes, poles or split rail like pieces of timber were laid horizontally, one above another, and lapping endwise, until the fence was as high as desired. At certain intervals each pair of uprights was lashed together with aka, tough stems of climbing plants, thus the uprights could not open out, and also gripped tightly the enclosed timbers. Fig. 2 (p. 40) illustrates this form. These aka were also used for lashing the uprights on the rails of the first described style of fence. The aka-tea (Metrosideros albifiora) is the species usually employed; it is very durable. A running form of binding is employed, the pliable aka being passed twice round stake and rail, then carried on to the next stake. Stiles were made wherever access to a plantation was desired. These stiles (koronae and or a whakatungangi), in the more permanent fences, were occasionally flanked by carved posts. Angas mentions seeing such at Taupo.
In the Whanganui district the fence consisting of upright stakes secured to a rail is termed a raihe, while that made by placing lengths of timber horizontally between containing vertical stakes is a pakorokoro. At Waiapu the fence of upright stakes is styled a takitaki, while that made by placing timbers horizontally is a karapi or taiepa whakapaepae. A wattled brush fence is rauwiri.
Those familiar with the labours of fencing, and the riving and carriage of the necessary material, will readily grasp the serious addition to the yearly tasks of the Maori agriculturist made by the introduction of the pig, the first introduced animal acquired in numbers by the natives. Cultivated areas are frequently changed by the Maori. A field may be cropped for two years and then abandoned for several years before it is again planted, during which interval the fence decays or gets into serious disrepair, and hence has to be renewed. Moreover the persistent pig calls for a close and strong fence to keep him away from crops. Fences that effectually bar horses, cattle, and sheep may be no protection against free lance pigs left to shift for themselves. Each new plantation calls for a new fence, and in some districts where timber was scarce, the newly acquired pig caused a good deal of trouble. When Earle visited the Taiamai district in 1827, he looked down upon miles of green crops, but observes:—"The greatest deficiency which I observed in the country around me was the total absence of fences, and this defect occasions the natives a great deal of trouble, which might very easily be avoided. Hogs are the principal part of their wealth, with which, at all times, they can traffic with vessels touching at their ports. These animals, consequently, are of the utmost importance to them; but during the growth of their crops, the constant watching the hogs require to keep them out of the plantations, consume more time than would effectually fence in their whole country; but I have no doubt, as they already begin to follow our advice and adopt our plans, they will soon see the utility of fencing in their land." Possibly fencing material was not abundant or handy in that district, for fences were in use long before then. Of another cultivated field Nicholas wrote:—"The nice precision that was observed in setting the plants, and the careful exactness in clearing out the weeds, the neatness of the fences, with the convenience of the stiles and pathways, might all of them have done credit to the most tasteful cultivator in England." It is evident that, as early as 1814, the natives of the Bay of Islands district had found it necessary to fence against the pig.
The Maori husbandman had a good working knowledge of various soils, and the treatment required for each kind. Inasmuch as his cultivated food products, kumara, taro, gourd and yam all belong to warmer regions than these isles, much care was necessary in selecting a site for a plantation in regard to aspect, soil and shelter. Certain heavy soils demanded a vast amount of labour in procuring and carrying gravel for mixing with the soil, or for spreading beneath the runners and leaves. Artificial shelter, in the form of brush breakwinds sometimes called for further exertions, and as sunny an aspect as possible was sought for in all cases. It was considered most desirable to obtain a situation with a sunny aspect, good shelter from cold or blusterous winds, and a soil that did not require to be mixed or covered with gravel or sand.
Our Maori agriculturist had names for different soils, though some of these do not appear to have been in universal use among all tribes, a peculiarity noted in many branches of native nomenclature. The following list of soil names is doubtless an incomplete one.
The Rev. R. Taylor gives one ware as a rich, greasy soil. Pangahu denotes hard clay land, and pahoahoa sterile land.
It is unquestionably a fact that industry was much appreciated among the Maori folk, who ever recognised the dignity of labour and paid due respect thereto. This fact is noted in their proverbial sayings and aphorisms, as witness the following taken from a paper by W. Colenso, published in Vol. XII. of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute.
"He tangata momoe, he tangata mangere, e kore e whiwhi ki te taonga."
A sleepy headed or lazy man will never acquire property.
"He kai kei aku ringaringa."
There is food in my hands, i.e. by using them I acquire food.
"Tama tu, tama ora; tama noho, tama mate kai."
The energetic prosper, the indolent go hungry.
"He kai na te tangata, he kai titongi kaki; he kai na tona ringa ake, tino kai, tino makona."
Food obtained from another merely titillates the throat, but food gained by one's own arm is the best and most satisfying.
"He toa taua, mate taua; he toa piki pari, mate pari; he toa ngaki kai, ma te huhu tena."
An energetic warrior dies in battle; an able cragsman perishes among his crags; but an energetic cultivator dies of old age.
"Mahia te wahie mo takurua, mahia he kai mo tau."
Prepare fuel for the winter, but food for the whole year.
"Tena te ringa tango parahia."
Said of a person who is industrious in weeding crops.
"Kaua e tirohia te pai ahua, engari te raupa o te ringa."
Take no heed of good looks, but rather of the rough hand of the worker.
Agricultural implements exceedingly primitive. List of names. Description of tools. The hangohango, hapara, hengahenga, hoto, kaheru, puka, rapa maire and pere. A triangular spade blade. The wauwau, ketu, or pinaki, a peculiar paddle shaped implement. The ko or digging stick; how used. The ko a Polynesian implement. Decoration of the ko. Remarks by early visitors. The crescent symbol of the moon god. Rongo and Hina. Abnormal forms. Ceremonial forms. The koko, tikoko, or takoko. The timo, paretai, patupatu, tihou, tirourou, and tukari. Introduction of European tools.
The Maori possessed but few agricultural tools, and those were of the most primitive nature, hence any form of earthwork was tedious and laborious. Some of the tools used in earthwork were not suitable for agricultural work, but were utilised in the task of constructing the defences of a fortified village: such were the rapa maire and the koko. These are, however, included in our list below, so that all implements used in earthwork may be brought together. It will be observed that, in some cases, several names are applied to one implement.
Williams' Maori Dictionary gives hangohango as "An implement for digging, and for setting potatoes, etc." Its form is unknown to the writer, but this may be a local name for some well known tool.
Williams gives hapara as a Maori word, a name for a spade, but some natives deny that it is an old native name for any digging implement. The Tuhoe natives apply it to the iron shovel, while they call our iron spades ho, presumably our word hoe. The evidence is against hapara being an old name for any tool. As a verb it means to slit or cut.
Hengahenga.—Said to have been the name of a form of hoe formerly used by natives in cultivation work. Several specimens of wooden hoes have been preserved, of which some account will be given. If a genuine pre-European implement then they were certainly not commonly used, even the name is yet uncertain. One collector applies the name toki kaheru to a stone implement, as though it had been used in earth work, perhaps as a grubber, but no corroboration of this name has been received. We have been told of a greenstone (nephrite) hoe that is said to be in the possession of a Wairarapa native family, and is viewed as a prized heirloom. A greenstone implement found at Titahi Bay, Porirua district, in 1911 may have been hafted and used as a hoe, but so valuable a material (in Maori estimation) would not be employed for such a purpose unless it was for the special purpose of gaining kudos for the owner thereof. This implement is of an unusually rounded form and carries a blade like that of a thick, badly ground axe. It is not an adze blade and could not be used as an adze for working timber. A groove has been formed near the poll as though to facilitate lashing to a handle. No illustration of it is available.
Parkinson speaks of the stone hoes of the Maori, but we have no satisfactory evidence that such tools were used. He may have seen some of the large stone adzes, and thought that they were hoes.
In writing of native cultivation and methods of turning or loosening the soil, Dieffenbach remarks—"Sometimes a hoe is used formed of Lydian or greenstone, fixed to a handle. It is called a toki." A native correspondent says that a stone hoe, termed a toki hengahenga was used in former times to a limited extent. Some implement called a toki henahena (the Matatua dialect drops the "g") is mentioned in certain Tuhoe ritual. The toki referred to by Dieffenbach may be the toki kaheru referred to above. The light form of kaheru or wooden spade was certainly used as a scuffle hoe or Dutch hoe, but evidence as to the use by natives of the ordinary hoe hafted as is a mattock or grubber is not conclusive. A wooden blade in the Dominion Museum looks much like a hoe blade, but it is not an old specimen.
Mr. E. C. Goldsmith, in his description of Mayor Island (Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, Vol. 17, p. 417), writes as follows of the Ruamata pa (fortified position)—"The ditch which cuts it off from the main island is very deep, and must have been hard work for the natives to excavate with their primitive spades of obsidian." Now we have no proof that obsidian spades were ever used, indeed so brittle is that material that it could only be employed in working soft substances.
Hoto.—The hoto is a "wooden spade" according to Williams' Maori Dictionary. The late Mr. John White stated that hoto, tihou and puka are all names applied to one implement, in which case puka is probably an old spade name. It was made of maire (a species of Olea), a remarkably hard wood, somewhat in the form of our European iron spades, and hence must be the same as the tool called a rapa maire in some parts. It was used for digging purposes, in constructing earthwork defences, and also as a shovel. As described by Hari Hemara and W.B. of Waikato the hoto was in form much like our spade (See Fig. 3, p. 48) with a longer handle having a knob at its end. The blade was wide, some as wide as 14 inches it is said, and flat, but having a raised rim or edge on either side, as shown by the cross section. Handle and blade were made in one piece of seasoned heart of matai (Podocarpus spicatus), the helve in some cases being adorned with a band or bands of carved designs. A fine specimen was presented to Dr. Hochstetter when he visited this country, and which is probably now in the Vienna Museum. This tool was used as a shovel in shifting loose earth. These authorities maintain that the hoto and puka were two totally distinct tools, as will be seen by referring to the illustrations kindly supplied by W.B.
Exhibit No. 2481 in the Dominion Museum would (See Fig. 4, p. 50) probably be termed a hoto or koko by natives. It is a shovel with a rounded scoop like blade, and a straight handle. It is, however, of very modern make, and has never been used. Its full length is 4 feet 11 inches. The blade is 1 foot 4 inches long and 6½ inches wide. The handle is round and has a carved design on the end, as also two bands lower down; the timber is white maire. The "dish" of the concave blade is 1⅛ inches. See Fig. 4 (p. 50). In Vol. II. of his Ancient History of the Maori, Mr. White gives hoto as the equivalent of taparau, a spade like implement mentioned at p. 76 of that work.
Kaheru.—This name was applied to several forms of wooden spades, and also to the light cultivating tool known also as a ketu, wauwau, etc.
In order to avoid confusion we will retain the name ketu for the latter, and that of kaheru for the spade like implement. These tools were not used for heavy work, as breaking up or heavy digging, but merely for lighter cultivation work, as loosening soil, weeding, the various operations embraced in the comprehensive native term ngaki.
We have three forms of the kaheru to consider—the spade like form with a short blade, a long bladed form somewhat resembling the ko, and a form having a triangular blade.
A specimen of the short blade kaheru, dug from a swamp at New Plymouth, is illustrated in the Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 16, p. 99; it is seen in Fig. 5 (p. 48).
In referring to the specimen found at New Plymouth, Mr. W. H. Skinner says:—"The kaheru … was found by Heta Ruru whilst draining a portion of his land at Moturoa, New Plymouth … the kaheru was found about three feet below the present surface. It is made of maire wood and is in excellent preservation. This class of instrument was used for the "hilling up" and cultivation of the precious kumara. In breaking up ground in the first instance, and bringing it into rough order, the ko was used, after which the soil was further worked by other implements, and then the kaheru was utilised for the forming up of the small mounds in which the kumara (sweet potato) were set, and for the gentle working of the soil whilst the plants were developing and coming to maturity. An immense amount of labour and careful tending was given to the cultivation of this most valuable of Maori food plants. In former days, I am informed by the old natives, this implement was in universal use along the Taranaki coast belt, where the kumara was extensively cultivated.
So far, very few specimens of this native spade have been found in the Taranaki district, and those examples are of an inferior workmanship compared with the one now shown, which is a fine example of its kind. All previous examples, like the one under review, have been dug up in draining swampy ground."
This New Plymouth specimen is evidently formed from one piece of timber, cut out of the solid, blade and handle. The blade is much rounded at its lower corners, doubtless from long use. See Fig. 6-7 (pp. 48 and 50).
The writer of the above gives a specimen of the songs sung by native workers while using the above spade in their cultivation grounds.
Mr. T. H. Smith in his paper On Maori Implements and Weapons (Trans. N.Z. Institute, Vol. 26, p. 426, 1893), says:—"The spade and plough of the Pakeha [European] have entirely superseded the ko and the kaheru, which was an implement used by the Maori for such work as would now be done with the hoe, shovel and rake. It was made of hardwood also, as indeed were all Maori implements used in tilling the ground. It was, I believe, used for loosening and levelling the surface of the ground in preparation for planting, for removing weeds, and for various other purposes." These remarks are applied, presumably, to the kaheru.
The kaheru used on the eastern shores of the Bay of Plenty was about two feet in length, and made from a piece of manuka hardwood, hardened by fire. It was used for general purposes, including the lifting of a crop. They were also used by the Whanau a Te Ehutu clan when they went to Whakaari (White Island), digging out the kuia (a seabird) from their holes. This was probably the ketu or pinaki form.
The Rev. R. Taylor states that a special kaheru, or spade, was made to dig a grave with. It was rendered tapu by having certain charms repeated over it. In modern times, European spades have come into use for this purpose, but a spade so used is never again employed for any other purpose, but is left at the burial place.
Hari Wahanui of Otorohanga stated that, when European spades first became known, the natives made wooden ones in the same form, but this they seem to have done in pre-European times, though the handles of these latter implements were merely straight shafts lacking a specially formed hand clutch. Hari also said that natives used to reclaim old iron spade blades, that had been discarded by Europeans, and fit them with long, straight, shaft-
The lighter forms of kaheru were often termed pere or tipi. This implement was equivalent to our Dutch hoe, or scuffle hoe, which the manipulator thrusts from him in weeding and soil loosening operations. These were light tools, as are our implements designed for a similar use, and, in many cases, the blade was detachable, being of spade-like form and secured to a straight handle by lashing. The blade was a piece of hardwood worked down to a light, handy form, and having a thin cutting edge, such a detachable blade had a projection at its upper end to serve as a means of attachment to its handle, as shown in Fig. 2, P1. XXXVII. of Maori Art. These tools are generally alluded to now as kaheru, for most natives have forgotten many old names, and Europeans did not trouble to collect or record names of objects of minor importance. Thus a writer on Maori implements has remarked that the minor agricultural implements "scarcely require special notice," a statement that the present writer cannot agree with.
The only hafted specimen of this implement in the Dominion Museum has a long handle, but we are informed that some were provided with shorter handles and were used by women while squatting in their favourite position for such work, viz., with buttocks resting on heels; they did not sit on the ground as stated in Maori Art. One sees natives now using light steel spades in the same manner.
The implement referred to is No. 1808 of the Dominion Museum collection. (See Fig. 6, p. 48.) This is a light tool, the full length of which is 5 feet 6 inches. The handle and blade are separate pieces, and the blade is very much older than the handle. The latter is made of matai wood and there was no doubt formed with steel tools; its slimness shows that the tool could only have been used for light work; its thickness is 1⅛ inches near the blade, and ¾ inch. near the knobbed upper end. The blade appears to be a piece of maire wood, a very hard and durable timber. It is evidently very old, and may be a relic from stone tool days, as it was dug up from a swamp, wherein such an object might survive for centuries. This blade is much worn, and a piece has been broken out near what looks like a blind knot. It bears evidence of having been well and carefully fashioned; its length is 7½ inches, but may have been considerably reduced by wear. Breadth 6⅝ inches, and thickness 5-16 inch. A narrow continuation of the blade timber projects 6 inches, and is flattened on one side, to
These light hoes were not used for any digging or other heavy work, for which indeed they were quite unsuited. The name tipi applied to them is evidently derived from the verb tipi, the meaning of which is to pare or pare off. The other name applied to them, pere, is allied to pere "to throw, project," that is to project endwise, as an arrow or dart is cast. We also have the verb perepere "to clear off," as weeds, but only used in connection with an implement used endwise.
In Fig. 7 (p. 50), we see two of these detachable spade blades, and in both cases the tang has been carefully fashioned to accommodate the lashing, this is clearly seen in the photographs. The smaller specimen A. is of the usual size, it is in the Auckland Museum. The larger specimen, B., is in the Whanganui Museum; it is 22 inches long and 6½ inches wide, an unusually long detachable blade. The Auckland specimen was found buried in a swamp in the Waikato district. So many highly interesting and well preserved wooden artifacts have been found in swamps that it is slowly dawning upon us that our swamps are the best museums we have on this island, and that Hine-i-te-huhi, the Swamp Maid, is a more efficient curator than some upper world museums possess.
Regarding the peculiar form of wooden spade having a triangular blade, or pointed blade, we have information showing that it was used in the Waikato district and also on the East Coast. Karaka Tarawhiti, of Huntly, informs us that the form of kaheru used by his people in former times had a pointed blade of maire or akeake, and that the hand hold at the upper end of the handle was a looped contrivance made of the pliant stems of the kareao or supplejack (Rhipogonum scandens). A rough sketch of this implement made by our informant shows a curious tool, but there is some evidence to corroborate the above statement as to its form of blade. When enquiring the names of stars from natives the writer was once informed that the peculiarly shaped constellation Hyades was known as Mata kaheru (spade blade), its form being that of the blade of the native spade. At the same time it seems probable this form was confined to certain areas or tribes, and was by no means a universal usage. It was certainly employed kaheru with triangular blade and having a hand clutch precisely similar to that of a modern English spade is described by a correspondent at Waipiro, East Coast. A similar implement was forwarded to the Dominion Museum by a native at Huntly, Waikato. This form of handle I believe to have been copied from the introduced English spade, and do not believe that it was a pre European usage. This tool was used in forming, the puke or small mounds in which the kumara was planted, a process described by the term tuahu, and doubtless for other purposes. Ngati-Porou natives state that it was made of maire wood and that the blade was slightly dished. Waikato natives say that either maire or akeake was used. Fig. 8 (p. 55) shows this peculiar form of spade.
In his journal of 1819 the Rev. S. Marsden writes:—"The women turned over the ground with sticks about two feet long and as thick as a broom handle. They wrought hard but made little progress in cultivation for want of proper tools." Again he states that he saw natives using wooden spades with long handles, "the mouth made about the same size of an English spade," as also "small spatulas about three feet long." These were for working ground that had previously been broken up. He remarks that the "spatulas" were called kahedu (kaheru), but does not describe their form, and states that the ko was employed for breaking up new ground. The spatulas were probably the paddle shaped ketu, termed kaheru in the Ngapuhi district. Maning terms the kaheru a weed exterminater.
In 1881 Mr. Colenso exhibited "a very large flat white bone, artificially shaped into something like the form (and size) of the blade of a garden spade, measuring, extreme length 16 inches; breadth, at its broadest end 7 inches, and four lines in thickness, which is very uniform throughout; the broad end is bevelled down to a cutting edge, and the sides are square. This bone was found last year (1880) in the forest, near to the public works on the railway line at Kopua, lying under 10-12 feet of earth…. It seeems to be made out of the bone of a whale."
The Auckland Museum contains a goodly number of the smaller agricultural implements, also a kaheru with a carved handle, an item that cannot have been used as a tool, and may be merely one of the bogus show implements that the modern Maori loves to make for a consideration. A rapa maire in the same
The following note was contributed by the late Tuta Nihoniho, of the Ngati-Porou tribe of the East Coast, an enthusiastic contributor:—The kaheru was made of hardwood, maire if procurable, handle and blade in one piece. Some were about five feet in length, others much shorter, two or two and a half feet, the latter being used in ngaki or cultivating operations, the manipulator being in a squatting position. The longer one was used much as we use a spade or scuffle hoe to loosen weeds so that they may be pulled up. Sometimes a teka or footrest was secured to the larger kaheru (as with a ko) and it was used to loosen the earth, though the Maori did not turn the soil over as Europeans do in digging. The patupatu was used to break up clods. In Fig. 9 (p. 50) we see three light cultivating tools, two of which would be called kaheru in some districts. The central one is clearly a kind of hybrid form related to the true ko, on the one hand, and the long bladed kaheru on the other. The specimen to the right is a light form of ko. Detachable foot rests were used with these implements. The specimen to the left is but 4 ft. in length while the central one is 6 ft. long, its elongated blade being 3⅝ ins. wide. All three are in the Whanganui Museum.
Tuta also explained that the form of kaheru or spade to which a footrest was attached by lashings, was not the implement resembling our spade in form, but had a narrower and longer blade. This blade lacked defined shoulders in many cases, and decreased gradually in width until it merged into the round, oval, or flattened handle. This tool was used for digging purposes in loose soils, that is in loosening soil, not turning it over as we do. By means of the footrest the tool was forced into such soils, the ko being used for hard soils and breaking up. The above mentioned authority mentioned that, in his youth, he saw one of these kaheru that was provided with a footrest cut out of the same piece of timber.
A specimen of these singular implements having an elongated blade is No. 2653 in the Dominion Museum (See Fig. 10, p. 55). This is a light form of tool, evidently used without any form of footrest. The wood is probably manuka (Leptospermum.) Its length is 4 ft. 8 ins. The blade is 6¼ ins. wide at its widest part and merges into the handle at 2 ft. from the lower end, the handle
In Fig. 11 (p. 48) we see one of our most interesting specimens of kaheru, in which blade, shaft and footrest are all formed from one piece, cut out of the solid. This tool was dug from a swamp in the North Auckland district by men engaged in draining operations, and a blow from an axe sliced off a part of the footrest. The wood is undoubtedly manuka, and is quite sound. Owing to the conditions under which it has been preserved, it is impossible to say how old this implement is, but the workmanship is most excellent, particularly so the fashioning of the footrest, which contains a hard knot. The full length of this tool is 5 ft. Length of blade from lower end to footrest 1 ft. 5 ins. Widest part of blade 5⅜ ins. Thickness of blade in middle ⅝ in., but it decreases towards both sides and the lower end; the back of the blade is but slightly rounded transversely, but the front is markedly convex in its upper parts, though this peculiarity decreases towards the lower end or cutting edge, where it is hardly noticeable. The footrest (teka) projects nearly 4 ins. from the shaft, and is of unique form, being so made that the bare foot of the operator fits into it in a manner most perfect. This is brought about by the rounded surface of the tread and the curve of the outer projecting
Fig. 12 (p. 55) shows another hardwood tool, evidently old, and of stronger make than the three preceding ones. Its chief peculiarity is its length of blade, which is abnormal, hence it closely resembles the puka of Waikato. Its total length is 5 ft. 1 in. and length of blade 2 ft. 9 ins., width of blade 5 ins. The lower part of the blade is slightly curved longitudinally, which, however, may not have been an original feature. Lower end of blade nearly ½ in. thick, cutting edge much worn and blunted; upper part somewhat thicker; flat throughout. The handle shows a pronounced curve just above the blade, as seen in some of our modern shovels, and its upper end shows an enlargement nearly 4 ins. long, which may or may not have served as a handgrip. It seems scarcely likely that this tool was made, solely at least, for light cultivation work, in which so long a blade would possess no advantage. Quite likely it was used for trimming batters, as of scarps, pits, and fosses. This implement is No. 1321 in the Dominion Museum Collection.
In No. 1320 Dominion Museum register, we see a modern implement of rougher finish, though made with steel tools; a type with which a footrest was sometimes used. Its length is 4 ft. 10 ins., widest part of blade 3¾ in. This tool illustrates the careless work done in post-European times; the pride of the old time artisan in his work is a highly interesting subject, but that pride gradually decreased as the social system of the Maori became weakened, as a result of contact with Europeans. With regard to this No. 1320 referred to above, I found that the tool had been mislaid since it was described, hence no illustration of it is available. (It has since been refound in the Museum's collection.)
In Fig. 13 (p. 50) we have a very singular form, inasmuch as it is all blade, save a short handgrip at the upper end. Assuredly only the lower part of the blade would be of any service in delving or soil loosening operations, hence one marvels at the blade length. Any tool that is used with both hands needs a long handgrip, but in this case the lower hands finds no suitable grip on the wide and flat shaft. One can only surmise that the maker knew what he was about, and so fashioned his implement as to render it suitable for his purposes. This thin blade tool could be used only for light work. This specimen is No. 1746 in the Dominion Museum Collection.
Fig. 14 (p. 58) is a genuine tool that has been service in the field, as shown by the chafe of the footrest on the front of the blade. Three notches on either side of the lower part of the blade provided accommodation for the now missing footrest. Decay has sloughed off the point or lower extremity. The total length is 6 ft. 7 ins., of which 2 ft. covers the flattened blade, and 6 ins. the carved design at the top. The blade is 3½ in. wide at the broadest part, flat on the back and rounded transversely in front, and the whole implement is curved longitudinally; handle smoothed by use. This tool is a sort of connecting link between the short kaheru and the long and strong breaking up ko. Fig 14 (p. 58) represents No. 1403 in the Dominion Museum.
Fig. 15 (No. 2001) (p. 58) is another implement not easy to classify, having a long shovel like blade and a fairly long handle. It may have been used as a shovel for such work as filling baskets with gravel or earth, as in obtaining gravel for a cultivation, and in constructing defensive earthworks. It is certainly very old, and bears the appearance of a swamp preserved derelict; the wood is probably matai. Its total length is 4 ft. 7 ins. Length of blade 1 ft. 6 ins.; width of blade 5 in. The blade is hollowed out, its side rim projecting some ⅝ in., point broken off except in one place, which shows original edge. The shaft is oval in cross section. An old and interesting specimen. This tool is in the Dominion Museum.
A shapely implement is seen in Fig. 16 (p. 55). This form closely resembles modern iron spades so far as the blade is concerned; it is, nevertheless, an old type, very old specimens of which have been found buried in swamps. In this case we have no detachable blade, for shaft and blade have been cut out of the solid, no inconsiderable task when performed by means of rude stone tools. The tool is a light one designed for light work among growing crops, weeding and soil loosening operations; it is No. 2400 in the register of the Dominion Museum. It has, unfortunately, been mislaid, hence I cannot give its dimensions.
In Fig. 17 (p. 59) we have a form known as a rapa maire; it represents No. 464 in the Dominion Museum. It is quite a modern specimen, made by Paitini of Ruatahuna (Tuhoe tribe) who, however, maintains that it is a replica of the old implement formerly used in that district. It much resembles the puka described above, and would probably be so termed by Waikato natives. Its length is 4 ft. 10 ins. of which the blade takes 1 ft. 8 ins. The handle is round and 1½ ins. thick. The blade is 7¼ ins. wide at the lower end and 6½ ins. at its upper part; thickness ⅝ in., square maire (Olea lanceolata). Rapa is the name of the blade of a spade; the word maire simply denotes that it was formed from a piece of that timber, the best being made from roots of the tree. The blade was of considerable size, and it seems to have been used for digging purposes, and also as a shovel, though not for cultivation work. It was a favoured implement in the labour of terracing and scarping fortified hills, in excavating fosses and drains, etc.
We are indebted to the Curator of the New Plymouth Museum for photographs of some interesting old specimens of wooden implements of the kaheru type in that institution, as seen in Fig. 17a (p. 60). No. 1 specimen is 6 ft. in length and represents a form to which a removable step was attached. In No. 2 we see a somewhat similar tool that is 4 ft. 11 ins. in length, it was possibly longer originally. The footrest appears to have been fashioned from the solid, i.e., from the same piece of timber as the shaft. No. 3 is 4 ft. in length, and the blade thereof 3 ins. in width, and 15 ins. long. No. 4 is nearly 3 ft. 7 ins. long; its blade being 1 ft. 2½ ins. long and 5⅘ in. wide. Nos. 4-5-7 are by no means common forms of these short hafted implements. No. 5 is 3 ft. 5 ins. in length, and its blade is 3⅘ in. wide. No. 6 looks like one of the long shafted kaheru already described, but its length is given as but 3 ft. 3 ins. the blade being 3⅘ ins. wide and 9⅗ ins. long. No. 7 is nearly 2 ft. 7 ins. long and its blade 4⅕ ins. wide. These specimens bear the aspect of age.
In Fig. 17b (p. 59) are shown two implements in the New Plymouth Museum. That marked A is 7 ft. 3 ins. long; its blade being 3 ft. 2½ ins. in length and 4 in. wide. It is essentially a cultivating tool, a light form of ko, or kaheru. It carries two small slots at the lower end of the blade to accommodate the lashings of the detachable step. A neatly fashioned implement. In B we have an old specimen that is here represented on account of the carefully carved designs on the shaft. These unfortunately, do not come out well in the photograph.
Fig. 18 (p. 55) shows us the puka type of spade, as known at Waikato. This name is confused with those of hoto and tihou by some writers, but our Waikato authorities referred to in remarks on the hoto show the puka and hoto to be two distinct forms, the latter being a shovel with short blade, and the former a long bladed spade, as shown in the illustrations forwarded by them (See Figs. 3 and 18, pp. 48, 55). This puka resembles the tool called a rapa maire in the Bay of Plenty district, and it is quite clear that puka described by our Waikato correspondents are its length of blade, and its peculiar form, inasmuch as, not only its lower end, but also its sides, are worked to a fine edge. The cross-section shows a flat back to the blade, while its front surface is rounded. It is said to have been much used for the purpose of trimming the batters of escarpments in fortified hill villages, and the scarps of defensive fosses.
Colenso seems to imply that puka was a name for iron spades, so called by natives on account of the blades thereof resembling the great leaf of the puka tree (Meryta Sinclairii). The resemblance, if any, can scarcely be termed a striking one, and the Waikato evidence tends to support the view that puka is an old native spade name, though not in general use in all districts. As explained here it can scarcely be termed an agricultural tool, but it was a form of spade, hence it is included in our list. In trimming down a batter face the flat side of the blade would be next that face, and the convex side outward. These tools, shaft and blade, were cut out of the solid.
We have now to deal with the small paddle-like tool called a ketu that was formerly so much used by tillers of the soil. The ketu is, as we have seen, termed kaheru in some districts. It is a small, shapely, neat little cultivating tool, and handier for its peculiar purpose than other native agricultural implements are for theirs. It seems clear that these tools have been modelled in the form of the canoe paddle, which they closely resemble. The sharp point of the blade was peculiarly suited to the work of loosening the soil around the kumara plants, an operation that was performed when the crop was weeded. This work was performed by the Maori in a squatting position, not in one of stooping or sitting. One often sees native women using small steel spades in a similar manner. Even now, after long years of work with European tools, many natives appear awkward in using a steel spade, as in digging operations. They thrust the spade into the soil at a very low angle, thus turning but a shallow spit.
The ketu was sometimes used in the labour of taking up the kumara crop. Its narrow, long pointed blade was an excellent instrument wherewith to loosen the soil, and the tubers were then picked out with the hands, thus but few of them were bruised by the tool. This was highly desirable, for the least bruising of the surface of this tender product would cause decay to set in. Waikato natives tell us that agricultural tools were formed from maire (an Olea), ake (Dodonoea viscosa), manuka (Leptospermum), and matai (Podocarpus spicatus), whatever hardwoods were obtainable. Lashing material was usually aka, tough, durable and pliant stems of climbing plants, cordage of Phormium fibre being seldom used, as it chafes readily and is not so durable.
In describing the care of the kumara crop in former times, Archdeacon Walsh says:—"One weeding was considered sufficient, and it was done in the dry summer weather by a party made tapu for the occasion, and armed with small wooden spades shaped something like a short paddle."
In L'Horne's Journal of De Surville's voyage, as given in Vol. 2 of McNab's Historical Records of New Zealand, appears the following:—"Their implements for ploughing the ground are in proportion to the little use they make of this art, as they only cultivate very small patches of ground. They have only two implements, and these are very primitive. One is an implement shaped like a trowel, the other is also wooden and shaped like a grubber, and about 2 ft. or 3 ft. in length." The first of these was probably the paddle shaped tool termed a ketu, and the grubber the tima. Apparently this writer did not see the ko, the most universally used of all native agricultural tools.
The Rev. S. Marsden gives, in his journal, some account of the work of a party of natives in a northern cultivation. Some were breaking up the ground "with a sort of wooden spatula," or wooden spade, to plant their sweet potato. All these natives were extremely anxious to obtain iron hoes, of which Marsden had brought a supply. "They were ready to tear us to pieces for hoes and axes. One of them said his heart would burst if he did not get a hoe."
Fig. 19 (p. 61) shows No. 1962 in the Dominion Museum Collection. It is a ketu apparently of considerable age, and a good specimen of this class of tool. It is 2 ft. 6 ins. long, blade 2⅜ in. wide at its broadest part. This blade is fashioned as is that of a paddle, having one side flat and the other rounded, the edges being thin and centre of blade 7-16 in. in thickness. The side view shows a faithful copying of the peculiar curve of a paddle handle as it merges into the blade. The ribbed surfaces of this implement show that they have been scraped after the tool was hewn into form.
No. 1963, Fig. 19 (p. 61) shows a similar tool, of smaller size its length being but 2 ft.; a neatly made little tool made of manuka, and of considerable age.
Fig. 20 (p. 61) presents a form of ketu seen in wooden tools, but this is peculiar on account of its having been fashioned from screws, evidently a work of the steel age. The blade, however, and lower part of the shaft, are seemingly old. The full length is 2 ft. 8 ins., and length of blade 10 ins. The handle is oval in cross section. This tool is No. 463 in the Dominion Museum.
Hari Wahanui of Otorohanga says that he knows this implement as a pinaki, and that his people fashioned them from the hard wood of the maire (Olea sp.).
Fig. 21 (p. 59) shows two small ketu or wauwau, the kind used by persons engaged in loosening soil round the plants of kumara, and also in taking up crops. One is of the paddle shaped form, the other is simply a pointed round stick. These are from the Wairoa H.B. district, where both forms are termed wauwau. The small round implement was much used in taking up the potato (Solanum) crop before iron spades became plentiful among the natives. These are the smallest specimens of such implements in the Dominion Museum.
Wauwau is the name applied by the Tuhoe tribe to any pointed stick used in loosening earth, as in excavation of fosses. The Wairoa H.B. natives apply this name to the short paddle shaped tools called ketu, pinaki taru, and kaheru in various districts. The Tuhoe people use the term in the same manner. It was formerly used for cultivation work and in taking up the sweet potato crop. One from the Wairoa district is but about 15 ins. in length. They were often fashioned from mapara in the Wairoa district, that is from the hard, resinous heartwood of the white pine. A short pointed wooden implement, cylindrical and about a foot long was called by the same name at the Wairoa; it was used in digging up the potato (Solanum) crop. This is shown in the shorter specimen in Fig. 21 (p. 59), the other implement being a small form of ketu, that has been mislaid, hence its length cannot be given.
The two wooden implements shown in Fig. 22 (p. 59) are old forms though possibly not pre-European. The shorter one seems to bear the marks of a steel tool at the extreme end near the handgrip. It is 2 ft. 10 ins. long, and is of the usual paddle-like form of the ketu or wauwau, the blade being flat on one side and rounded on
ketu. The blade is rounded on both sides and the upper end has been fashioned in a somewhat unusual manner. These implements were found north of Auckland, having become exposed by sand drift. They have evidently been buried for many years. In some districts these implements would certainly be called kaheru, though the longer specimen is an intermediate form between the paddle-shaped tool and the ko.
A form differing from the paddle-shaped ketu is shown in Fig. 22a (p. 68). In blade form this specimen resembles Fig. 20, and these implements do not present the symmetrical appearance that marks the shapely paddle form.
Ko.—In the ko we see the best known and (formerly) the most widely used of all native agricultural tools. Its peculiar form has led to the preservation of a considerable number in our museums and elsewhere. This was the last of the old earth working tools to be given up by the Maori, and the writer has seen it in use in the forest lands of Ruatahuna as late as the year 1900.
Mr. Colenso has left us the following brief paragraph on the agricultural tools of the Maori:—"Their implements of agriculture were made of hardwood, and were few in number. The principal one was a ko, a rude kind of narrow and pointed spade with a very long handle, to which, at about eighteen inches or more from the point, they fitted a small crooked bit of carved wood, as a rest for the foot. Much smaller implements of a similar shape were used for digging around the plants and for breaking the clods; these last they used in a sitting or squatting posture."
In Fig. 23 (p. 69) we see ten implements of the Auckland Museum collection. The two on the left, and that on the extreme right, would be termed kaheru by most natives, while No. 4 from the left might be termed either a kaheru or a cultivating ko. The other six are all ko, some of the breaking up type, others of the cultivating form.
It is clear that this primitive form of digging stick had a very wide range in former times, nor can this fact be wondered at when we note its extreme simplicity. It is identical with the old Highland spade. In Ure's Agriculture of Dumbarton, 1794, at p. 39 we read:—"The simplest and probably the first kind of agricultural instrument in the world is still in use in parts of Scotland. It is called the Highland spade. This rude instrument is a strong stick about 6 ft. in length; the shaft is round, and bended a little for the aruhe or fern roots, the rhizomes of Pteris aquilina var esculenta, so much used as a food supply in former times. By the combined effort of several men a mass of hard tenacious earth was thrown over in bulk by the leverage obtained from a number of ko driven into the earth, the tools being sunk to the required depth by means of a punching process, as we form a hole with a crowbar. The compact mass overthrown was then separated by using the tools in a similar manner, after which the smaller pieces were broken with lighter implements and pulverised with wooden clubs, while the roots were picked out and put aside. In Fiji, when preparing ground for the yam crop, three or four men worked together. Facing each other they punch their digging sticks into the earth in the form of a circle, and so by leverage loosen the enclosed mass of earth. The Maori seems to have preferred to work single handed, each man loosening and raising (but not overturning) a small area of earth for each puke or hill in which the kumara tubers were set. After ground had been once worked the ko could be inserted by means of pressure on the footrest.
Williams, in his Fiji and the Fijians tells us that the digging stick used by the natives resembles the handle of a hay fork in size and length, and is sharpened at one end. In using them the men work in threes or fours. He says "They drive them into the ground so as to enclose a circle of about 2 ft. in diameter. When, by repeated strokes, the sticks reach the depth of eighteen inches, they
Commander Wilkes wrote of Fijian methods as follows:—"The digging of the ground was performed with a long pointed pole, which they thrust into the ground with both hands, and by swinging on the upper end they contrived to raise up large pieces of the soil, which was quite hard."
The Zuni pueblo folk of New Mexico used a similar implement, but more primitive than the Maori ko, being a natural branch pointed and flattened, and having a projecting limb base for a footrest. The digging sticks of California were weighted with perforated stones.
In describing the pursuits of a native of Rarotonga, John Williams says:—"The substitute he used for a spade in tilling the ground was an instrument called the ko, which is a piece of iron-wood, pointed at one end."
The ko was also used in the Tongan Group. Cook writes as follows concerning it:—"The instruments they use ... are nothing more than pickets or stakes of different lengths, according to the depth they have to dig. These are flattened and sharpened to an edge at one end, and the largest have a short piece fixed transversely, for pressing it into the ground with the foot. With these, though they are not more than from 2 to 4 ins. broad, they dig and plant ground of many acres in extent."
Ellis, in speaking of Tahitian agriculture, says:—"The chief, and almost only implement used, was the o [the Tahitian has dropped the "k" since the ancestors of the Maori left those shores], a stick sharpened at the point, and used in loosening and turning up the earth. Formerly they hardened the end with which they penetrated the soil by charring it in the fire. An implement of this kind is still their greatest favourite ... They are not very fond of English spades, hoes, etc. The spade, they say, takes up too much earth at once, and, besides the stooping required, is a heavier load than they like to lift repeatedly." The writer makes no mention of a foot rest on the Tahitian implement, and the modern one, described by him as pointed with iron, has none.
Elsewhere Ellis says:—"The According to Andrews' Hawaiian Dictionary any sharp pointed piercing instrument might be termed an o-o [?koko] is the principal implement of husbandry which a Hawaiian farmer uses. Formerly it was a sharp pointed stick of hardwood; it is now usually pointed with iron. The best are made with broad socket chisels, into which o.ko was known far and wide among Polynesians. It must have long been used and known by the same name, for the Maori must have brought the name from eastern Polynesia to New Zealand centuries ago.
Cook describes the ko of New Zealand as follows:—"To till or turn up the ground they have wooden spades, if I may call them so, made like stout pickets, with a piece of wood tied across near the lower end, to put the foot upon to force them into the ground." Again he wrote:—"We had not an opportunity to see any of these husbandmen work, but we saw what serves them at once for spade and plough: this instrument is nothing more than a long narrow stake sharpened to an edge at one end, with a short piece fastened transversely at a little distance above it, for the convenience of pressing it down with the foot. With this they turn up pieces of ground six or seven acres in extent, though it is not more than 3 ins. broad, but as the soil is light and sandy it makes little resistance."
In Du Clesmeur's Journal of the voyage of the Marquis de Castries under Marion Du Fresne, we read:—"The tool they use to till the soil with is a large stick about 6 ft. in length. The thick end is pointed; 3 ft. above this is a piece of wood projecting, upon which they press the foot, so that they use it in the same way that we do a spade." This was written in 1772.
The Rev. S. Marsden wrote in 1819:—"They have another wooden tool about seven feet long, pointed like a hedge stake, and a piece of wood lashed on about two feet from the ground to place the foot upon to aid in thrusting the instrument into the ground. They call this tool koko. With their hands they pull up all the weeds, then cover them over with the spatula or wooden spades as they proceed in digging."
This term koko seems misapplied here, but early writers on Maori matters had a curious habit of doubling words, as in kiwikiwi, patupatu, etc.
Marsden also describes the industry displayed by a blind native woman in cultivation. She worked away with a kaheru as rapidly as did the other workers, and, as she pulled up weeds, placed them under her feet, that she might find them quickly when a place was prepared to bury them in.
The following note on the ko was supplied by W.B. whose able papers on Maori life have been widely read and ko was the most widely applied soil loosening tool the Maori had, its shapes and the various woods it was made of will be of some interest. The ko was used with foot-tread for a spade to mull up refractory earth, and without foot-tread to loosen earth in post holes. For use to work up rootless soil, the agriculturist, being also an artist, made his ko of matai, preferably of ancient windfalls with every vestige of sap rotted off, and partially earth buried, for this wood dried hard, and instead of furring kept a clear polished surface. Such a tool he took pains to finish with a view to style, and ornamented the helve with carving, besides nicking in a well-worked notch for the foot-tread, and lashing it thereto with a neatly laid muka [Phormium fibre] sinnet. Of course such a finished ko was reserved for friable soils only. For root-bound new clearings he made a rougher tool of manuka or maire, and whereas his ko of matai was up to six inches in width the other might be anything from three inches, with no pretensions to finish. The ko for sinking post holes had no foot-tread, it was a plain sapling ricker, spatula shaped at one end." It should here be noted that, in many cases, no notch was made in the blade of a ko to accommodate either the footrest or the lashing thereof, the rest was lashed firmly on to the plane surface. Cords of Phormium fibre were rarely used for this purpose, but the aka heretofore described was preferred.
It seems probable that some of the tools termed kaheru in some districts, and in this narrative, would be called ko by the Tainui tribes.
The form of ko used by the Tuhoe tribe is a long tool, seven to eight feet long, and even longer, made of maire, a very hard wood, or of akeake. It is pointed at the bottom end and hence it is easily forced into the ground, the tapering point can be inserted between roots where a wide bladed implement would be useless. See Fig. 23a, p. 77.
There are some roughly made and ill finished specimens of the ko in the Dominion Museum collection that would not have been approved by the implement makers of Maoriland in former days. These are modern and hastily made forms. The following is a description of the general form of this implement, as formerly made. Length from 6½ to 10 ft. The widest part, about 12 ins. or 16 in. from the lower end, about 3 or 4 in., from which part it tapers to a point at the lower end, and also, very gradually, towards the upper end. The implement is somewhat flat, being whakamarama or whakaaurei, both of which terms describe its shape. This is too high up to be of any use and, apparently, is merely for the purpose of ornamentation. It is said to be an extremely ancient form, the upper part of a ko having been fashioned in this shape from time immemorial. This crescent-like part is sometimes called the whakataumiromiro, the origin of which name is to be found in the myth of Maui who, when he followed his mother Taranga to the under world, assumed the form of a miromiro bird, and settled on the top of a ko as the folk of that region were working in their cultivations. Mr J. White applies the name hukui to the upper end of the ko.
The upper end of the ko was not always carved into the peculiar crescent-like form mentioned above. An illustration at p. 237 of Hamilton's Maori Art shows a variety of forms. Mr. John White states that the carving was sometimes in the form of a fish, or lizard, or a human form. In Fig. 24 (p. 76) a number of these designs are shown. The two on the extreme right of the upper row are such as were carved on specially adorned implements used by a priestly expert when planting the tapu first seed, as explained elsewhere. Curiously enough I have no good specimen of the common form of crescent shaped whakamarama, of which I have seen many on the east coast of the North Island, and in the Bay of Plenty district during past years. This is the result of leaving the securing and preparation of illustrations to the last moment, a highly unscientific procedure.
Some of the old ko reclaimed from swamps have their upper ends fashioned into a symmetrical lanceolate form. See Fig. 24 (p. 76) for such a design.
The peculiar rectangular and perforated design is occasionally seen. The fine one of this type in the Dominion Museum is said
The crescent-shape referred to above is assuredly an interesting device. In this wise: In Rongo, also known as Rongonui, Rongo-marae-roa, &c., we have the tutelary being of agriculture in Maori myth. He was what we glibly term the god of agriculture. Now
a and 28 (pp. 68, 79). As the long 10 ft shafts of the breaking up ko swayed to and fro in rhythmical, concerted movement, the officiating priestly expert intoned his ritual formulae while the tapu workers joined as one man in the responses. Across how many thousands of miles, how many centuries, have such symbols and such usages passed to meet us here in this lone isle at the world's end?
When a number of persons were engaged in planting the sweet potato crop the upper part of the ko was adorned with feathers. These were attached to a piece of pliant supple-jack cane (Rhipogonum scandens) lashed in the form of a bow just below the carved upper end of the implement. Bunches (putoi) of feathers were secured to this, as also long feathers streamers (puhi). This was an old East Coast custom according to our old contributors, Hori Ropiha and Tuta Nihoniho. Fig. 28 (p. 79) will give the reader some idea of the appearance of these long implements when so adorned. The bow-like attachment was probably longer than is shown in the sketch, and the attached feathers had a more pendulous aspect. On the streamers also the feathers would be more numerous, closer together.
This implement is forced into the ground by pressure of the foot of the operator on a foot rest or piece which is lashed on to the face or front of the tool. This foot rest is known as the teka, takahi or hamaruru. There are several forms of this projecting foot-piece, as will be seen by noting the illustrations thereof. One is a short, thick piece of wood, often carefully fashioned and embellished with carving. A hole is made in it to pass the lashing through. The end next the shaft of the implement is square and flat, so that it butts evenly against the face of the shaft and has a fairly large bearing thereon. The upper surface of the teka is usually straight and flat, or somewhat rounded, but occasionally one is seen with an upright projection at the outer end, as though to contain the foot, to prevent it slipping off. Another form of foot rest is teka resembles the wooden elbows used by settlers in making a wheelbarrow, but the upper part is more at right angles to the shank or upright part. This shank is placed against the face of the shaft and securely lashed thereto. It has a much longer bearing face on the shaft than has the first mentioned and shankless rest. Fig. 29 (p. 79), shows two of these rests of a plain form, one elaborately carved, and one the carving of which has not been completed. Fig. 30 at p. 82 shows three carved specimens.
The best material for lashing is a certain species of climbing plant (aka), the pliant, tough stems of which are used for this purpose. The aka tea, so much esteemed for lashing fences, &c., is deemed inferior for this purpose. Cords of flax (Phormium) fibre were sometimes used for the purpose, but were much inferior to above mentioned items.
In most cases no groove or slot was made in the shaft to accommodate the foot rest or its lashing. In some tools one sees a slight chamfering of the edges where the foot-rest is secured. In very few implements do we see the foot-rest fashioned from the same piece as the shaft, that is both cut out of the solid. The old and long specimen of ko in the Auckland Museum provided with three foot-rests cut out of the solid is not only an abnormal form, it is also absolutely unique. See Fig. 30a at p. 85. The only work in which such an implement could serve a useful purpose, so far as the writer can conjecture, would be such a task as working down the batter face of an escarpment. In other forms of work the lower step would come into contact with the earth ere the upper one could be used, and so block all progress. An admirable replica of this interesting implement is in the Dominion Museum (No. 2028).
The foot-rest of a breaking-up tool is fixed somewhat high on the shaft, about 16 in., or sometimes higher, according to the nature of the soil and the requirements of the user. One well-made ko in the Museum collection has the foot-rest lashed on over two feet above the point or lower end of the tool. This rest could be moved to any part of the shaft and there relashed in a very short time. It was probably so secured according to the depth to which it was proposed to loosen the soil. Wood was the material usually employed for making these foot-rests, though they were occasionally fashioned from the bones of whales, as also from stone, as shown in our illustrations.
Though the detachable foot-rest of these tools were generally made of wood, yet a few of stone and bone are known. A fine stone specimen is No. 1544 in the Dominion Museum collection. (See Fig. 32, p. 85). This is one of the best finished stone artifacts we have, and a great deal of labour must have been bestowed upon it. The shank or upright part is 4¼ in. long and quite flat. The horizontal part or "tread" is slightly more than 5½ in. in length, and has a raised outer containing rim symmetrically formed. The upper surface of the footrest is somewhat convex transversely and concave longitudinally; the sides and under part are flat and smooth. The shank shows a worked depression to accommodate the lashing by means of which the teka was secured to the shaft. The implement shows a fine finish, the surfaces having been smoothed by grinding. The "tread" is 1⅞ in. wide at its inner end, narrowing to 1⅜ in. at its outer end; thickness in middle 1¼ in. The material is greywacke; weight 2 lbs. It will be observed that the upper surface of the foot-rest is not at right angles to the shank, but trends downward somewhat. In some specimens the foot rest is level when the rest is in position, in others it trends upward. This specimen was obtained at Mokau.
In No. 1944, Fig. 32 (p. 85) we have a smaller and rougher specimen of a stone foot-rest the surfaces of which have not been smoothed by grinding. In this case, the upward trend of the rest forms a somewhat acute angle with the shaft when in position. Length of tread 4½ in., with a very slight rim on outer end: length of shank 3½ in. Width of tread l⅝in. Weight l lb.
No. 1, 1573 of Fig. 33 (p. 86) is a wooden teka made from a piece of heart of matai (Podocarpus spicatus), and is of plain workmanship. Length of shank 6 in. Length of tread, including outer raised rim of l¼ in., is 6 in. The tread is 1¾ in. wide, convex transversely and concave longitudinally. The pierced hole is to receive the lashing.
No. 2 is a bone teka in the collection of Mr. W. H. Skinner. It has been made from the porous vertebrae of a whale. See Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 15, p. 94. The tread is 7½ in. long and 3 in. wide; a hole for the lashing appears. This specimen is from Cape Egmont. It is here shown as the second specimen of Fig. 33 (p. 86).
A very plain form of "tread" is seen in Fig. 34 (p. 84), which comes from Rotorua. Its upper surface is quite flat, and 5 in. long. Its bearing surface on the shaft is small, being but 2¼ in., and the width of the rest is 3¼ in.
We have in Fig. 35 (p. 85) a somewhat common form of foot-rest, with regard to the carved design; the grotesque figure supports the "tread" on its back. This specimen shows signs of use. It has a flat tread of 6 in. and a bearing surface 3¾ in. deep and nearly 3 in. wide. This has been hollowed out slightly so as to fit closely on to the face of its shaft. The carved figure is the usual grotesque human form; its arms being stretched backward and upward to support the tread as it were. It is provided with two holes for lashing, instead of the usual one, and both show signs of wear from the chafe of the lashing material.
A native correspondent informs me that a ko would be hewn into form, and then allowed to season for some time, in order that the wood might become harder.
There were really two forms of this implement, the strong breaking-up tool, and a lighter form used for cultivation purposes, soil loosening. It is the former kind that was made the longest, and that was often adorned with carved devices.
The following description of the ko, and the method of using it, is copied from an interesting paper by Archdeacon Walsh. On the Cultivation and Treatment of the Kumara by the Primitive Maoris, which was published in Vol. 35 of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute:—
"In breaking up new land the principal implement used was the ko, a kind of long handled spade consisting of a pole of hardwood sharpened to a wedge shaped point, and furnished with a foot-rest or tread (hamaruru) lashed to one side with flax sinnets from about 12 in. to 18 in. from the bottom, according to the depth the land was to be dug. Both the foot-rest and the handle on the top of the shaft were often elaborately carved, as may be seen in the case of some excellent specimens in the Auckland Museum. Armed with this implement, a number of men formed in line a few feet apart across the plot that was to be operated on, and, keeping time to a song by their leader invoking a blessing on their labour, drove the ko into the ground so as to make a continuous cut about 1 ft. or 18 ins. back from the face, according to the nature of the soil. This done, they used the implement as a lever and hove the whole sod over together, with a loud shout of Huaia!, when they started afresh on another piece. Meanwhile the women and children followed up, breaking the clods with small wooden instruments of various patterns and clawing out the fern root and rubbish with their fingers."
I also insert here an extract from a paper, by the late Mr. T. H. Smith, entitled On Maori Implements and Weapons, that may be found in Vol. 26 of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute:—
"The ko was the principal implement used in such agriculture as was known to the Maori. It is composed of a shaft of hard wood, generally manuka or maire, from 7 to 9 feet long, flat at the lower end, and brought to an edge at the sides and foot. Five or six inches from the bottom is an attachment, which is movable, called a teka or takahi. The shaft is held with both hands and struck into the ground; and, the left foot being pressed upon the projecting takahi, or spur, it is driven down as far as necessary, and by lowering the shaft the sod is turned. The ko was used in planting the kumara; also in digging aruhe (fern root) ... I believe the implement ko in our Museum, but similarly shaped."
The process described by Archdeacon Walsh was that practised in breaking up new land. Regarding Mr. Smith's remarks on the shape of the ko, it is not the case that the sides were always brought to a sharp edge; many carried square edges or sides. The breaking-up tool was not feather edged, neither was the point thereof wedge shaped.
Angas speaks of seeing the ko in use at Orakei, near Auckland, in 1844—"We passed through a native plantation where the inhabitants were busily employed in planting their crops. They were using the ko, a wooden instrument somewhat resembling a spade, with which they root up the matted fibres of the fern below the surface of the soil." Again, at Taupo, Angas notes the use of the ko. "We came out … into a potato ground, where a number of natives were at work, digging between the felled kahikatea trees with their wooden spades or digging implements, which are called ko."
In the account of Rutherford's sojourn among the Maoris, published in 1830, we read—"The only agricultural implements, however, which the natives possess are of the rudest description; that with which they dig their potatoes being merely a wooden pole, with a cross-bar of the same material fixed to it about three feet from the ground. Mr. Marsden saw the wives of several of the chiefs toiling hard in the fields with no better spade than this." A foot-rest secured three feet up the shaft sounds somewhat unusual.
Banks speaks of the ko, in his Journal—"We had not an opportunity of seeing them work, but once saw their tool, which is a long and narrow stake, flattened a little and sharpened; across this is a fixed piece of stick for the convenience of pressing it down with the foot. With this simple tool, industry teaches them to turn pieces of ground of six or seven acres in extent. The soil is generally sandy, and is therefore easily turned up, while the narrowness of the tool, the blade of which is not more than three inches broad, makes it meet with the less resistance."
Now, if we compare these remarks with those quoted from Cook's account given on p. 73 we note a similarity of expressions that shows one to have taken his data from the other.
The wooden "hoe" depicted in Polack's Manners and Customs of the New Zealanders may have been intended to represent a ko, but really resembles no Maori tool.
Forster, in his Observations, &c., in speaking of Maori customs, &c., remarks—"They have all a passion for ornaments, and dress; and they decorate the most common tools of husbandry, or their arms, in a curious manner with volutes and scrolls, not altogether without taste."
In Crozet's Voyage (1771-1772) we note the following:—"I have already mentioned that the fern root is the basis of their food. This root naturally grows very deep in the soil, and in order to dig it up they have invented a sort of pointed spade very much like a lever pointer at one end, to which they have fixed transversely a piece of wood, strongly bound with cord, which serves as a foot-piece, while they work the lever at the other end with their arms, to send it deeply into the ground, and are thus enabled to raise large clods. As this lever has only a certain breadth at the end which is pushed into the ground, two men join together to work it to lift the same clod. This sort of spade very much resembles a stilt on which the step is placed at about two and a half feet from the bottom."
Again, in speaking of the gardens of the Maoris, wherein they cultivated kumara, taro and gourds, Crozet adds—"In the cultivation of these crops they make use of the same instrument of which I have just spoken, sharpened and trimmed so as to form a sort of spade."
In his Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand, Vol. 1, p. 315, Nicholas remarks—"I saw some men and women busily engaged in digging up potatoes; and the instrument they used for the purpose was very rude and imperfect. This wretched substitute for a spade, was a pole about seven feet long, terminating in a sharp point, and having at the distance of three feet from the extremity, a piece of wood fastened at right angles as a rest for the foot."
In regard to the ko being "merely a wooden pole with a cross bar," a reference to the illustrations and description of this implement will show that it was a carefully made implement, much labour being expended in the manufacture thereof from hard timbers.
Some of the ko of former times seem to have had special names assigned to them, as was often the case with weapons.
A fine collection of ko in the Auckland Museum shows specimens from five to twelve feet in length. Some of them have practically no blade, but simply round shafts. One shows its upper end carved into a curious double crescent form. It is interesting to note the persistence of this crescent-like form, and one cannot help wondering as to what its origin was. Colenso alludes to a two faced human The Whence of the Maori (See Transactions of the N.Z. Institute, Vol. 19, p. 436). Tuta Nihoniho, of Ngati-Porou, stated that among his folk the upper end was often fashioned into the form of a tongue and hence this part was called the arero. The crescent form was styled wahaika. The teka was sometimes adorned with carving; occasionally it was cut out of the same piece of timber as the shaft, but was usually a separate piece lashed on with aerial roots of the kiekie. The bow-like piece of cane fastened to the upper part of the shaft had bunches of feathers of different colours attached to it, as also two streamers of feathers, resembling those on the stern-piece of a canoe, though smaller. These notes refer to the Waiapu district.
No. 2008 is a very long ko in the Dominion Museum, being 11 ft 6 in. in length. It is shown in Fig. 36 (p. 86). It is a fine old specimen, made of hardwood, probably manuka, and looks as though it had been swamp buried. The blade is somewhat under 3 in. at its widest part, but is 1⅝ in. thick. The back is almost flat, the face is convex transversely. The flattened blade gradually merges into the round upper part of the shaft. The blade carries a long point admirably suited for the punching method of forcing it into a stiff soil. The side view shows the peculiar curve noted in so many of these tools, a peculiarity that imparts additional strength to them. The foot-rest is wanting in this specimen which is essentially a ko whakaara, or breaking-up tool. Such implements, said Tuta, were not used in ordinary work in cultivations, but principally for two purposes, the breaking up of stiff soils, to a considerable depth in seeking roots of bracken (Pteris), and in excavating fosses, &c., when forming fortifications. Some had stouter shafts than the above, and, in stiff soils, such implements were manipulated by two men in the "punching" process of driving them into the soil. When it was a difficult matter to work the tool to the desired depth, two cords were fastened by one end to its upper part, and two men grasped these and put their weight on them, which much expedited the work of the two controlling the long shaft. The implement was then forced backwards and downwards, two pulling on the shaft and two on the ropes, and in this manner, several of such tools being so used, masses of stiff soil were torn away and turned down, whereupon they were broken up and pulverised with smaller implements, and the fern roots picked out.
In Fig. 36 (p. 86) it will be observed that the upper end is carved into the form called arero (tongue), though perhaps
No. 1911 in the Dominion Museum is a kaheru-like form. It is 7 ft 6 in. long and was dug up from a swamp on Mr Hickson's property at Tauranga. The handle is rounded and the blade is 7 in. at its widest part, the teka being about 3 ft from the lower end. A smaller tool of similar design and a spear were found in the same swamp. This tool has been mislaid since it was described.
The ko, ketu, kaheru and patupatu (clod breaker or pulveriser) were the tools mostly used in cultivation work.
In No. 461 in the Dominion Museum we have a ko of modern make, but good form, of the size used in planting operations. It is 7 ft 3 in. long and l¼ in. thick. The blade, or lower part is 2¾ in., wide across the face at its broadest part, and 3¼ in. wide across the back. The edges of the face are rounded, those of the back sharply defined except in three places where they have been chamfered off so as to form shallow hollows 6 in. long; at such places the foot-rest was lashed on; the one attached occupying the lowest of these positions, at 18 in. from the lower end. The foot-rest is one without a shank, and projects 5¾ in. The upper end shows the common crescent form. This implement came from Taupo. No illustration is available.
A digging implement resembling the Maori ko was used in Peru, as shown in the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1918, p. 488. The writer terms the implement a "foot-plow".
In Linton's work on the Marquesas Group we learn that the natives of those isles used a digging stick in former times that must have resembled a very short form of ko, though apparently no step or footrest was attached to it. However, this is not assured, inasmuch as the natives have not preserved much knowledge of some of the implements of their forefathers.
Any implement in the form of a shovel or scoop may be termed a koko or tikoko. The name is applied to a form of wooden spade by the Ngapuhi folk of the north. Nicholas (1815) gives it as the name of a tool. Mr. T. H. Smith terms the tikoko "a kind of shovel," in his paper on Maori implements. (See Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, Vol. 26, p. 426).
Tuta Nihoniho informs us that, on the East Coast, a curious implement, termed a koko, in form much resembling a canoe baler, was formerly used as an earth scoop, used in place of a spade or shovel for filling baskets with earth, &c., as when constructing earthworks, &c. The writer of Maori Art calls the koko a weeding stick, which it certainly was not. Hori Ropiha gives takoko as the name of an old native implement used as a spade. It was made from a piece of maire, and was used in digging ditches, &c., also in cultivation work when weeding and loosening the soil. The Ngati-Porou folk told me that the takoko was a spade-like implement that was employed as a shovel—hai tikoko i nga oneone ki ro rahu—to shovel earth into baskets, as when constructing the ramparts of defensive works.
Presumably the hoto already described would be termed a koko in some districts, inasmuch as it was used as a shovel.
This implement is one of curious form, and is fairly well known in our museums. Nos. 398, 495 and 194 in Fig. 37 (p. 93) give a good idea of the form of these tools, which were used as grubbers for loosening soil. They were made from a forked branch, the blade being somewhat flattened and the handle round. Their peculiarity lies, not so much in the fact of the peculiar angle of blade and handle, as in the length of the blade which is as long as the handle. In some cases, as witness No. 194, it is somewhat longer; for here the blade part is 1 ft. 9½ in. long, and the handle 1 ft. 6 in. The blade is 2⅛ in. wide and is brought to a serviceable point. In No. 398, blade and handle are about the same length, 1 ft., and No. 495 shows a handle an inch longer than the blade, which is 1 ft 3 in.
The timo could be used effectively only in a squatting position, and was most useful in loosening soil too hard to be worked by a broad bladed tool. This implement closely resembles an old Egyptian form, as depicted in the Rev. R. Taylor's Te Ika a Maui, 2nd Ed., p. 423. In Fig. 38 (p. 93) we see how this timo, or "pecker," was used, albeit the wielder thereof is a young woman of the 20th Century.
Tuta Nihoniho informed us that among the Ngati-Porou folk of the East Coast a peculiar implement termed a paretai was formerly used in kumara and taro plantations. It was of a peculiar form, made from a piece of hardwood, and was from 12 in. to 18 in. in
taro were grown.
According to Hakaraia Pahewa, of Te Kaha, the paretai was a carefully fashioned flat implement used in earthing up (whakaeke) the tapuke (syn. puke) of the kumara field. An expression still employed by elderly women of those parts is—Paretaitia mai te oneone kia ngaro ai ta tatau umu. Scrape up the earth, that our oven may be covered. This implement was also used for the purpose of scraping earth to cover the mats placed over the umu or steam oven, hence the above remark. According to information received from natives there seems to have been a shorter form having no elongated ends, as shown in B. The crescent-like form described by Tuta is represented by A. in Fig. 39 (p. 94).
We are indebted to Mr. J. B. Lee of Waitakaro for a description and sketch of the paretai, as obtained from an elderly native of Ngati-Porou. He remarks that he made many enquiries ere he found an old man who remembered having seen the implement in his boyhood. The old native made a rude sketch a la Maori by means of a stick on a bare patch of ground. This tool was used as a scraper in filling baskets with gravel to be used in the cultivations, and in arranging the gravel in taro holes and around kumara plants. It might also be used in any such scraping operations. The paretai was made of a seasoned piece of heart of matai, or other suitable timber. It was about semi-circular in form, some ten inches or so in length, and about eight inches wide, or deep. Its thickness on the upper edge was about 1½ in., from which it tapered down to thin edge at the bottom. The hand grip was sunk, doubtless in order to give the manipulator more power over the implement. It was used as a sort
The paretai, according to Te Manihera Waititi, was used for covering umu or steam ovens with earth, as also for uncovering them when about to be opened. The different descriptions of the implement vary somewhat, and quite probably such differences existed.
The patupatu was a club-like implement used to break up and pulverise the clods of earth loosened with other implements. It was about two feet in length, the handle end being round, the balance four sided, with sharp edges and a pointed end, but this club part had not parallel sides, being swelled considerably in the middle. This was the form of implement used among the Ngati-Porou folk, but that form was by no means universal, in many places they seem to have been round in cross section. Many used them as clubs only, to pulverise clods with, but Ngati-Porou seem to have employed a form with its distal end elongated into a point that was used to loosen soil.
One authority gives this as a digging stick for kumara. Taranaki natives apply this name to the tima or timo.
Tregear's Dictionary gives tirourou, a stick for forking up sow thistles. It is not clear as to why sow thistles should have a special form of stick assigned to them, or as to why they should be so forked up, unless growing as weeds in a cultivation ground, when, presumably, any weeding implement would serve the purpose. When collected for food, the leaves of this plant appear to have been plucked, the root being left unmolested, hence the expression katokato puwha. If the tirourou was an agricultural tool, then its use would scarcely be restricted to the rooting up of one species of plant. The same work gives turourou, a stick for stirring up fire. A stick used to reach anything with is termed a rou, as also is a certain form of ladder.
The tirourou, says Hakaraia Pahewa, was a form of wooden rake used to rake dug ground, to bring clods to the surface that they might be pulverised. This instrument had a curved handle to aka. Such an implement has never before been heard of as an old Maori tool; it was probably an idea borrowed from Europeans.
Te Manihera Waititi, of Whanga-paraoa, states that the tirourou was an implement of pre-European times, called by his clan a purau. This was used in lifting earth in the construction of earthwork defences. Apparently his purau differs from the wooden rake described by Hakaraia Pahewa as a tirourou.
Tukari.—Some form of wooden spade.
Williams' Maori Dictionary gives matakahikatoa as the name of a digging implement. It sounds like a descriptive name for an implement fashioned from the wood of the manuka.
When European voyagers broke into these silent seas and came into contact with the Maori folk of New Zealand they brought with them many artifacts that caused man the neolith to marvel greatly. At first the Maori assigned no value to iron, but he very soon learned to prize it highly. The first article of iron widely used in barter was the old-fashioned flatsided, rectangular nail; these served the Maori as chisels, for which purpose he ground the lower end to a fine edge. In after days tomahawks and axes were brought in quantities and were much appreciated. Hoes and spades then appeared, but the natives always preferred the light form of spade, which they used as a cultivating implement, often as a scuffle hoe in weeding operations, and very often in a squatting position. The Maori never really approved of our mode of digging in those days. He objected to the stooping position, and to the lifting of heavy spadesful of earth, as necessitated by the huripoki or turning over method of digging. However he recognised the advantages of the use of iron tools, and so spades came to be widely used, especially in districts where wheat was grown.
In districts where the potato was often planted in land from which brushwood or forest had to be removed the ko held its own for many years, and that is how the writer comes to know the use of it. It is a highly useful tool to use in places where earth cannot be turned over, as among roots.
In some cases the Maori borrowed our names for the tools we introduced, in others he utilised his own names for similar implements, and in yet others he invented a name.
I will now quote some passages from a paper entitled On Nomenclature, by the late W. Colenso, as follows:—"Of common working tools, which, as Cook and others truly said, they prized beyond everything! most of the common ones, as the axe, hammer, chisel, auger, gimlet, awl, knife, large spike nail, small nails, &c., took the names of their own similar stone and bone implements; a few others, however, obtained some curious and striking names as—An adze, = kăpŭ,—lit. palm of the hand, sole of the foot, &c., so named from its curvature.
A small axe, hatchet and tomahawk, = panekeneke,—lit. strike—and—keep—moving—by—small—degrees!—a good expressive name, indicative of their manner of using it in the woods, scrub, &c., clearing before them; formerly no Maori of any rank travelled or moved about without one strung to his wrist; of this little instrument they were very fond.
A saw, and also a file = kani,—lit. to cut stone by friction, rubbing to and fro; as they cut their greenstone, &c.
A plane, = waru,—lit. to scrape, cut, &c., give a smooth surface to;—as with obsidian, a sharp shell, &c.
A pinchers, = kuku,—lit. the big mussel shell fish.
A grindstone, hone, &c., = hoanga, the common name of their own sharpening stones, of which they had several kinds; the common (European) grindstone very often took the additional term of huri = to revolve.
A pick, pickaxe, = keri-whenua,—lit. earth digger.
A hoe, = karaone,—lit. to tear, roughen, pare the ground.
A spade, = puka, kaheru, karehu, hapara, &c., this useful instrument bore several names, according to the district and sub-dialects, but its general one at the north was puka. At first and for a few years this name to me was a puzzler, for I could not find out why the spade had obtained this peculiar name (which was also the name given by the Maoris to the cultivated cabbage), I knew of nothing Maori that also bore it. At last I heard from an old intelligent priest, that there was a tree bearing a large leaf named puka, and hence their name for the spade (and cabbage)! For a long time I diligently sought this plant, offering rewards for it, no one, however, had seen it; at length I found one (in 1836), in a corner of Whangaruru Bay (S);—its leaves were large, 12-20 inches long, and 8-9 inches broad, oblong, plain, entire, and stout, with a long, thick stem. [This tree is Meryta Sinclairii]. I never saw another plant; its home was said to be on the Poor Knight's Islets, a small group in the sea just opposite.
I suspect hapara to be the Maori attempt at pronouncing the word shovel."
Of the names given above—hoanga, puka, kaheru and karehu seem to be genuine old names, as shown above, the first, third and fourth undoubtedly are so. The word kani betokens a to and fro motion, and kanioro describes the method employed in cutting stone with a stone cutter. The word kara, as meaning to tear or pare, does not appear in Maori dictionaries. Auger and gimlet; the Maori possessed no implements manipulated as these are; his awl was used as we use a bradawl; his drill was worked with a curious reciprocal motion, by means of cords.
The Tuhoe folk term a European grindstone simply huri, from its revolving motion, without using the word hoanga. A wheelbarrow they call huripara, a quaint combination of Maori and English. These tribesmen, when engaged on the formation of new roads in their district, borrowed our word "varnish" to describe the smoothing or trimming down of a batter.
Our iron rake is termed rakuraku by the natives, from a Maori word meaning "to scratch or scrape." Apparently no form of rake was used by the Maori in pre-European days; the tirourou described elsewhere is a doubtful form.
The most important of cultivated food products. Rongo the tutelary being of peace and the peaceful art of agriculture. Moon god precedes sun god in agriculture. Pani, the "mother" of the kumara. Was Pani originally a grain "goddess"? Rice names of the Orient. Pani and Tiki. Mythical origin of the kumara. The food giving stars. Birth of the kumara children. Invocations to Pani. Original habitat of kumara. Its introduction into these isles. Varieties. A lately introduced variety. Flowering specimens. Cultivation of the sweet potato. The māra tautane. Paper by Archdeacon Walsh. Gravel pits. Use of gravel in cultivation. Gravel covered land of Nelson district. Old cultivations of Taiamai. Boundary marks. Stone walls and heaps on old cultivated lands. Large cultivation areas bespeak a numerous people. Favoured districts for cultivation. Colenso's data. Wood ashes used as a fertiliser. Kao kumara. How land was prepared for cultivation. Planting the crop. Experts consult stars. Mahuru sends the cuckoo. Tubers planted during certain phases of moon. Release of a bird during planting ceremonial. Planters work fasting. Crop planting a tapu task. Terms pertaining to cultivation. Use of the ko or digging stick. Formation of mounds. How mounds were aligned. Lining cords and boneing rods. Formation of planting squad. The echelon formation. The Maori genius for timed, rhythmic action. Spectacular digging operations. Countermarch of chanting diggers. A Kahungunu account. Crop lifting. Ritual pertaining to planting. Bay of Plenty methods. Strange survival of human sacrifice. Human skull, &c., employed as protective and fertilising agents. Taukata and the kumara. The mauri of the kumara. Protective talismans. The so-called kumara gods. Rude stone images of Rongo. Offerings made to these images. Atua kiato. Weeds, weeding, and care of crops. Pests. The destructive awheto. Harvesting methods. Vega calls the husbandman. The revels of Ruhanui. The lunar months. Ceremonial of harvest operations. Offerings of first fruits of crops. Invocation to stars. Terraced cultivations. Storage of crops.
The kumara was undoubtedly the most important of the cultivated food products possessed by the Maori folk of New Zealand, for this far-spread tuber provided them with a greater bulk of food than did the taro and hue combined. It was probably on account kumara in Maoriland. In the mythologies of other races we note corn goddesses, such as Ceres, and similar beliefs; such beings are looked upon as the tutelary deities or protecting spirits of the cultivated product. Around these mythical beings cluster many singular customs and beliefs.
In regard to the mythical origin of their principal cultivated product, and its protecting genius, the Maori has evolved or preserved two different accounts, a fact somewhat puzzling to students of Maori myths. This confusion, it should be observed, extends to other departments or branches of Maori belief, tradition and customs.
In the native myth of the offspring of the primal parents, and of the origin of man, we see that Rangi the Sky Parent, and Papa the Earth Mother, had issue consisting of seventy male beings, all of whom are viewed as supernatural beings by no means on a level with ordinary man as known to us. One of the most prominent of these offspring was Rongo, whose full name was Rongo-marae-roa. Can we say definitely what meaning was originally intended in regard to this name? It might be rendered as 'Rongo of the great domain.' Rongo is viewed by the Maori in two lights, that is to say he has two functions, one of which is connected with peace and the other with agriculture. Rongo is essentially the personification of peace, as also of the arts of peace, which doubtless explains his connection with agriculture. In the vernacular tongue the word rongo means peace as seen in hohou rongo—to make peace, and 'Ka mau te rongo'—peace is made. Rongo is the tutelary deity or presiding genius of cultivated foods generally but more particularly of the kumara, of which he is sometimes said to be the parent or origin. He is known far and wide throughout Polynesia, as far north as the Hawaiian Isles. Tane, Tu, Rongo and Tangaroa are the widest known Polynesian gods, and belong to the most important class of deities. At the Hawaiian Isles Rongo was termed 'Rongo dwelling on the waters.'
Now Marae-roa is an old expression employed to denote the ocean which is spoken of as the marae or plaza of Hine-moana, the Ocean Maid, the personified form of the far-spread ocean. Thus the full name of Rongo in New Zealand resembles in signification his Hawaiian name. He is Rongo-marae-roa—Rongo of the vast marae, Rongo of the great ocean. Fenton has stated that Rono was a name of the moon god in Babylonia or Accadia; of this I have not noted any corroboration, though Sina the moon 'goddess' of Polynesia (the Hina of New Zealand) recalls to us Sin the moon deity of Babylonia. At Hawaii Sina took the name of Rongo when she ascended to the heavens.
Rongo was also known as Rongo-nui or Great Rongo, and the 28th night of the moon was called Orongonui, at which phase of the moon the sweet potato was planted.
It is a curious and interesting fact that Tane the Fertiliser occupied a minor place in ceremonial connected with agriculture. Rongo was the being principally invoked. This is in accordance with the old myths, beliefs and usages of Babylonia, where the moon god was believed to control nature and act as a fertilising agency; he caused crops to flourish. For Rongo represents the moon, as Sin did in the great valley, while Tane represents the sun.
Rongo-marae-roa, Tane-te-hokahoka and Tangai-waho are the three beings who were appointed as preservers and caretakers of the fertility and welfare of forests, of all plant and tree life and of birds and fish. The great Tane, or Tane-matua, was the origin of plant and tree life, as Tane-te-hokahoka was the origin of land birds; Rongo does not appear as the originator of any form of vegetable life other than food products. As the men of old put it—'Ko Rongo-marae-roa te putake o te kai, o nga hua o te whenua'—Rongo-marae-roa was the origin of food, of the fruits of the earth.
At Tahiti Ro'o-ma-Tane (=Rongo-ma-Tane) was one of the principal atua, gods or supernatural beings, and the name was also applied to a stone set up at the sacred place of a village, which stone was decorated with flowers.
An interesting note has been sent me by the Rev. T. G. Hammond to the effect that, at a certain place on the Taranaki coast, is a tapu stone embedded in the earth, above which it projects about three feet. Upon it are incised certain designs, and, in olden days, it was anointed with oil by the natives, while it was covered or draped with some kind of fabric. This recalls the 'Stones of Tane' at the Hawaiian Isles, as described by Fornander in his work The Polynesian Race, stones that were anointed with oil by priests and covered with black tapa. Perchance the Taranaki stone
The other mythical being to whom the origin of the kumara is assigned is one Pani-tinaku. The word tinaku means 'to germinate'; it also denotes seed tubers and a garden or cultivated plot of ground. Thus Pani may be termed the Germinator. She is said to have been the mother of the kumara. One version of the myth, noted in Tregear's Maori Dictionary, is to the effect that Pani was a son of Rongo, but other versions show Pani to have been a female. Her stomach was the storehouse of the kumara. A version given by Ngati-awa of Whakatane shows that the husband of Pani was Rongo-maui who was the younger brother of Whanui, which is the name of the star Vega. That star, we shall see, is connected with kumara cultivation. She is said to have given birth to that useful product, the seed of which was procured from Whanui by Rongo-maui. Pani always gave birth to the tubers in water, and this is the interesting part of the myth; the sweet potato being essentially a dry land product. As she gave birth to the 'Kumara children' she recited a certain charm, in which she herself is addressed in the first place as "Oh Pani! Oh Pani, the germinator," and called upon to produce in the water, but the final line must be rendered as though she herself were speaking—They come down from my aro—the latter word being a euphemistic expression for the female organ of generation. To identify the production of the kumara with water is a manifest absurdity, hence the supposition that Tinaku or Pani orginally represented rice, which, among some Indonesian folk, is said to have been obtained from the Pleiades.
The names of the children of Pani so produced are the names of different varieties of kumara.
In another version Rongo-maui is replaced by one Maui-whare-kino. In yet another Tiki appears as the husband of Pani, and of Tiki as a personification of male fertilising power much might be said. Mr. Tregear has told us that pani is a variant form of pari and vari, both rice names, and that vari is also used to denote water and mud. Possibly the Maori has preserved in Pani the old Ceres or old rice name of S.E. Asia, as he certainly has preserved the Dravidian word for rice, viz., ari. In modern Hindu pani denotes water, I believe. A Tuhoe version of the myth contains a statement that Pani was one and the same personage as Taranga, the mother of the Maui brothers, and kumara. This is very suggestive.
Anyhow it is clear in Maori myth that Pani, mother of the principal cultivated food product, is connected with water, and produces that food in water. It is equally clear that this food product cannot have been the sweet potato, which demands dry land cultivation. Is it possible that a migrating folk would transfer a myth and name to another product when resettled in a new land? The food product brought forth in, or produced by, water would seem to mean some plant that grew in water or wet lands. "The inundation in Egypt was of so useful a nature that the water goddess became the deity nourishing the growth of crops," writes Tregear in a paper on Asiatic Gods in the Pacific. (See Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. II, p. 144). A similar combination seems to have arisen in Chaldaea. The connection of Pani with water and also the kumara is very curious and worthy of enquiry.
The interesting name of Papa-nui-tinaku occurs at p. 35 of Vol. 30 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society. If this is Papa the Earth mother then the name of Generator is certainly an appropriate one for her, inasmuch as from her all things sprang. She was the universal Mother. In Maori narrative Pani is sometimes alluded to as Tinaku and Hine-tinaku. In Grey's Polynesian Mythology, Maori part of 1885 edition, p. 59, occurs a charm recited in order to facilitate the birth of the child of Hine-te-iwaiwa, in which occurs the name of Hine-tinaku. Hine-te-iwaiwa was one of the names of Hinauri, or Hinakeha, who represents the moon, and she was the patroness or tutelary being of woman and the art of weaving.
Canon Stack gives a South Island version of the Pani myth in Vol. XII of the Transactions of the N.Z. Institute, in which he says that the kumara was the offspring of Huruka (Hurunga) and Pani—"The husband of Pani wondered greatly how his wife procured their food. He watched her one day go down into the water and rub the lower part of her stomach, and then he soon afterwards saw her filling baskets with kumara."
Mr. White has a note to the effect that Tiki was the progenitor of Huruka, who took Pani to wife, and she produced the kumara—'He whanau na Pani te kumara'. In the first volume of White's Ancient History of the Maori we find:—
Here Tiki appears as the offspring of Tane, who was one of the children of Rangi and Papa, the Sky Parent and Earth Mother. The meaning of the qualifying expression appended to the name of Tiki is by no means clear; it can be rendered in several ways, for instance as Tiki the producer. And as Tiki undoubtedly is the fertiliser or conceiver, this is probably the sense in which the above expression is used. Pani represents the female element necessary to reproduction. Tipihau, of the Tuhoe tribe, gave the following:—
This Tahu is the personified form of food, of food supplies as a whole, though certain kinds of food supplies have each their own personification.
The Awa folk of the Bay of Plenty have preserved yet another version:—
Here we have Rongo-maui, as a brother of Whanui, taking Pani to wife, and Pani is shown as a sister of one Tangaroa-i-te-rupetu, who was the father of the five Maui brothers. Pani is said to have been the foster parent of those five children. See Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, Vol. 32, p. 296; also Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 13, p. 145, for some interesting speculations concerning Pani-tinaku.
An old-time song contains the following:—
(Hence is the kumara cherished by Hurunga and Pani on the body of Papa the Parentless—the Earth Mother)
Here follows an extract from another old song:—
(That Reikura, Reiaro and Reimaru may attend. Those were the persons who destroyed their young relative, the kumara, the child of Tainui-a-rangi, the secondary husband of Pani). This
The following is yet another extract from an old song:—
Herein is an allusion to Pani giving birth to her offspring in the water.
When Rongo-maui ascended to the heavens in order to obtain some of the kumara offspring of his elder brother, Whanui (the star Vega), he recited a charm as he ascended. He said to Whanui:—"I have come to procure some of our young folk, that I may take them with me down to Mataora." The elder one replied:—"I will not consent to any of our children being taken away by you." So Rongo retired, but after a time he stealthily returned and sought the young folk. Having found them he said:—"Let us go to Mataora." So they all came down to this world, and Rongo returned to his wife Pani-tinaku. Rongo then inserted the kumara children, or a piece of a tuber as one informant explained it, in his ure, and went to his wife (a ka ai raua). Thus it was that Pani conceived, and, when the time came to give birth to her offspring, Rongo said to her:—"Go you to the waters of Mona-ariki, and there give birth to your children." So she went and entered the water, and therein she stood and repeated the charm to cause birth. Now it was that the kumara children were born; their names were Toroamahoe, Matatu, Pio, etc. (all names of varieties of the sweet potato).
Now it was that Rongo-maui said:—"There must be instituted the ceremonial ovens in which to cook the kumara, the ovens known as waharoa, kirihau and kohukohu." The ceremonial manner of cooking such products was arranged, the different ovens for different grades of tapu persons of both sexes, for priests and chiefs, and the people.
Pani was a sister of Tangaroa-i-te-rupetu, the father of the Maui brothers, and, when the father died, then Pani cared for his children, for their mother had also died. The orphan children became fishermen and reproached Rongo with his indolence in not assisting them to procure food supplies. Rongo was much abashed and this was the cause of his applying to Whanui for the kumara children. But he stole those children, and this act was the beginning of theft in the world. Nor did the act go unpunished, for Whanui sent down to earth certain creatures to punish Rongo for his dishonest act. He sent down Anuhe and Moka and kumara plant), and ever these creatures destroy the kumara children of Pani and Rongo.
Upon a time the Maui brothers went forth upon the ocean to take fish, while Pani prepared an oven of food for them; it was an ordinary oven, the one styled umu potaka, not a tapu one. The food cooked therein was the tuber of the new food supply. The brothers were delighted with this new food and asked Pani where it came from, but she would not tell them. So Maui-tikitiki-o-Taranga resolved to discover the source of this new food, this truly kai rangatira (superior food). He concealed the tu whaka-whanau of Pani, the girdle that she wore when she entered the water to give birth to the kumara tubers. He wished to delay her going until daylight appeared, even that he might observe her movements. When day dawned he returned to her the girdle and she proceeded to the waters of Mona-ariki. Maui followed her and observed her from a height known as Taumata-tirohia. She entered the water and there recited her charm:—
Then Pani gave birth to the kumara in the water; and Maui saw the act and said:—"We are being fed with the paraheka (secretion) of Pani." Then Pani discovered that she had been observed, and great shame was hers, thus she retired to the lower world taking with her as companion, Hine-mataiti, who was the parent of the kiore (rat). Maui sought her by means of his magic dart; he descended and found her tending her kumara cultivation. Pani descended from Mataora, which is in space, while Hawaiki is this world.
Rongo-a-tau was a descendant of Pani-tinaku and Rongo-maui, and he also was connected with the kumara. He was an important person of Hawaiki, in fact it was called Hawaiki-nui a Rongo-a-tau on account of that prized product the kumara. He is also said to have lived at Mataora. His children were Kanioro, Hoaki, Taukata, and Tuturuwhatu. Kanioro was taken to wife by Pou-rangahua, he who crossed the ocean to procure the kumara, and she was also the guardian of the pounamu (the prized greenstone of New Zealand). Hoaki and Taukata were the men who brought the knowledge of the kumara to New Zealand, landing at Whakatane.
There is a close connection between the stars and food supplies among many uncultured folk, as shown in Frazer's Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild. The Maori traces the kumara to Vega as certain folk of Indonesia claim to have received rice from the Pleiades. Frazer gives much evidence about these peculiar beliefs concerning the Pleiades, and might have added the Maori myths to his collection, for here Matariki (the Pleiades) were invoked by crop planters, offerings were made to them, and they were believed to be 'food bringers,' to exert a great influence on food products. Hence the name of Matariki appears in an invocation to the stars that was repeated in connection with the first fruits (mata o te tau)—
Maru is another of these celestial beings who was supposed to influence the growth and welfare of crops, and many offerings were made to him.
In Vol. XIV. of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, Mr. Colenso gives an English rendering of a long karakia, or ritual chant used in former times at the planting of the sweet potato, and here again we note the name of Pani, who, among the Maori folk, seems to take the place of Ceres. A people not possessing any kind of grain might well evolve some form of tutelary deity, or beneficient being, controlling their principal cultivated product. In the ritual referred to occur the lines:—
The translator remarks that the translation of this semi-poetical charm, or invocation was exceedingly difficult owing to so many archaisms, allusions and ellipses. He continues:—"Of the various spells, etc., anciently used in planting the kumara, that I have acquired from several tohunga [priestly adepts] during many years, there are no less than three which contain this direct invocation to Pani; and while the introductory words of those three forms vary a little, the kernel, the invocation itself, is almost literally the same in them all. This circumstance, together with its evident antiquity, the fact of its being one of the few known forms of direct invocation to any being or personification ever used by the ancient Maoris, its poetical structure and its regular fitting and progressive disposition, make it a subject of tohunga, who performed this duty while walking about the plantation, solus. This one, used in the spring, at the first planting season, serves to remind us of the vernal sacrifices and prayers of the ancient Egyptians and Romans and other ancient northern nations; and like those employed by them, it was used to procure fertility; and when simple, as in this instance, they may be regarded as among the most beautiful and becoming of the rites of natural religion."
In a footnote this writer states that he also possessed a charm for the restoring of a sick person to health, in which Pani was invoked together with her husband Tiki, and both simply and separately called on to grant health to the patient. It is not so remarkable that Tiki should be called upon to restore a sick person, for the object that he represents was held to possess very strange powers, but it is not clear how Pani could be viewed as a life saver or restorer. If it can be shown that she represented water, some light would be thrown on the matter.
In a paper on Plant Names in Polynesia, published in Vol. 6 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society, Mr. F. W. Christian tells us that kumad and kumthla are Sanscrit names for the white esculent lotus (Nymphoea esculenta). Was this edible water plant the original kumara produced by Pani in water? But if Pani represented the lotus we are reminded of the fact that peoples of India employed the name of the lotus as a sacerdotal term for the female organ of generation, thus she would assuredly be spoken of as the wife of Tiki (personified form of the male organ). Moreover, both in Indian and Maori beliefs, the female organ possesses very remarkable inherent powers, both destructive and curative, and the male organ is endowed with similar powers. See also a paper by Mr. Christian in Vol. 22 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society, p. 77.
In a later note (see Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 32, p. 255) Mr. Christian tells us that the kumad, kuvara or kuvala, the edible lotus, has a sweetish, floury tuber, and that it has long been cultivated in India, together with the taro and the yam. He holds that the Polynesian names for the sweet potato, kuara, kuawara, uala, umara, kumara, etc., are derived from the above lotus names. In Ecuador, South America, the white potato is kumar.
Mr. Colenso concludes his paper on the kumara as follows:—"Another curious superstition relating to Pani, sometimes kumara, may also be mentioned. At such seasons a peculiarly shaped abnormal and rather large kumara was met with, though by no means frequently, sometimes not one such in the whole cultivation. This was called Pani's canoe or Pani's medium, between her and the priest and the crop; and was consequently highly sacred, and never eaten by the people. To do so would be to insult Pani, and sure to cause the rotting of the whole crop when stowed away for keeping and winter use in the store-house, besides other serious visitations on the people. It therefore became the peculiar property of the priest, and was set aside to be cooked at a sacred fire as a kind of offering of first fruits. The finding of such a root was a matter of great gratulation, for now it was made evident that Pani had heard and visited and blessed them. And as, from what I could learn, such a kumara root was chiefly, if not only, to be found when the crop was a very prolific one, this fertility was also taken as another proof of Pani's gracious visit and, of course, placed to the account of the knowing and fortunate priest, who had initiated all things so well as to bring it to pass, and so to secure a good crop."
One version of an old myth states that, when the offspring of the primal parents quarrelled and fought over a kumara garden called Pohutukawa, Rongo-marae-roa and his people were defeated, many of them being cooked and eaten. The remnant of the kumara clan took refuge within Pani, who thus became the store-house of this tuber, and she it is who produces or gives birth to it. In this connection the name of her husband is given as Maui-whare-kino, sometimes as Rongo-maui.
(See Addenda 1 for notes on Pani, etc., in the original Maori.) In regard to the more prosaic origin of the kumara or sweet potato, its original habitat remains unknown. It has long been cultivated in America, the Pacific Isles and Eastern Asia (China), and it is observed that some writers favour an American origin for this plant. Other esculents of Polynesia are traceable to a western origin. The sweet potato was introduced into Europe some seventy years before the true potato (Solatium) was taken over. Columbus found it in cultivation in the West Indies, the natives of Hispaniola planting it as the Maori did, in small mounds.
The kumara was widely cultivated in the Pacific area when Europeans first reached that region, and it is known by the names given above in Polynesia, that part of the island system populated by the Maori folk.
This prized food plant was certainly brought from Polynesia by the ancestors of the New Zealand Maori, and apparently brought by a number of different vessels, though the first comers do not seem to have introduced it. A considerable amount of traditional matter concerning such introduction has been recorded in various publications, but it is not considered desirable to republish this matter. It will be found in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, the Journal of the Polynesian Society, and in Vol. IV. of White's Ancient History of the Maori. These traditions show that the kumara was brought to these isles, not by one vessel alone, but in many, along with other cultivated products of Polynesia, some of which were successfully introduced, while others failed.
The kumara is a plant of succulent nature and tender growth, liable to be injured by the buffetings of strong and cold winds. This annual needs a suitable soil and a considerable amount of care and skill in cultivation, much more so than the common potato. The latter will produce some sort of a crop on almost any soil, from sea shore to the high forest ranges of the interior: not so the kumara, the care necessary in the cultivation of which appears to betoken a tropical clime as the original habitat of this tuber.
Tradition tells us that the aborigines of New Zealand, that is to say the first people to settle here, possessed no cultivated food products, but subsisted entirely on the products of forest, stream and ocean. These original settlers, the Mouriuri folk, are said to have been a dark skinned people of an inferior culture to that of the Maori. They are said to have been the descendants of castaways from some far off hot land, but it is pretty certain that they must have come from a land where agriculture was practised. Being castaways of a drift voyage no doubt they would not bring to these isles any of the cultivated products of their home. On landing here they would be compelled to subsist on the indigenous products of the land. Inasmuch as they were occupying the Taranaki coast, the Bay of Plenty, the Auckland isthmus, and some other districts, apparently in considerable numbers, at the time the ancestors of the Maori first settled here, it seems clear that they must have been in occupation of the North Island for some centuries.
Nor does it appear, according to East Coast traditions, that the first Polynesian (Maori) settlers here brought the kumara and taro with them. In his Ancient Maori Life Judge J. A. Wilson writes:—"The aborigines did not cultivate the soil for food, excepting the hue gourd, from which calabashes were made; they had no useful (Cyathea medullaris), and ti (Cordyline) of several species. So far the traditions are clear, but we now come to a confused mass of legend that has never been satisfactorily explained. One tradition states that the kumara was introduced into the Bay of Plenty district during the life time of Toi, and that up to that time Toi had been ignorant of the fact that such a food existed, which is absurd. Another states that this tuber was cultivated here in the time of Whatonga, grandson of Toi, and that Tara, son of Whatonga, cultivated it on the islands Matiu and Motu-kairangi, at Te Whanga nui a Tara (Wellington Harbour). Yet another places its introduction about six to eight generations after the time of Toi. There is also much dispute among the various tribes as to who first introduced it, which tends to further confusion. A Bay of Plenty tradition maintains that two castaways, Hoaki and Taukata, acquainted the people here with the knowledge of the kumara, and hence a vessel was constructed in which certain adventurous ones made a voyage to Polynesia in order to obtain seed tubers. See Transaction of the New Zealand Institute Vol. XXXVII., p. 130, for an account of the voyage of the Aratawhao. It is highly probable that seed tubers were brought hither by a number of different vessels, and that each tribe has endeavoured to claim distinction for its own ancestors and ancestral vessel.
No such controversy exists concerning the introduction of the taro and gourd, possibly because they were not such important food providers as the sweet potato. A local Bay of Plenty tradition indicates that the gourd was introduced before the kumara and taro.
The Maori folk recognised many varieties of the sweet potato, most of which have now been lost, owing to the fact that certain varieties introduced by early voyagers are more easily cultivated, or more prolific, as also to the introduction of the potato. The latter tuber is much more easily cultivated, is more hardy, and keeps kumara.
It is probable that several varieties of the species were introduced here by the Maori in past times, others may have been produced here by continued cultivation, the differentiating effects of which are well known to us in the case of the common potato, Solanum tuberosum. As to how many varieties the Maori possessed in pre-European times it is quite impossible to say. A considerable number of names of varieties has been collected, but these have been obtained in different districts, hence it is quite probable that the list contains a number of synonyms or duplicate names. In addition to this, the spelling of some of the names is under doubt. Thus the following list of variety names cannot be accepted as evidence of so many distinct varieties:—
In addition to the above the Rev. R. Taylor gives:—
as names of varieties of the sweet potato, but the authority is not a good one, and many of his names are woefully misspelt.
Mr J. White also collected the following names of varieties:—
The parea and waina are said to grow from shoots. The kowhai, toenga a tahi, makawe, as also Nos. 1, 3, 11, 13, 29, 33, 42, 43, 61, 67, 69, 80 and 82 are said to have been broken (not cut) when planted, the sprouting end being used as seeds. The panataha, ngakau-kuri, makawe, kakahoroa, and a variety called kakano-tonga are said to have been lost many years ago. The kanawa and pantataha are said to have been the first varieties introduced.
Ngati-Porou gave the following names:—
The matakauri variety is still grown (1923) to some extent by natives.
Others give rau-tainui as the name of a variety.
In commenting on a list of these kumara names forwarded by him from the East Coast, the late Bishop Williams remarked:—"The above names have been obtained in the East Cape district. It is probable that this list does not represent twenty-five really distinct varieties, though there is no doubt that the varieties were numerous. Most of them have been lost, owing to the introduction of the larger and more prolific kinds; but some few are still to be found in cultivation. Among these are the matakauri, para-karaka, pokere-kahu and toroa-mahoe, with probably a few others. The tradition in this district is that the different varieties of kumara were fetched from Hawaiki in the canoe Horouta under the direction of Kahukura, and that with them were brought the taro, the hue or calabash gourd, and the uwhikaho or yam. The uwhikaho has disappeared altogether from this district."
The twenty-five names of varieties so collected on the East Coast were Nos. 2, 7, 20, 25, 26, 29, 32, 39, 41 to 43, 45, 49 to 52, 57, 59, 60,64,66,67,71,78,81.
In a note to the above extract, the editor of the Polynesian Journal remarks on the disappearance of the yam from the list of food products cultivated by the Maori, but notes that the winter potato, which grows only in the north, is know as uwhi to the Maori, and uhi is the general Polynesian name for the yam.
Of the kumara Polack wrote:—"Of this vegetable a great variety exists, caused by the united influence of climate, soil, attention paid to its culture, exposure, etc. In taste and size they equally differ, some being the size and shape of the finger, and extremely farinaceous and nutritious, while other varieties, especially the Kai-pakeha (introduced by Europeans) are as large as a yam, weighing several pounds, and containing more saccarhine than farinaceous properties." It may here be noted that the large varieties appear to have been introduced by Europeans.
"In the early forties," wrote Judge J. A. Wilson in his Ancient Maori Life, "a new kind of kumara was brought into New Zealand which rapidly came into favour. It was more easily cultivated and made into kao (i.e., dried) than kumara maori [native kumara] and in about twenty years had superseded it. I have not seen the old native kumara for many years, perhaps twenty.
Williams' Maori Dictionary gives mangatawhiti as a name for the kumara, apparently a generic term; also mahurangi as a name for the flesh of the tuber.
The introduced kai-pakeha variety of sweet potato is said to have been brought hither by an American whaler in 1819.
The Rev. T. G. Hammond states that he collected the names of twenty varieties of kumara at Hokianga. He also remarks that he saw at Whangaroa a flowering plant of the kumara. "The leaves and stem were a rich dark green, and the flower like the ordinary wild convolvulus. During a residence of nine years in Hokianga I had ample opportunities of seeing most of the kumara cultivations in that wide district, but I never saw or heard of another flowering specimen." No. 59 in our list above is said by Bishop Williams' native informants to have flowered. The sweet potato must certainly have been under cultivation for many centuries.
Mr. Hammond collected the names of twelve varieties of the kumara in the Taranaki district.
In a paper entitled On the Cultivation and Treatment of the kumara by Archdeacon Walsh, published in Vol. XXXV. of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, occur the following remarks:—"Previous to the introduction and general distribution of European food plants, that is to say up to the early part of the last century, the only vegetables cultivated by the Maoris were those which they had brought from their original homes in the Pacific Islands, namely the kumara, the taro, the hue, and the ti pore (Cordyline terminalis). Of these the first-named was by far the most valuable and important. The taro would only flourish in particular spots, and even under the most favourable conditions took a long time to come to maturity, and gave but a small return for a good deal of troublesome labour. The hue was tasteless and unsustaining, and the ti pore, in reality a tropical plant, never became properly acclimatised, and the limited quantity grown was used more as an occasional delicacy than an article of every-day food. But the kumara freely responded to care and attention in the most varied situations, and yielded a large crop of an article at once palatable, wholesome, and nutritious. With the primitive Maori, in fact, the kumara stood in a class by itself, above and apart from everything else. As the mainstay of life it was regarded with the greatest respect and veneration. It was celebrated in song, and story, and proverb. Its cultivation and treatment called forth the utmost care and ingenuity, and were accompanied by the strictest and most elaborate religious observances …
A very general tradition states that, not finding the kumara on their first arrival in the country, the Maoris made an expedition
As the European food plants, especially the potato, came into use, the relative importance of the kumara somewhat declined, and many of the smaller varieties became gradually extinct, the cultivation being chiefly confined to a few of the larger sorts, including the merikana (American), so called from the American whalers, who brought it from the Pacific Islands. This was a long white twisted tuber, and was the first addition to the old native varieties. Of late years the number has been still further reduced, and at the present time the waina (vine), a later introduction, so called from being occasionally propagated by cuttings from the vines or runners, is almost the only sort used for a general crop. This, being a very heavy yielder of robust habit, has quite taken the place of the old smaller varieties, a few of which, however, are still grown in some of the more primitive districts as a special delicacy."
The word mara denotes a plantation or cultivation ground; any land under cultivation. Of late years this name has fallen into disuse, being replaced by the term mahinga, derived from the verb mahi = to work. The mara tautane was a special planting of a few tubers of the sweet potato made by each community every year, prior to the planting of the food crop. Each settlement might have its own, or several small adjacent communities might have one in common, but always it was a thing quite apart from the food crops. It pertained solely to the ritual aspect of cultivation. Williams' Maori Dictionary gives:—
"Mara tautane, a portion of the kumara ground set apart for the atua, to secure their goodwill with regard to the rest of the crop."
When the time came to plant the māra tautāne, a day was set apart for this peculiar function, and each hamlet or family group provided its few seed tubers. These were planted to the recital of certain karakia (charms or invocations) by a presiding priestly adept, and the object of the whole thing was to obtain the goodwill of the gods. Some of the ritual chanted at this ceremony, and during the planting of the food crop, may be placed in the category of invocations; the majority of Maori karakia containing apparently no appeal of any nature. This ceremonial performance is still practised by the Tuhoe folk under the name of huamata, but in connection with the introduced potato, not the sweet potato. A ceremonial feast follows the performance.
During the performance of this ceremony the reciters of the ritual held in their hands green branchlets of mapau, a species of Myrsine, and these were afterwards stuck in earth mounds or toropuke. The tapu was lifted from the proceedings and performers ere the ceremonial feast was held. (Ka mutu, ka ma rawa, kua horoi te ringaringa, i muri ka tohi ko te urupuke mo nga mara katoa.)
On the first of December these tribesmen gather again in order to perform the pure ceremony, by means of which the tapu is lifted from the young crops.
In an account given by Mohi Turei, of the Ngati-Porou tribe, it appears that the planting of the food crop was commenced on the same day that the seed tubers were set in the māra tautāne, shortly after the last mentioned function was over. This custom does not seem to have been a general one, but we really know little of the function. It will be referred to again when we come to describe methods of planting.
In some cases this small special plot was situated in some out of the way spot. The tubers produced therein were employed in the ceremonial pertaining to first fruits.
In Vol. XXII. of the Journal of the Polynesian Society is published a description of the planting of the mara tautane, as given by Mohi Turei and Pita Kapiti of the Waiapu district, and translated by the late Bishop Williams. The description here follows:—"The ko or digging implement was brought from Hawaiki, and was called Penu. When the mara tautane belonging to each man or each hapu (clan or sub-tribe) was being dealt hapu would understand that the loosening of the soil, or throwing into hillocks, would be proceeded with on the following day…. When the totowahi (a tapu basket) was woven with its appropriate karakia (ritual chant), kumara tubers were brought, two for each person throughout the hapu or the family, and placed in the common totowahi (basket). This was then taken and placed at the margin of the plot, and covered with chickweed. As soon as the throwing of the plot into hillocks was completed, the planting would be begun on the following morning. In the morning the ceremonial umu (steam oven) called unuunu would be lighted, and as the actual cooking was begun, the person whose lot it would be to partake of this would be laid to sleep at the margin of the plot. The ceremonial umu for the people generally, which were called marere, were lit near the water, to cook there.
When these ceremonial Query, umu were all in order in the cooking stage, the men who were about to plant the plot would clothe themselves with goodly garments. Such garments as the pueru (syn. puweru) must not be worn, otherwise the kumara might run to underground stems, or throw small tubers from the trailing branches. On the other hand such garments as the aronui, mahiti, puhoro,pukoro.patea are suitable garments for planting a māra tautāne. (The pueru is a coarsely woven garment of dressed flax—Phormium. The tarahau is a shaggy cloak made of the fibres of kiekie, Freycinetia Banksii. The mahiti is a cloak covered with the long white hairs of dogs' tails. The aronui, paepaeroa, puhoro and patea are finely woven garments of dressed flax differing from one another in ornamentation.)
When all were in readiness the tohunga would take the totowahi in which the kumara had been placed, and, holding it in his hand, would throw a single kumara on each of the hillocks that had been prepared, reciting at the same time the following karakia:—(The ritual is a full version of the fragment given by Tuta Nihoniho.)
The tohunga carrying the totowahi would go along the furrow separating the special plot, reciting the above karakia as he went, and laying the kumara one by one on each of the hillocks; and if, as he walked reciting the karakia, he found, on nearing the end, that the kumara were more in number than the hillocks, he would put two or three kumara on each hillock, so that the kumara might all be placed on the hillocks; or, on the other hand, if he kumara, he would pass by two or three hillocks, placing the kumara on the third or the fourth, so that the last of the kumara should be placed on the last of the hillocks with the concluding words of the karakia … This being done the tohunga would pull to pieces the totowahi which had held the kumara, and bury it at the margin of the plot."
In his little work Kaiapohia Canon Stack describes the māra tautāne of the South Island, and applies the name of taumatua to it. He writes:—"Both the planting and gathering of this crop were attended with peculiar religious rites, and only skilled persons were allowed to take any part in a work, every detail of which was held sacred and conducted under the supervision of officers chosen for their special qualifications at the annual meeting of tohunga, or learned men, held in the whare purakaunui on the rising of the star Puaka (Puanga=Rigel.) It was the duty of these officers to consecrate the kumara plantations each spring to the service of Marihaka and Pani, the two divinities who presided over the welfare of the sacred plant. Starting from the left hand corner of each field, they began this ceremony by placing sprigs of koromiko or Veronica in the ground; after doing this they walked in a straight line to the other side of the field, reciting together as they went the appropriate prayers. At the top of each mara or plot they gathered a handful of leaves or weeds (pitau), which they carried in their hands to the nearest taumatua or shrine. There were two of these shrines at Kaiapoi, one being situated at Wai-tuere, nearly opposite Mr. Charles Young's present residence, and the other near the Maori village of S. Stephens, in the centre of the reserve. They each considered of a small piece of ground a few feet square, enclosed with a fence like a grave plot. Within the enclosure, which was called 'the god's garden,' four mounds were made and planted with kumara.
"After consecrating the left side of the fields, the officials proceeded to consecrate the right side, gathering as before the pitau offering, which was duly placed in one or other of the shrines, and called the whangainga, or feeding of the atua (gods). The last persons who performed these important duties at Kaiapoi were Te Auta, Te Whaketu, Tina, Takatakau and Karara; these were old and venerated chiefs."
The māra tautāne and its ceremonial are now things of the past in most districts, but a survival of this ceremonial performance known as the huamata was still practised among the Tuhoe tribe in 1903, and is possibly still existent.
In order to explain the native methods of cultivating the kumara, it will be necessary to make many remarks of a general nature, but we have also several special descriptions, given by natives and Europeans, which it is proposed to insert as given by contributors and writers. Any such account given as pertaining to a certain district almost invariably contains some details peculiar to the region. Such minor differences in methods and customs are bound to occur when people live in semi-isolated communities, or where no frequent communication occurs between different tribes.
In his paper on the cultivation of the kumara, the late Archdeacon Walsh wrote as follows on soils and situation of the māra kumara or sweet potato plantation:—"Though, of course, some are more suitable than others, roughly speaking almost any soil will do for the kumara, so long as the situation is dry and the plants are not exposed to the cold southerly winds, or to the spring and autumn frosts. The heaviest crops are obtained on the sand and shingle terraces above high water mark on the sea coast, and on the low river flats; but as the former are limited in extent, and the latter are more exposed to frosts, besides taking a good while to dry up after the winter rains, advantage was taken of well drained, sheltered spots on higher ground for the early plantings, though the work of cultivation was attended by much harder labour. The volcanic lands scattered throughout the northern peninsula, where not too stony, offered every advantage, and the extent to which the cultivation on these was carried on may be judged from the large areas on which the blocks of scoria have been gathered and piled into heaps to make room for the crop. Speaking generally, a light, porous soil was preferred, but, where this was not available, the land was improved by a layer of sand from the river-bed, or from wherever it could be got. In Waikato the clay land was often treated in this manner with sand from the pumice plains, where the pits from which the supply was procured are still to be seen."
In Shortland's Traditions and Superstitions of the New Zealanders occur the following remarks on native cultivation:—"Their knowledge of the art of horticulture was not inconsiderable; for they even employed the method of forming an artificial soil by mixing sand with the natural soil in order to make it light and porous, and so render it more suitable to the growth of the sweet potato. In parts of the Waikato district, where this plant was formerly much cultivated, the traveller frequently meets with large
The writer has seen some huge pits in the Patea district of Taranaki from which sand or gravel was formerly obtained by natives.
In a paper on the Pelorus district written by Mr. J. Rutland, and published in Vol. 3 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society, occur the following remarks:—"When the Nelson settlement was founded, whole sections of land in the Waimea were almost entirely worthless owing to the many large irregular shaped pits, or 'Maori holes,' from which gravel had been taken by some former inhabitants, and spread over the adjacent ground some five or six inches deep. As land was thus prepared for the growing of kumara, and the raising, sifting and spreading of such a mass of gravel, with rude tools, and by human labour alone, implied generations of workers, agriculture must have been carried on in that portion of the country long before Cook re-discovered the Archipelago." It may here be observed that there is no evidence to show that the Maori ever sifted gravel used for the above purpose, though he rejected the larger stones thereof.
To the above account was added the following note:—"In Waimea West alone over two hundred acres of land at least was covered artificially with gravel, everywhere intermingled with black, peaty mould, though the adjacent land that had not been interfered with was light brown coloured, being generally deficient in humus."
The following interesting description of the above works has been supplied by Mr. F. V. Knapp, of Nelson, as also photographs of the gravel pits and other objects of interest. Regarding the suggestion that a sieve was used to separate the larger stones from the fine gravel, we have no information that such an implement was ever so employed by the Maori. Photographs of these gravel pits cannot be said to be satisfactory; like the remains of earthworks of old fortified villages the pits do not lend themselves to the art.
"A favourite drive in Nelson is that known as 'Round the Three Bridges'. By it tourists are taken southward from the city across the Wairoa at Brightwater, thence across the Wai-iti to Waimea kumara plantations of the Maoris. In some cases scores of broad acres are seen covered, elsewhere the gravelled crests of undulations formed detached patches for cultivation. Here is ample evidence of the patient industry as well as the practical agricultural knowledge of these people. Impatient of summer's sluggish approach, the native farmers, by heaping gravel around the newly-planted kumara, increased thermal conditions, thus securing an earlier sprouting of the tuber.
As one gazes across the broad fields and in reminiscent mood tries to picture to himself the conditions in prehistoric days, he conjures up the scene of a large and influential tribe living for long years in this peaceful spot. Their pa being situated at the mouth of the Waimea at the extreme end of Tasman Bay was approachable by an outside foe only through the tortuous tidal creeks between outlying islands, hence its immunity from attack.
The surrounding country was admirably chosen for agricultural purposes, being a rich, alluvial soil deposited by the river. It is remote from high mountains and its northerly aspect and slope give it the additional value of unrestricted sunshine. The fertility of the soil was amply proved by the settlers who took up holdings in the district, their records of cereals raised per acre being among the highest in the Dominion.
The writer has knowledge of old kumara plots at Spring Grove, River Terrace, Hope, Brightwater, Waimea West and Appleby, the distance between the first and last named places being 8 to 10 miles.
The plantations around the old Maori settlement must have covered 800 to 1000 acres, and numerous excavations were made to get sufficient fine gravel.
These pits are now observable as deep hollows in the level fields, but one on Mr Challies's farm has never been brought into cultivation, and the hummocks of large stones remain untouched though overgrown with grass. From it an idea can be formed of the immense labour imposed upon these ancient workers in carrying out to the fields so many hundreds of tons of gravel. One of these pits is approximately 200 yards long by 70 yards broad or nearly 3 acres in extent, the depth being 5 or 6 feet, though sheep treading down the banks for the last 50 or 60
One of the larger pits covered an area of 8 to 10 acres, and the gravel and soil removed must have run into thousands of tons. Mr. Hammond, Senr., through whose paddock the old pit runs, remembers when the walls rose vertically 8 to 10 feet in height, but these he sloped down and then, by continuous ploughing round, he has changed the hole into a great hollow.
The roadway crosses the pit and at one spot the vertical walls are still visible. Mr. Hammond relates that the pits contained many heaps of large stones which he had carted away before commencing levelling operations. In those days stone implements were occasionally found in the old workings, and in other parts of the district the settlers unearthed several carved stone kumara gods. Other very large pits are to be seen nearer the sea, and there are scores of smaller excavations in widely separated localities; some being on the eastern side of the Waimea river.
The comparatively uniform size of the gravel leads one to the conclusion that sieves must have been used, though it is apparent that existing deposits of fine suitable material were available in some places.
On the old plantations the gravel has been very uniformly spread, and in some instances the limits of the gravelled area
To the archaeologist the workings are most interesting, and the extensive areas of the old plantations prove that the ancient dwellers in this favoured spot lived for a long period peaceful and undisturbed."
A highly interesting paper on these gravel deposits described by Mr. Knapp is to be found in a paper by Mr. Rigg, published in Vol. XXXII. of the Journal of the Polynesian Society p. 85. The conclusions to which this observer has come are supported by Maori tradition.
In his booklet, Kaiapoi, Canon Stack writes:—"The pits and gravel-strewn surfaces in the Woodend district, which have puzzled the English settlers there to account for, remain to remind this generation that Canterbury once included among its vegetable products a tropical plant which is now extinct, but the cultivation of which, for many generations, occupied much of the time and thought of the former inhabitants of the country."
A large area in the Taiamai district, inland of the Bay of Islands, has been used in former times for the purpose of cultivating the kumara. From Ahuahu to Ohaeawai and on to Pakaraka are seen signs of this former industry. Much of the undulating and level land of this large basin is composed of a good volcanic soil, which, however, contains an enormous quantity of scoria in the form of stones and boulders. On the old lava flow west of the volcanic cone of Pouerua cultivation was evidently restricted to patches of soil among the masses of rock and boulders. The extent of the cultivated area from the Tapa-huarau pa southwards and eastwards to Maunga-turoto, Tupetupe, Te Rua-hoanga, Pouerua, etc., has been great. These lands were cultivated by the folk who dwelt in the old hill forts of Maunga-kawakawa, Maunga-turoto, Nga Puke-pango, Tapa-huarau, Taka-poruruku, Te Ruahoanga, Pouerua, Pikoi, Patiko-tiko and a number of others of which the names were not collected. This district must have supported, at some time in the past, a very numerous population whose principal food products were the kumara and taro.
In order to prepare the ground for cultivation it was, in most places, necessary to first remove the immense numbers of stones lying on the surface, as also those immediately under the surface
Another form in which the stones were piled in some cases was that of a wall, though it does not appear that any enclosure was so formed, indeed there was no need for strong fences or enclosures in pre-European times. These old Maori stone walls or fences are seldom over 3 ft. in height and have been constructed by laying two parallel rows of stones 1½ ft. to 2½ ft. across, filling the intermediate space with smaller stones, and piling more on the top of the first course. As a rule these walls are short and disposed in a very erratic manner, hence they cannot be confused with the stone wall fences built by the late coming European settlers, which are much higher and better constructed, as also in long lengths and only built as enclosive fences. In some cases the Maori walls enclose two sides, while the longest continuous wall is about 200 feet. Occasionally is seen a heap never completed, where the base line has been formed by means of arranging large stones side by side, and some stones have been heaped in the centre, but the heap has never attained the proposed dimensions. In such stony soil undoubtedly stones would be turned up each year in tilling the land, even after many years of cultivation. Some very erratic looking walls are seen near an old pa about a mile S.E. of Tupetupe, the homestead of Mr. Ludbrooke.
On a low flat topped ridge near a small hill fort, about half a mile S.E. of Maunga-turoto, are two parallel stone walls about takuahi (or stone fireplace) remains. There are also some short erratic looking stone walls in this vicinity; all are evidently post-European.
Another fact in connection with these old cultivation grounds is that we find still extant certain stone-lined pathways that, in former times, were the means by which persons crossed the area when it was under crop and also marked the boundaries between the plots of different families. Thus, at a place a little way east of Tupetupe, is one of these stone-lined paths. Stones up to 2 ft. in diameter have been arranged in two parallel rows, leaving between them a pathway 28 inches wide. This double row of stones extends for 60 yards, then a single row extends for 16 yards, after which the stones are lost, but a raised path extends for some distance. The slope to the eastward shows parallel depressions like very shallow trenches such as are seen on land that has been ploughed, which this slope certainly has not been, so numerous are the rock boulders in situ. All of it has, however, been cultivated by the natives, as shown by the numerous heaps of gathered stones.
Another such stone-bordered path 60 yards long was seen near Tapahuarau. It curves down a gentle slope to the flat. Its hollow aspect was probably caused by much traffic.
Between the township of Ohaeawai and the rock named Taia-mai are several rows of stones arranged by the sides of depressed paths; such paths being about 8 inches below the level of the surrounding land. These stone rows were probably paenga mara kumara showing the bounds of cultivated plots. Other shallow depressions have no such rows of stones, and many of them are curved, not straight.
At another place S.E. of Ohaeawai was noted a straight row of stones set close together and extending down a gentle slope. It is about 150 yards in length.
Looking down from the summit of Pouerua on the fields towards Pa-karaka, they appear to be almost covered with stone heaps, so numerous are they.
Nicholas saw natives making a new cultivation near Omapere lake in 1815, and states:—"We had to pass through another wood, part of which the natives had cut down and were burning
The following is extracted from Earle's account of his sojourn in New Zealand in 1827:—"At midday we arrived at what in New Zealand is considered a town of great size and importance, called Ty-a-my (Taiamai). It is situated on the sides of a beautiful hill, the top surmounted by a pa, in the midst of a lonely and extensive plain, covered with plantations of Indian corn, cumera (kumara) and potatoes. This is the principal inland settlement, and, in point of quiet beauty and fertility, it equalled any place I had ever seen in the various countries I have visited.
We found the village totally deserted, all the inhabitants being employed in their various plantations; they shouted to us as we passed, thus bidding us welcome, but did not leave their occupations to receive us. To view the cultivated parts from an eminence, a person might easily imagine himself in a civilised land; for miles around the village of Ty-a-my nothing but beautiful green fields present themselves to the eye. The exact rows in which they plant their Indian corn would do credit to a first-rate English farmer, and the way in which they prepare the soil is admirable."
Time did not allow of a further exploration of this district, but its old forts and cultivation grounds would well repay careful examination, and it is curious to note how many of us can live in districts containing most interesting remains of a neolithic folk, and yet take no interest therein. We look upon the endless earthworks of great hill forts with lack lustre eye, or casually allude to them as 'Maori blockhouses,' as did a worthy settler of Taranaki's fair plains.
Dr. Marshall, in giving some account of the Bay of Islands district in 1834, remarks:—"The path on which we were now cut through a field of Indian corn, and to prevent either men or cattle from turning aside and treading down the corn, it is well beaten, sufficiently wide to serve for a bridle as well as a foot path, and is bounded on both sides by a dwarf wall made of cinders and lava collected from a neighbouring plain."
Taylor tells us that 'their kumara and taro grounds are generally contiguous and divided into lands: these are also carefully marked by stones over which incantations have been uttered which render them so sacred that to move one was supposed to be sufficient to cause death.' Such a death would be the result of the magic spells repeated over the stones.
In his History of the Taranaki Coast Mr. S. Percy Smith makes the following remark:—"I may remark here, for the sake of recording the fact, that on an excursion to Warea about 1853, I noticed a vast number of paenga, or boundaries of individual lands, which crossed the native track, and ran inland from the coast. These were all marked by flat boulders set on edge, and running in straight lines. Though then quite overgrown by high flax, they denoted a former dense population."
These pou paenga or boundary marks were sometimes rendered dangerous to those who essayed to tamper with them by means of magic rites; when they would become as dangerous to meddle with as is a 'live' wire.
Certain curious stone walls of aboriginal construction are to be found on the North-western landing of the Little Barrier Island. Previous investigators have reported "stone-faced scarps and terraces," apparently as part of a defensive pa. In the limited time I had at my disposal I saw nothing in the nature of constructed wall defences.
The flat on which these walls occur has long been noted as a kumara cultivation ground. As the area is subject to the effects of strong North-westerly winds at the time when the kumara grows, it seems highly probable that these stone walls were erected as breakwinds to protect the growing crop. Against this theory it may be noted that the walls are peculiarly branched
Although the site of these walls is now covered with manuka scrub—of an estimated age of at least 50 years—the general outlines can be traced fairly well. In several places the walls are well preserved and show signs of careful construction. At other
Generally speaking the main wall extends for a distance of a quarter of a mile along the North-western beach, parallel to the sea coast and about 30 yards from the sea.
At one place there is an opening in the wall said to be the spot where canoes were hauled up in times of trouble. The dimensions of the walls are "approximately given."
Similar stone walls, rows, or heaps of stones cleared from former cultivation grounds are seen in other places, as at Omakau, in Palliser Bay, and on the Hauraki Peninsula, notably near Port Charles.
A correspondent remarks that, on the eastern side of Palliser Bay signs of former cultivation are seen over a considerable area. Much labour has been expended by former generations in clearing the ground of stones which have been deposited in hollows, while the cultivatable ground has been divided by paths bordered with neat rows of stones. See Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 13, p. 156.
On Kapiti Island also are seen old garden plots, the stones collected from which have been piled up in rows and low walls.
The late Archdeacon Walsh has written on the former native population of the North Island as follows:—"There is abundant evidence to prove that Captain Cook's estimate—(of 100,000) was far too low. This evidence lies chiefly in the marks of occupation which the Maoris have left in the multitude of fortified positions, and in the immense area of land bearing traces of former occupation. The number and size of the pa (fortified positions) throughout the length and breadth of the North Island is amazing … along the Oruru valley a range of hills four or five miles long has nearly every summit scarped and terraced, some of the works being so extensive that it would take a thousand men to hold the position…. In regard to the area of land under cultivation, practically all the open fertile country of the North Island shows unmistakable signs of agricultural operations. The clay hill-sides of the north are covered with surface drains, the volcanic plains of Taranaki are perforated with rua or storage pits, all over the Waikato delta the pumice land has been excavated for sand to spread over the kumara plantations, every narrow river valley, every little shingle patch along the coast, and every sheltered nook under the sea cliffs has been utilised; even on the rocky scoria flats the loose stones
Although we have noted signs of former native cultivation in many places, yet it seems rather far fetched to say that "practically all the open fertile country of the North Island shows unmistakeable signs of agricultural operations." Much open fertile country has certainly not been cultivated as a whole, though patches of it may have been. Doubtless the above sentence may be understood in two ways.
The Rev. Jas. Buller, in his Forty Years in New Zealand, writes as follows:—"The kumara, the taro, and the hue, each required a different soil; on this account they had their patches far apart from each other. It was also expedient to do this, that they might save one or more, in the case of a visit from a taua, or pillage party. From one pretext or other two or three of these were expected every year. The kumara was planted on little hillocks of sheltered ground facing the sun. The ground, which was carefully prepared, was mixed with gravel, which the women carried in baskets from some pit, or from the bed of a running stream hard by. Women bore heavy burdens on their backs, because the chiefs, being tapu, could not do so. When the kumara sprouted it had to be keenly watched to protect it from the ravages of caterpillars. The ground was kept loose about the roots. Before it ripened, some of the larger roots (tubers) were cautiously removed, scraped, and dried in the sun; they were then boiled and used as a sort of sweetmeat.
Some of the best houses they built were the kumara stores. The labour in taking up this tubercle (tuber), sorting, packing, and storing it, was not small. The taro and the hue demanded a moist, but rich soil."
The kumara was certainly not boiled in pre-European days, but it was steamed and subjected to a drying process in the making of what was called kao kumara. Again, the semi-subterranean pits in which the kumara tubers were stored were not what one would call houses. The term is far too grandiloquent a one to be so applied. As for the gourd it was often grown in similar soil to that where the kumara was planted.
It was not the case that the taro and gourd were always planted far removed from the sweet potato crops, they might be grown in the same field, though not together. For instance the taro might be grown in damp soil near streams, while the sweet potato occupied the higher and dry ground. Again, although kumara. The inhabitants of the scores of old hill forts on either side of the lower Whakatane river cultivated considerable areas of the fine alluvial flats of the valley, all of which crops had to be carried up the steep hillsides to the fortified villages, and there deposited in pit stores. The writer has succeeded in tracing through scrub and bush and fern some of the old well worn tracks by which the neolithic folk of yore 'swagged' their heavy pikau of kumara from the fertile flats up the hills to the old time fortified villages on the summits.
Dieffenbach wrote:—"The New Zealander has a fixed habitation although he does not always reside in the same place. In his plantations, which are often at great distances from each other, or from the principal village, he possesses a house, which he inhabits when he goes there in the planting season." These temporary houses were but rude huts, not durable, carefully constructed dwellings.
The following general remarks on native methods of agriculture are taken from Yate's Account of New Zealand, published in 1835:—"The plantations of the natives are not all in the immediate vicinity of their residences, though they always have a little plantation near at hand for present purposes, or to prevent the necessity of disturbing their main crop. Their cultivations are scattered; the kumara ground is sometimes many miles from the potato field; the early potato is sometimes many miles from either; and the Indian corn is planted any where, as it flourishes in almost any place where they choose to plant it.
Their kumara grounds are kept very neat and free from weeds. The land is prepared with a small stick and pulverised between the hands; the ground is then made up into hillocks about the size of small mole hills, in the middle of which the seed is placed. The soil to which this vegetable is partial is light and sandy; where this is not the nature of the soil, the natives make it light by carrying the sand from the banks of the rivers, having found by experience that sand or small gravel is the best
Colenso has left us the following account of the cultivation of food products by the Maori:—"Their plantations … were, for wise political reasons, scattered, and often some were situated in half concealed out-of-the-way places. This was done on account of the danger the Maoris were continually exposed to, namely the sudden visit of a war party, often a taua muru (plundering party) of their own friends and relatives, to demand satisfaction for some offence, generally an insult, or a breach of tapu restrictions; at which time the crops, being almost the only available personal property, were sure to suffer, often being wantonly rooted up. Notwithstanding, they had large plantations also, which might be called tribal or communal; and sometimes these were a few acres in extent.
For the kumara, a dry and light sandy, or rather gravelly soil, was selected; and if it were not so naturally, it would be sure to become such, as every year they laboriously carried on to it many a weary backload of fine gravel, obtained from pits or river-beds in the neighbourhood, and borne away in large and peculiarly close-woven baskets specially prepared for that purpose only. This labour, however, was the principal heavy one attending their cultivations; as, before they knew the Europeans and for some time after, they never strongly fenced their plantations, kumara plant being tender, and the taro possessing large semi-pendulous leaves.
For the taro a very different soil and damp situation was required; light and deep yet loamy, or alluvial, often on the banks of streams or lagoons, and sometimes at the foot of high cliffs near the sea.
For their valuable gourd, the hue, a damp, rich soil, with warmth to bring it to perfection, was required; this was often sown in and near to their taro plantations, and sometimes on the outsides of woods and thickets.
In those plantations all worked alike: the chief, the lady and the slave; and all, while so engaged, were under a rigid law of minute ceremonial restrictions, or tapu, which were invariably observed…. It was a pretty sight to see a chief and his followers at work in preparing the ground for the planting of the kumara. They worked together, naked, save a small mat or fragment of one about their loins, in a regular line or band, each armed with a long handled narrow wooden spade (ko), and like ourselves in performing spade labour, worked backwards, keeping rank and time in all their movements, often enlivening their labour with a suitable chant, or song, in the chorus of which all joined.
If it were a pleasing sight to notice the regularity of their working, it was a still more charming one to inspect their plantations of growing crops: 1. The kumara plants, springing each separately from its own little hemispherical hillock, just the size and shape of a small neat mole-hill. 2. The taro plants, each one beautiful in itself, rising from the plain carefully levelled surface, which was sometimes even strewed with white sand brought from a distance, and patted smooth with the hand. 3. The hue in its convex bowl shaped pits, or 'dishes,' as Cook calls them. The whole tout ensemble was really admirable! The extreme regularity of their planting, the kumara and the taro being generally set about two feet apart, in true quincunx order, with no deviation from a straight line when viewed in any direction (to effect this they carefully use a line or cord for every row of kumara in making up the little hillocks into which the seed tuber was afterwards warily set with its sprouting end manuka (owing to the high westerly winds, or to the situation being rather exposed), and last, though in their eyes by no means the least, were spells, and charms, and invocations, recited by their priests (tohunga) to ensure a good crop; for this purpose alone a priest of renown was often fetched from a distance and at a high price. Instances, too, are known, in their ancient history, of some of such priests having been killed by the chiefs, through some alleged, or real, oversight or fault, or omission, in the performance of their ceremonial tapu. All, however, clearly showed much forethought, and that no amount of pains, both natural and supernatural, had been spared, and that their agricultural work was truly with them a labour of love….
I have already alluded to the large amount of extra heavy labour imposed upon the Maori cultivators of the soil through the introduction of the pig; much also arose from the coming among them of the unwelcome European rat; their own little indigenous animal not being very harmful. I remember when at the Rotorua lakes, nearly forty-five years ago, visiting a very large kumara plantation, that neighbourhood being a principal and noted one of all New Zealand for its fine and prolific kumara crops, said to be owing to the extra warmth of its heated volcanic soil. In the midst of the cultivation was a little hut, and this by night was inhabited by two old men, watchers, who had a great number of flax lines extending all over the plantation in all directions, to which lines shells of the fresh-water mussel were thickly strung in bunches. These lines were all tied firmly together into one handle of knotted rope, which these two old men had to pull vigorously every few minutes throughout the night, to cause a jingling noise and so frighten and scare away the thievish rats from gnawing and injuring the growing kumara roots.
One striking peculiarity, however, should not be omitted, in which too, I think, they differed from all (other) agricultural races,—their national non-usage of all and every kind of manure; unless, indeed, their fresh annual layers of dry gravel in their kumara plantations may be classed under this head. But their whole inner-man revolted at such a thing; and when the early missionaries first used such substances in their kitchen gardens it was brought against them as a charge of high opprobrium. And even in their own potato planting in after years they would
It may be here remarked that the Maori used to a considerable extent what was about the only form of manure available to him, namely wood ashes. In clearing the ground for a crop, all timber, brush and rubbish was collected in heaps and burned, after which the ashes were scattered and formed a most excellent manure. This style of cultivation is still carried on in some districts in connection with the potato crop.
Colenso also wrote as follows on the cultivation of the kumara:—"This plant is an annual of tender growth, and was one of their vegetable mainstays. Their use of this plant, as I take it, is from prehistoric times, as their many legends about it evidently show. In suitable seasons and soils its yield was very plentiful. It had, however, one potent enemy of the insect tribe, in the form of a large larva of one of our largest moths. This larva was named anuhe, awhato, hawato and hotete, and as it rapidly devoured the leaves of the young kumara, it was quite abhorred by the Maoris, who always believed that they were rained down upon their plants. Sometimes their numbers were almost incredible. I myself have often marvelled at them in their number, and where they could possibly have come from; baskets full being carefully gathered from the plants, and carried off and burnt. This job of gathering them, though necessary, was always greatly disliked. A few years after I came to Hawkes' Bay to reside, I think in 1846, the tribe of the late chief Karaitiana, who lived near me, had their large kumara planation regularly set upon by those immense larvae. The chief borrowed all my turkeys, which were put into their kumara plantations, and in a short time they cleared the whole ground of those destructive creatures.
Long before the roots or tubers of the kumara were of full size, they were regularly laid under contribution; each planted was visited by old women, with their little sharp pointed spades or dibbles, who were quite up to their work, and a few of the largest young tubers selected and taken away, and the earth around the plant kao. In an old work on. Gardening and Botany I find the following:—"The sweet potato, Sir Joseph Banks observes, was used in England as a delicacy long before the introduction of our potatoes; it was imported in considerable quantities from Spain and the Canaries, and was supposed to possess the power of restoring decayed vigour. The kissing comfits of Falstaff, and other confections of similar imaginary qualities with which our ancestors were duped, were principally made of these and Eryngo roots."
At the general digging of the crop in the late autumn, but always before the first frost, great care was taken in the taking up of the roots, when they were carefully sorted according to size and variety, if of two or more varieties in the one plantation, all bruised, broken or slightly injured ones being put on one side for early use; then they were gathered up into large flax baskets, always newly made, and in due time stowed away in the proper store, taking great care of doing so only on a perfectly dry sun-shiny day, as they had to guard against mouldiness of every kind, which was destructive and dreaded.
It is impossible to estimate, even approximately, the immense quantity of this root which was annually raised by the old Maoris; especially before they took to the cultivation of the introduced potato….
But, in my opinion, one of the most remarkable things pertaining to this useful root or tuber, has yet to be noticed; namely, its many marked varieties, which were also old and permanent. I have, I think, known more than thirty varieties; … and have also heard of others … while some old sorts were known to have been lost. In this respect the tubers differed just as potatoes do with us. Some were red-skinned, some purple, and others white; some were rough-skinned, and others smooth; some had red flesh, or were pink, or dark purple throughout, others were white; some were even and cylindrical, others were deeply grooved or regularly channelled; some were short and thick with obtuse ends, others were long and tapering with pointed ends; and I never once noticed
In another paper the same writer has given us the following:—
"The kumara, or sweet potato, was planted with much ceremony and regularity in little hillocks in sheltered dry ground facing the sun, carefully prepared, and heavily gravelled with fresh gravel obtained from some gravel pit, or from the bed of a neighbouring stream; this annual gravelling of their kumara grounds was alone a heavy service.
Among some tribes, as at Rotorua, the kumara root was not planted until the sprout had gained some length, which caused additional care and labour. It had to be constantly watched when in leaf, or it would be destroyed by a large caterpillar which fed on the plant, and which was continually being gathered and destroyed in great quantities. It was also carefully weeded, and the ground around its roots loosened. When about two-thirds ripe, a few of its largest roots were carefully taken away by an experienced hand; these were scraped and dried in the sun, and called kao, and were reserved to be used as a kind of sweetmeat, or delicacy at feasts, boiled, and mashed up in hot water. And when the kumara was fully ripe the labour in taking it up, sorting and packing it into its own peculiar baskets for store, including the weaving of those baskets, and the half digging, half building of the stores supposed to be absolutely needful for effectually keeping it (and which were often the best built houses in the village, and often renewed)—was very great. The taro (of which the leaves and stems were also eaten) required a moist, and the hue and aute, a rich soil, with much less care, however, in raising them; but the manufacture of the bark of the aute into cloth-like fillets for the hair of the chiefs (it never was made into clothing in New Zealand) was also a tedious work."
Mr. White's account of the making of kao differs somewhat from the above:—
"The tubers were kept in the store pits until they had become dry, then the skin is scraped off with a shell. They are then placed on a stage Invalids sometimes took this gruel through a reed tube.(paparahi) to dry, exposed to the sun, but were taken para-taniwha being used as retao or covering, then again dried in the sun until quite hard. It was then packed in small baskets lined and covered with mokimoki, a fragrant plant, then put away for winter use; also used on expeditions, and as food for invalids, for which purpose it was made into a gruel or thin porridge like mess, heated with hot stones.
The European turnip known as rearea, nani, keha and pohata was dried and used in a similar way, while the leaves thereof were used as greens and cooked in a steam oven with other foods.
The cooked and dried kumara described above were highly appreciated by the natives. The method of preparing them on the East Coast was to scrape them lightly so as to remove the skin, after which the tubers were laid on a platform and exposed to the sun for about four days. They were then cooked by steaming them in the ordinary umu or steaming pit, a process that covered some twelve to sixteen hours. The pit was lined with a paepae umu, a plaited band of Phormium leaves, and the bottom covered with leafy branchlets of papa (Geniostoma) and of puriri, on which the sun dried tubers were placed. Alternate layers of leaves and tubers were so arranged until the pit was full. A stout stick was then inserted in the middle of the heaped tubers, being thrust down through the contents, or it was placed in position ere the pit was filled. Plaited Phormium mats were then arranged over the contents and against the protruding stick, and earth was shovelled over the mats so as to thickly cover them. Prior to the removal of the stick, water was poured in close to it, so that such water found its way to the hot stones at the bottom of the pit, thus producing the necessary steam. Only a small quantity of water was used. The stick was then removed and the central open space covered. The tubers were sun dried again after this steaming process, or were dried on a form of grid made of green rods and erected over a mass of glowing embers; this rendered the kao dry and hard. This comestible would keep for a considerable period of time. It was heated at a fire in order to soften it, also sometimes crumbled up and mixed with water so as to form a kind of porridge or gruel-like mess.
Regarding the situation of plantations, Archdeacon Walsh wrote as follows:—"In choosing a site for the plantation, other, beside agricultural conditions, had to be considered, especially in the taua or war party, which might happen at any moment. This was generally done by scattering a number of small plots over a wide area, and placing them as far as possible in unlikely situations. In the case of a powerful tribe occupying a strong pa (fortified village) such precautions were unnecessary, and the cultivations were generally quite open and frequently of large extent." The above is a much more correct statement than some made by early writers, who give the impression that plantations were always scattered and distant from the village home.
The following remarks are culled from a paper on The Agricultural Maori, by W. B., published in the Maori Record of October 1st, 1906:—
"What after all then was the farming we are told the Maori so excelled in? Whose is that field of 200 acres, may be less, in one block of beautifully serried lines, so that from whatever angle the spectator views it the lines and spaces are trigonometrically exact, clean and weedless, a delight to the beholder? It is the tribe of perhaps 200 souls, of which each family has, at most, two taupa staked off in widths of from ten to twenty feet, and the whole length of the field from four to six chains, or any length, to which each owner, chief or common man, strictly confines himself, neither touching a weed nor raking up the earth around one hill upon his neighbour's boundaries; and because the pride and custom of each to keep his taupa in as forward a condition as that of his neighbour, it became that during the tou, waere taru and hauhake (planting, weeding and crop lifting) the scene was one of industry worthy of the historian's commendation."
Herein the name taupa is applied to a division of a cultivation, apparently a Waikato term.
The amount of labour required to prepare a piece of land for cropping would depend on whether or not such land had been previously cropped, and, if not, on its natural condition. If previously worked, then the work was comparatively light, the removal of weeds and working of the soil. If a new piece of ground was to be broken up, it might be covered with fern (bracken), or scrub, or bush, or stones, all of which demanded much labour from a hapai tu meant the removal of all timber, or its destruction by fire, any logs that would not burn being rolled aside. This is a modern method, I take it. In other cases the bigger trees were left. The autara or kairangi method consisted of cutting the branches from a tree, but leaving the trunk standing. Such bush clearings are known as waerenga. Since the acquisition of European tools such clearings have been made by felling the trees with steel felling axes, the earliest obtained being the old-fashioned narrow bitted English axe. In former times the Maori possessed no good wood cutting tools, hence he was compelled to rely principally on fire in his clearing operations. Branches were broken or hacked off, plants pulled up, and all were piled in heaps, or against trees and logs, and burned.
The following notes from the already quoted paper by Archdeacon Walsh are of interest: "In preparing a piece of land for cultivation much had to be done long before it was ready for planting, and, considering the nature of the tools available, the labour must have been almost incredible. The whole surface of the country was covered either with bush, fern, or tea-tree scrub, except, perhaps, on some of the river flats, and even these had to be cleared of a rank growth of rushes, toetoe, flax bushes, and other plants found in such places. The work was always done in the late autumn, when the weather was dry and breezy, and the soil in a suitable condition for working. At this season also the fern root (aruhe), an important article of food, was at its best. Fire was the principal agency for preliminary operations. For a bush clearing (waerenga) a place was generally chosen at the edge of the forest, over which the fire had run some time before, and had killed the standing trees. The branches and small stuff were broken down and piled round the larger trunks, and, where necessary, dry material was collected and carried in to assist the combustion. The small roots were dug and thrown on the fires, and where possible, the large stumps were undermined and prized out with a kind of gigantic spade worked as a lever by the united strength of several men. This may seem rather a tedious way of clearing land, but a number of hands intelligently employed made light work, and on a dry, windy day the business proceeded merrily; and if some of the heavier masses of timber still proved refractory, they were left to be dealt with at a future season, and so by degrees all obstacles to cultivation were removed. In the case of clay lands,
After describing the method employed in breaking up land with the ko, the above writer proceeds:—"It is not to be supposed that these processes were completed in regular sequence, i.e., that the entire patch was cleared before the digging commenced, as would have to be done in preparing a piece of land for the plough. As a matter of fact the several processes would often be going on simultaneously on different parts of the field, the smaller stumps and roots being taken out in the action of digging, while special gangs were dealing with the larger pieces, and the general crowd keeping the fires going all over the place. Allowing for the difference in the implements, practically the same system is pursued on a Maori waerenga at the present time.
The only object for the deep digging was to get rid of the roots and clear the land from the fern, which would otherwise shoot up and injure the growing crop. On a patch that had been previously cultivated it was sufficient to clear off the weeds and stir the surface for a couple of inches. In fact it was an advantage to have a hard bottom, as where the tillage was too loose the roots of the kumara were inclined to run, and the tubers to be small and of poor quality."
The statement about the soil being stirred merely to a depth of two inches is scarcely correct. The ko was thrust much deeper than that, though the soil was not turned over, but merely loosened, and, if necessary, pulverised.
"The native method of preparing land," wrote Polack in the early part of last century, "is by burning; the soil is afterwards dug up in clods by spades and hoes, and left exposed for the weeds and new grass, which soon spring up after burning, to decay. The farmer then waits for some heavy rain, which, saturating the clods, renders them easy to crumble, which done the soil is levelled with much care, and the seeds planted." In Polack's time the natives had already acquired European tools.
Weeds were usually piled in heaps on the margins of the cultivated plot. These heaps were termed hawahawai, and occasionaly kumara
In Bayly's Journal (Cook's Second Voyage), are a few remarks on native methods of clearing ground for crops, as seen at Tolaga Bay:—"They first set fire to the wood and then cut it off about knee high and then turn the earth and cleanse it with sticks which serve instead of spades." This looks as if he had seen clearings made in scrub, perhaps manuka. The natives did not fell any large trees when making a new plantation, nor would a fire run through any ordinary bush. Fire was largely used in these tasks, but had to be kept going by piling on brush, logs, herbage and debris. Shrubs and small trees were hacked down with stone tools or taken up bodily. The larger trees were left, but often killed by fire, and then burned down in succeeding years, when dry. Both sexes, of all ages, assisted in such work.
The Rev. R. Taylor, in his Te Ika-a-Maui, makes the following remarks concerning native cultivation grounds:—"Three years cropping being, in general, all that can be obtained from one spot, the place is then abandoned and another selected. But this abandonment is only for a space of time; instead of turning up the soil and suffering it to lie in fallow a season, their method of renewing it is to allow it to remain unoccupied until it is covered with a growth of wood, if situated in woodland; or of fern, if in fernland, which requires a period of from seven to fourteen years, when the spot is again cleared and planted. Thus many places which appear never to have been touched by the hand of man, are pointed out as having been the farms of some ancestor, and, when more closely regarded, will be found destitute of old timber. The kumara, taro, and even potato grounds are generally selected on the sides of hills having a northern aspect; by this declivity towards the sun they gain an increased degree of heat." It depended, of course, upon the quality of the soil as to how many successive crops were raised on an area. It might not stand more than two. Again, in many places, flat land, such as alluvial river flats, were the only or principal lands cultivated.
Thomson, in his Story of New Zealand, tells us that the kumara and taro were cultivated in the South Island north of Banks' Peninsula. He proceeds:—"The small finger-shaped sweet potato, brought by the New Zealanders from Hawaiki, furnished much food. The edible part is several inches long. Sweet potatoes are planted in November and are ripe in March. Light sandy soils suit them best, and the warmer the climate the better. In the Middle
The culture of sweet potatoes has been much neglected since the introduction of a large species from America. [The large sweet potato called kai-pakeha, to distinguish it from the kai-maori or finger-shaped sweet potato, was introdced by an American whaler in 1819.] But an idea of the high estimation in which they were formerly held may be drawn from the care bestowed upon them. The men engaged in preparing the ground ornamented their hair and spades with feathers. The seed was planted in hillocks perfectly straight, and each potato was placed in the ground with the seed end towards the rising sun. The labourers so occupied moved along in rows chanting songs to propitiate the god of cultivated food. Some of them were tapu; and no sick persons, or women recently confined, were permitted to plant sweet potatoes. The labourers, on giving up the work for the day, washed their hands and held them over a tapu fire before eating. A small wooden image daubed with red ochre was stuck in each field to show it was tapu. The plantations were carefully weeded, and it was the duty of every one to plant a certain quantity of sweet potatoes every year."
In olden days the removal of tapu from planters was a more ceremonial affair than is described above. The image mentioned would be more likely to represent the autua under whose care the crop was placed. The aspect of tapu pertained to all growing crops.
There are four stars, says a native correspondent of the north, that were closely observed by the men of yore in connection with the cultivation of the kumara. Those stars are Matariki (the Pleiades), Tautoru (three bright stars in Belt of Orion), Puanga (Rigel), and Whakaahu. Should the signs at the rising of these stars foretell a propitious season, then the seed tubers were planted in September, but if these stars betokened a backward season then the planting was postponed for a month. Another says-Atutahi (Canopus) is a famous star; it nevers enters the Mangoroa (Milky Way), but remains isolated. In the month when the kumara is planted that star appears towards the south, and its movements marked the time for planting.
In his work on the natives of North Borneo, Mr. Ling Roth tells that "the Kayans, and many other races in Borneo, fix the time of the year for planting paddy by observing the position of the
An old folk tale tells us that one Mahuru, who dwelt at Hawaiki (the former home of the Maori) sent the wharauroa (cuckoo) to New Zealand as a messenger to tell the Maori people when to plant the kumara crop, but the bird arrived somewhat too early in the season, hence the crops were a failure. When this bird is heard crying—"Koia! Koia! Koia!" (Dig! Dig! Dig!), then it is known that it calls the Maori to his planting. The star Poutu-te-rangi also gives warning of the time to commence planting. Mahuru is a term applied to Spring, the personified form thereof. This myth may have originated in a mistake having been made in the time of planting the kumara when it was introduced here. When the Maori from Polynesia came to cultivate this tuber here, he would soon discover the fact that the colder climate of this land called for much more care and caution in such cultivation than he had been accustomed to observe in Polynesia. He would recognise the cuckoo on its arrival here as a bird that winters in the isles of the Pacific, and, as Archdeacon H. Williams has shown, its name of wharau-roa seems to show that the Maori recognised it as a long flight bird. The word wharau is met with throughout Polynesia; it carries the meaning of "to travel," and "to voyage"; and the cuckoo referred to is the far travelled one, the bird that crosses wide seas. The cuckoo begins to reach the shores of the northern part of our North Island fairly early in September and gradually works its way southward.
We are told by natives that the kumara was planted on certain days only, or as he puts it, certain nights, each night having its own name, and these names betoken phases of the waxing and waning of the moon. Thus the nights named Oue, Ari, Rakau-nui, Rakau-matohi, Takirau and Orongonui are phases of the moon during which the tuber was planted. These are the fourth, eleventh, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twenty-eighth nights, of the moon or lunar month. If planted at any other time a poor crop would result, though the growth of the plants might be vigorous. At least so sayeth the Maori. A Kahungunu native of the East Coast of the North Island states that his people commenced planting on the Ari night (eleventh), and that the work had to be completed before the full moon (Rakau-nui).
A Hokianga native stated that his people recognised the lucky nights of the moon for planting and fishing as the first, the second,
The following notes on planting were collected by the late Mr. John White:—Kumara are planted at the time when the moon is due north, at sunset, or twilight, the planting may be continued for three days. Some tribes planted the tubers only during spring tides, that is for a period of three days at that period.
The time for planting crops differed somewhat according to the region and the season, but the three planting months were September, October and November, known as Tapere-wai, Tatau-urutahi and Tatau-uruora to the Takitumu tribes, though several different series of month names were used.
Seed tubers for planting purposes are known as huri, tinaku, kopura, and purapura. The latter term is usually employed in connection with the introduced potato (Solanum).
The belief was that, if not planted at the proper time, the crop would assuredly decay in the stores when harvested.
The seed tubers were usually planted in lines running east and west, and were placed in the ahuahu, or little mounds, with the sprout end facing east, but as the season advanced the seed was placed so as to face a little further north, until, at the close of the planting season, or koanga, the seed was placed facing north. This was done with the idea of "following the sun," and ensuring the vitality and vigorous growth of the plants.
In the district of the Kahungunu tribe a peculiar ceremony was performed on the day prior to the commencement of planting the sweet potato crop. The object was to obtain the mana necessary to the production of a good crop, that is to obtain the favour and help of the gods. During the performance of this rite a captive miromiro bird was released to act as a messenger to the gods, or as a symbolical act denoting welfare, &c. (Kia pera tonu te toitu o te ora o te kai me te ora o te manu i rere ra)—that the abiding vigour of the crop might be even as the welfare of the bird just escaped from the hands of death. A ceremonial feast marked the occasion, as another marked the completion of the planting.
During the time when the tubers were being planted no person was allowed to cook food, and none of the workers were allowed to partake of any food until the day's task was completed. They would, however, partake of a good meal late on the preceding tipau (Myrsine Urvillei) and stick it in the ground on the eastern side of the field to be planted. This branch seems to have represented Rongo and to have been looked upon as a mauri. The baskets of seed tubers were then taken to the field and ranged in a row along the eastern side, which is the whakaupoko or "head" of the field. Another act consisted of the chief person going over the field and touching each mound (puke or ahuahu) with his right hand. Should any members of the community have died since the previous planting season, then the surviving elders, if any, of the dead, would arrange themselves in single rank on the eastern side of the field, and recite the appropriate ritual while the seed was being planted. These may have been but local usages.
In Brown's New Zealand and its Aborigines, published in 1845, we are told that those planting or gathering the kumara were not allowed while performing those operations, and for three days afterwards, to leave the field, or touch with their hands the food they ate. Were these ceremonies not attended to, it is supposed the kumara would not grow. This also may have been a local usage, but was far from being universal.
Should any person presume to pass along a track or stream near the head end of a field while the planting was being done, he would either be slain or he would be plundered of his property. Nor would any person be allowed to pass along a stream or path on that side of the field when the crop was being harvested.
The seed is placed so that the eye or sprout end lies somewhat higher than the other end in the earth. When a seed tuber is to be divided, a cut is made with the thumb nail, and the tuber torn or broken through. The word toihi describes this act. The Maori did not cut seed tubers with a sharp instrument, as we do, but broke or tore them across, an act described by the word toihi in the above account. The kumara field was tapu from the planting of the seed until the crop was lifted.
Shortland provides the following note illustrating the peculiar beliefs of the Maori concerning tapu:—"When a male child is born to a chief, all his tribe rejoice. The mother is separated from the inhabitants of the settlement, to prevent her coming in contact with persons engaged in cultivating the kumara, lest anything belonging to the mother should be accidentally touched by them, lest the kumara should be affected by her state of tapu." The writer does not explain that the kumara crop and the planters tapu, or how it was that one tapu object, or person, could have a harmful effect on another. The fact is that the two conditions differed widely. The tapu of the crop and planter emanates from the gods, a sacerdotal or spiritual form of tapu, while that pertaining to the woman was such a condition as is described in the Scriptures by the term "unclean," and which would have a disastrous effect on the former phase of tapu.
The head or upper end of a cultivated field, as stated above, is called the upoko or whakaupoko or waha. The lower end is styled the remu, whakaremu or taremu. The names moa, tahuna, tawaha, taupa, karawa, rauwaka, wakawaka and waiwaha are applied to a land, or division, a strip or bed of such a field, divisions of the field separated by narrow paths or rows of stones, while kāwa is a small bed or plot. A native gave the name of takaahi to the narrow path between two plots, but no corroboration of this has been received. It is somewhat doubtful. These paths were as a rule somewhat below the level of the cultivated lands. They were called mataihi, pukiore and awa.
The method of planting kumara known as kokau is a careless, slipshod and unsatisfactory way of doing the work. Only one insertion of the ko is made, and the seed is thrust into the hole made by forcing the ko down. By this method the work is done quickly, but the soil is not sufficiently loosened, and the resulting plant will not bear a good crop of tubers. Those that are produced will be whiroki, stunted in growth, not well developed. Two or three insertions of the ko should be made to loosen the earth by forcing it upward, and a third or fourth hole made wherein to place the seed. Another method, the pauru has not been explained.
The plantation or cultivation ground as a whole is called a māra, mahinga, or ngakinga. A new cultivation is termed a tamata. An old, abandoned cultivation ground, or one lying fallow, is patohe. The terms titohea and huiki denote land exhausted by cultivation. The planting season is called the koanga. Williams gives awe-kapara, a curious form, as having a similar meaning. Tawaha seems to describe a plot planted to one crop, as a tawaha kumara. Paenga denotes the borders of any cultivation, and waenga the planted area itself, though the word merely means "the midst" or middle. Curiously enough the Maori often employs this term without including the word mara as in "E haere ana ahau ki waenga."(I am going in to the midst-mara is understood.) See Fig. 44 (p. 154). The terms ko, ahurei and whakatopatopa all denote planting kumara. The words tou, whakato and ono Tiri has a double application in regard to planting; it is used as meaning "to plant," and also to denote distribution, as of seed tubers in kumara planting. The planting out of young shoots of kumara, to result in new plants, is called whakateretere. Huaranga means "to transplant." Williams gives marere as a name applied to the first tuber planted, the same being ever a ceremonial act, and also to a tapu ceremonial fire or steam oven used in connection with the ceremony. Kumara were always planted apart from other crops, probably on account of the superior status of this esculent.
As to the manner in which the ko was used, we have several accounts to give. A Tuhoe correspondent says that, in such work as planting the kumara, or sweet potato, everything was done to the time set by the fuglemen. The ko was thrust into the ground several times in order to loosen the earth and the seed was then planted and covered. Each man had his own basket of seed tubers, and all worked in a long line, but in echelon. After a series of puke were planted, the whole line of workers, at a given signal, took one pace to the rear, each man carrying with him his own ko and basket of huri, or seed tubers. The workers were drilled to do this work to time, and in a remarkably methodical manner, hence the extreme regularity of the growth of the crop in straight lines. This fact has been noted by early voyagers and writers on the Maori. In many places the digging and planting were two distinct operations.
Archdeacon Walsh, in his paper entitled See On the Cultivation and Treatment of the Kumara,Transactions of the N.Z. Institute, Vol. 35, p. 12.tupuke, about 9 in. high and 20 in. to 24 in. in diameter, set quite close together. The party who undertook this operation commenced in one corner and worked back diagonally across the patch, each man having a row to himself; and as every hill was made to touch the two hills in the next row the whole plantation presented a fairly accurate quincunx pattern. Mr. Colenso, apparently, though perhaps unconsciously, quoting from Capt. Cook's Journal, states that a line or cord was used to insure regularity. No one, however, seems to have actually seen the line employed, and any old Maoris I have consulted are positive that it was never the custom to do so. The appearance of regularity arose from the uniformity of size and shape of the hillocks and from the orderly manner in which the work was carried on, as well as from the
The words tupuke, tukari, ahu and tuahu are all employed to describe the formation of the little hillocks in which the tubers are planted.
Tikitu, of Ngati-Awa says that, in preparing a puke a man forced his ko into the ground three times at different places, thus ∵ and by forcing the handle of his implement outward and downward so loosened and lifted the soil. In stiff soils this loosened earth would then need pulverising ere the seed could be planted.
An account of planting methods collected by Archdeacon Williams from Ngati-Porou of the East Coast describes the echelon formation of the workers, but states that they advanced as they worked, while other accounts say that they retired or worked backward. It is possible that two different methods were employed among different tribes, but the working backward would be the best method when it was desired to plant the tubers in perfectly straight lines. Unless lineing or boneing rods were used this method would be necessary, for the bulk of evidence is against the use of a cord.
The method of planting as explained to Archdeacon Williams was that all was done under the supervision of a director, and in proper sequence. Of the row of workers the end man, at the side of the field, planted the first tuber. At a given signal he then took a pace forward and placed a tuber in the next puke ahead, while the next man planted one at the end of the next row. The next signal called these two to take another pace forward and plant another tuber, while the third man commenced on the third row, and so the diagonal line advanced. This seems to refer to planters, not to diggers, though the latter may have adopted the the same procedure.
This brings us to the question of how the Maori succeeded in planting the tubers in such a regular manner. Did he or did he not use a line in aligning the mounds; this is a disputed point. Banks wrote as follows:—"The first of these (the kumara) were planted in small hills, some in rows, others in quincunx, all laid most regularly in line." Now this remark by no means states that a line or cord was used in setting the tubers, but we find that Hawkesworth alters the above to: "some ranged in rows, and others in quincunx, all laid by a line, with the greatest regularity." This is quite a different statement and tends to show that a line kumara and taro being generally set about two feet apart, in true quincunx order, with no deviation from a straight line when viewed in any direction (to effect this they carefully use a line or cord for every row of kumara in making up the little hillocks into which the seed tuber was afterwards warily set with its sprouting end towards the north)…."
Cook's account of the plantation seen on the East Coast is as follows:—"They excel in tillage…: when we first came to Tegadoo, a district between Poverty Bay and East Cape, their crops were just covered, and had not yet begun to sprout; the mould was as smooth as in a garden, and every root had its small hillock ranged in regular quincunx by lines, which with the pegs were still remaining in the field." This seems like clear proof that a line was used in at least that district. It may have been used when marking the positions for the puke, to be removed ere the digging and planting began, or it may have been used to mark the first row only.
Karaka Tarawhiti of Huntly, Waikato, tells us that a line was employed in planting or laying off three lines of puke only, one on each side of the plot, and one down the centre, but that no cord was used in forming the intermediate rows. In this case the three lines were evidently used as guides. Hari Wahanui of Otorohanga states that a cord was stretched in order to line the puke. He makes also a curious statement:—"When the kumara is being planted the planters must face Hawaiki, the place where the sun rises. Males alone perform this task, never women, in order that the lord of the kumara, that is Rongo, may be retained." This looks as though the actual planters of the tubers worked forward from the taremu of the field, though, in order to keep facing east or north, they would have to work backwards when following the diggers, as the latter formed their second series of mounds back to the taremu. The placing of Hawaiki in the east looks like a lapsus calami, or was the last Hawaiki referred to.
In a second communication Hari states that a cord was used to strike a line, the ground being marked by such a guide, after which the cord seems to have been removed prior to the commencement of digging operations. He also says that both the digging and the planting were commenced at the remu (or taremu) of the field, and that the digging was completed ere the planting was commenced. This latter may have been but a local usage. A division (wakawaka) of the field would be whanau or family group; the bounds of such divisions being marked with stones. A division forty feet wide and three or four chains long would be a large one. The mounds in which the tubers were planted were about eighteen inches in diameter, and were formed close together.
A sketch forwarded by Hari seems to show that straight lines were marked on the ground by means of stretching a cord across the field, such lines being about two feet apart apparently. This process was repeated at right angles, so that the field was entirely marked off into squares of two feet by means of these scored lines. The diggers then loosened the soil within these squares and the loosened earth was pulverised and formed into small shapely mounds in which the seed tubers were placed. It is just possible that this was a local usage, but I am very doubtful about it.
Hakaraia Pahewa of Te Kaha and Te Manihera Waititi of Whangaparaoa both declare that no form of lining cord was used in their districts. Williams' Maori Dictionary gives 'Arorangi, a line of sticks to guide kumara planters.'
Hurae Puketapu, of Te Wairoa, H.B., asserts that no cord was used, that the diggers formed a line in echelon and worked towards the whakaupoko or head of the field. The forward man at the end of the rank dug the first puke. As he advanced, the others, one after another, at the proper intervals, commenced work on their rows. The first to commence was responsible for the preservation of a direct line and correctly spaced puke. With the exercise of ordinary care the others would keep correct alignment.
Aporo Paerata, of Te Karaka, Poverty Bay, states that, in his district, the kumara is not planted in quincunx order, but that it was formerly planted in a different manner. A rude sketch forwarded by him seems to show the quincunx order as the ancient method. He also says that no old varieties of the kumara are now (1919) cultivated in that district, but only the waina, a variety introduced by Europeans.
There is some more evidence to present concerning the use of a lining cord and the formation of the rank of workers when digging. It will be seen that no universal methods existed regarding these matters. The same remark applies to the question as to whether or not the persons who dug the soil would also take part in the planting, and to that of the employment of women in planting operations. The Rev. T. G. Hammond puke in which to place the seed, that some women were employed as planters (apparently not as diggers) because they possessed ringa mana, any seed planted by them would assuredly germinate and possess vigour in growth. In planting the tubers the person faced the sun, held up the kumara at about the height of his head, then lowered his hand and placed the seed in the hole prepared in the little mound of earth. But one seed tuber was placed in each mound.
Archdeacon Walsh states that the workers worked back diagonally across the patch. It is evident, from the evidence of Mohi Turei, Te Manihera Waititi, and others, that the diggers worked straight across the field, i.e., the rows of puke or planting hillocks ran straight across, but that the row or rank of workers was diagonal, thus the man who worked the first row started work first and finished first. According to Te Manihera's explanation the diggers worked backward in making the first series of rows, but forward in making the second series, i.e., in
taremu or base, so that either statement is correct; they worked both ways. It does not appear, however, that the actual planters worked in the same manner.
It has been made clear that the echelon formation of the kaiko, or diggers, was a common usage, though not universal. As to its purport it seems highly probable that it would be employed wherever the quincunx method of planting was followed, and for the following reason:—We are distinctly told by several authorities that the first row of mounds formed was used by the diggers of other rows to align their work by. See diagram p. 153. Now, in the quincunx mode, the first row operator would have to complete two mounds, and move on to his third, ere the digger of row No. 2 could align his own work, for he would have to form his first puke exactly opposite the centre of the space between mounds 1 and 2 of the first row. In like manner digger No. 3 would have to wait until No. 2 had passed on to his third mound ere he could align his first. Thus each digger had to keep two mounds behind his predecessor. See Fig. 43, p. 153.
These explanations show how confusion has entered into different narratives. In large fields there would be a division of labour and a close adherence to orthodox routine. Small
kumara. This may have been so among his folk, but in many districts men only performed this task.
Hari Wahanui of Otorohanga says that women were not employed in planting operations because of the danger of defilement of tapu, and its natural result, the affronting of Rongo. Te Whatahoro of Wairarapa says that women were not employed in kumara cultivation; his remarks are as follows:—"The upoko (head) of the field faced the sunrise. The spaces between the the rows of mounds are the maruaroa. At the very first appearance of the sun the work of planting was commenced by men, women were not allowed to take part in it, nor were they allowed to even enter the field. Men only might form the mounds and plant the seed. The head of the cultivated field never faced the south, north, or west, in no instance did it do so. The workers did not partake of food until the labours of the day were over, and then only when they returned to the village. This procedure continued until the work was completed. In planting the seed kumara, the tuber was placed so that the head of it faced the east, and was somewhat higher than the other end. The puke [hillocks] of the tutira [row] were so spaced that their bases were about four inches apart, so as to allow of the flow of storm water between them. The [east and west] maruaroa spaces serve a like purpose, also as a pathway for those attending to the crops. The free passage of storm waters prevents the hillocks becoming waterlogged. The distributing of the seed and the planting were performed by different persons, but by men only. No women were allowed to take part in any operation, even to gathering the harvest. Only when the product is stored in the rua taranga [store pit] to serve as food supplies, are women allowed to handle them, for cooking purposes. The rua whakaahu is a store-pit for seed kumara: women are not allowed to enter it, lest defilement occur. My own eyes have seen these things I describe." Here we note the belief in the life principle of the kumara and the care taken lest it be defiled, to result in the loss of fertility. An East Coast authority gives pongaihu as the local term for the space between the rows of mounds.
The following remarks are taken from that highly entertaining work, Where the White Man Treads, by W.B.:—
"When the land was weeded and prepared, and the seed sorted and stacked ready in baskets, the tohunga, that impostor without whose blatant necromancy the Maori groped helpless, having consulted his omens, offered up invocations to the manes of the season, and deciding the time propitious, rose at daylight and strode through the village with a bundle of fernstalks, and stopping at every house, speared a stalk at the doorway, and cried:—'Arise, come forth to the planting.' The inmates, expecting the signal, would at once come out, the man grasping his ko, and the woman her basket of food, and, shouldering her basket of seed from the stack, they formed up in Indian file, and the procession marched out to the field. Here the men, guided by stakes, drove their ko into the soil on the spot where the plant was to grow, loosened the earth, and went on; while the women followed and placed the seed carefully, sprout end upwards, in the centre of the hillock. All this went on with the utmost regularity and order, so that from whatever side the field was viewed the rows were straight and in line. Thus, with much state and cryptic observance, was the seedling laid in the womb of the earth, to bring forth in due season a multiplied store of that which the Maori declared with much pride to be his permanent food staff of life. "This writer has lived a long life time among the Waikato and adjacent tribes, and his statements show that in that district the men did the digging and the women the actual planting.
The peculiar beliefs held by the Maori concerning moral uncleanness and its effect upon growing crops are widespread, and in Psyche's Task, J. G. Frazer has collected interesting evidence anent such superstitions, as held by peoples of Asia, Indonesia, and other lands. Such beliefs are extremely prevalent in the Indonesian area. Thus it will be seen that it behoved the individual in Maoriland to be careful in his behaviour, inasmuch as lapses from virtue were held to affect the welfare of the community in a serious manner. Punishment of a somewhat severe nature is said to have been sometimes inflicted upon offenders. These beliefs were not only connected with crops, but entered into many subjects and activities, from shellfish to cooking, from bird snaring to fighting. Most of such hara or offences consisted of a disregarding of the laws of tapu.
The following notes from Tuta Nihoniho pertain to the Waiapu District:—When clearing a piece of land for cropping, all timber, weeds, &c., were burned on the ground, and the ashes E tama te mata ahi, e!" In these operations, when the ground was cleared, it was not turned over as with us; the earth was loosened and formed into puke, or little mounds at certain intervals, but the space of earth between such mounds was not turned up or loosened, it was simply cleared from weeds and rubbish.
Prior to the planting of the kumara crop an offering was made to the gods in order to ensure a good crop. The generic term for such conciliatory offerings is whakahere, but the specific name for it in the above ceremony was marere. This offering was usually a bird. Among the Ngati-Porou tribe Kahukura, the rainbow god, represented Rongo-marae-roa, the tutelary deity of the kumara. The above rite was performed at the side of the cultivation. A branch of mapou was stuck in the earth at the place where the ceremony was performed. The following ritual was recited:—
The usual method of planting the kumara, or sweet potato, was that known as whakarapa. When engaged in wielding the ko, the workers arranged themselves in a row, with proper intervals between them, and performed all actions of their task in time with each other, such time being set and kept by the chanting of the tewha, or working song. The sight of a number of men manipulating their long ko in unison, with the long feather streamers waving, the military precision of their movements accompanied by the weird chanting of the tewha or work song, was a striking one.
In preparing the ground in this manner for planting the kumara, each man prepares one puke at each stand in this manner—He forces his ko into the soil with his right foot, then presses the shaft down and backwards until the point has loosened the soil sufficiently. He then withdraws the tool, places the point thereof a little distance from the hole, turns his body, and, placing his left foot on the footrest, again forces the implement into the soil and loosens it as before. On the completion of this process, the ko into the soil are made with the left foot on the teka or footrest. The fugleman chants certain lines of the planting song, and the workers sing the others as they perform their task.
The word pirori was applied to using the ko, this usage referring to the manner in which the implement was turned when loosening the soil in the right and left foot thrusts. After these preparers of the soil came the planters of the seed tubers, each of whom carries a basket full of such seed. The planter makes a hole with his hand in the loosened soil between the two holes left by the ko, which action usually causes earth to fall into and fill up those holes, and then places a tube in the hole he has made and covers it with earth. He does not put the seed in one of the holes formed by the ko, as it would probably sink too deep, and would not be in the right position.
When planting a field with seed kumara, the seed tubers were placed facing or pointing in several different directions, from east to north, so as to follow the sun round. When taking up the crop care was displayed in noting which plants produced the most abundant supply of tubers, and the seed planted next season would be faced in the same direction as had been those that were most prolific.
In some places sloping land is preferred for kumara cultivation, the flat lands being too damp.
The term tiwara is employed to denote wide spacing of seed in planting as the rau-tainui variety of kumara is planted.
Wooden clubs were used to break up clods of earth loosened by the ko, but in many places the soil is of a loose, friable nature, and needs but little reduction.
The small, paddle-shaped, light wooden implements, such as certain specimens in the Dominion Museum were used as cultivating implements for light work, to loosen easy working soil, or to further disintegrate stiffer soils that have been loosened with the ko, and to break clods.
In a large cultivation ground wherein several persons or families had crops, the boundaries between the different plots were sometimes marked by means of stones placed some distance apart along the line.
In the above account our late friend makes it fairly clear that, where permissible, the whole surface of the field was not puke was formed. Where a persistent growth, such as fern (bracken, Pteris) occupied the ground the more complete work would be necessary, otherwise the fern would be constantly springing up. Moreover this plant seems to have an effect of rendering soil sour and unkindly; fern land needs turning up, and exposure for some time, ere this quality is lost.
It appears somewhat doubtful that two insertions of the ko would loosen soil sufficiently to allow of the formation of a puke with small implements and the hands, unless the ground had previously been worked. In many cases we know that three insertions were made.
A later note from the Waiapu district is to the effect that the kaiko or diggers commenced work at the rear of the field, that is its western side. They worked as a rank parallel with the straight edge of the plot, and did not adopt the echelon formation. They faced the west so as to work backwards in digging, as we do. When all diggers in the rank (kapa) had finished loosening the soil for the puke, then all took a step to the rear and commenced work on another row. It is said that women followed up to form the mounds and plant the seed tubers; they were the kaiono or planters. They kept singing:—
—thus asking for a plentiful return for their seed. These folk assured me that no line was stretched when forming the mounds, which were formed immediately opposite those of the previous row, and not in quincunx style. Thus we see how methods differed, and in some cases differed in the same district.
Another adept, Te Manihera Waititi, of Whanga-paraoa, has obliged us with some further explanations, which make quite clear the method of working, the echelon like advance of the diggers, and their singular countermarching movements on the completion of the first series of rows of puke.
Te Manihera states:—In these parts the waha (front) of the field faces the north, because this is the region in which the sun shines the longest. It is never so laid off as to face the south, that being a cold region. The clans living between Tikirau and the Rau-kokore stream follow this rule; these clans are Te Whanau a Pararaki and Te Whanau a Maru. The clans of Te Kaha also follow this usage; they are Te Whanau a Kahu-rautao, Te Whanau a Kai-aio, and Te Whanau a Te Ehutu.
The manner of digging the puke is as follows:—See Fig. 45.
Supposing that only three men, represented by A., B. and C., are about to act as kaiko or diggers to prepare the field. The work is commenced by A., whose rarangi puke, or row of moundlets, to be dug by him, extends from A. to D. This row is known as the tahu of the field (so called on account of it being taken as a guide by other diggers in working their mounds so as to have them equi-distant and in a perfectly straight line. This term tahu may be compared to tahu, the ridgepole of a house; and tahu, a main line of genealogical descent). The person who works on this first row is termed the kaiwhakatahu, and the act of doing so is called whakatahu. The diggers face the taremu, that is the south, as they work, thus working backwards; their backs are toward the head of the field, i.e., the north.
The kaiwhakatahu commences his work, while B. and C. await their turns. When A. reaches his third puke then B. commences to form his first one. Then A. moves on to his fourth, and B. to
puke being dug, A. moves to his fifth, B. to his third, and C. commences his first. This mode of carrying on the work is continued until all the diggers, perhaps 20, or 40, are in action, the curious diagonal line working straight across the field to its objectives at D., E., F., &c. By working in this manner, backwards, the puke are formed in perfectly straight lines.
When the diggers have finished their rows at D., E., F., then C. wheels round and commences to work back across the field to the taremu on the fourth line, then B. wheels round from E. and commences to work back on the fifth line, and then A. wheels across the land head to the sixth row. Thus in working back to the bottom of the field, C. becomes the kaiwhakatahu or foremost worker whom the others follow. On reaching the bottom of the field, the same reverse movement takes place, whereupon A. again becomes the leader on line 7, B. follows on line 8, then C. on line 9. This peculiar boustrophedon manner of working in echelon is continued until the whole field is dug, and is described by the term whakarapa.
No line is is used to lay off the tahu or first row, nor is any mark or furrow made to locate the same. Precision in making this row of puke absolutely straight, with mounds equidistant from each other, is obtained only by the keen eye of the adept kaiwhakatahu or leader. Those following him must also be careful to keep their rows straight, at the correct distance from the first line, and to form the puke immediately opposite those of that line.
In digging a puke the operator makes two thrusts of his ko into the ground. He first places the point of the blade of his implement at the right side of the space designed for a puke, leans the shaft over to the right, places his left foot on the teka or "tread," and forces it into the earth. He then presses the shaft downwards so as to loosen the earth and raise it. Withdrawing his tool, he places its point on the left side of the puke space, leans the shaft over to the left, and places his right foot on the tread, proceeding as before.
Other persons follow and break up the clods raised by the ko, using a wooden clod breaker if necessary, and often crumbling the soil with their hands, thus reducing it to a good tilth, a process termed tāpāpā.
Then come the kaiwhakatiri or tangata tiri (seed distributors), who distribute the seed tubers, merely placing them on the puke ready for the planters.
Then come the kairumaki, or kaiono, the planters, who carefully form the pulverised earth into a small rounded heap, and plant the kopura or seed tubers therein. The forming of these mounds is described by the word ahuahu.
The soil round the young plants, at a later stage, was again loosened and worked by means of wooden implements during the operations known as ngaki.
The spaces between the rows are called pongaihu, or nostrils. (The Maori deemed what may be termed the ventilation of growing crops an important matter. He allowed free passage for sun and air between plants.)
These explanations of Te Mānihera make clear the peculiar mode of progression by means of which the diggers, though preserving an echelon formation, yet worked straight across a field. The method is a strikingly singular one, and gives rise to surmises as to its origin and object. A curious discrepancy is also observed in the arrangement of the rows of mounds. Te Manihera makes no mention of a quincunx arrangement, though we have evidence, as shown above, that such a system was employed on either side of his district, as shown in the descriptions of Capt. Cook and Hakaraia Pahewa. He also makes it quite clear that his folk used no cord or line to lay off the rows. We can only conclude that, as in other matters, certain differences obtained regarding these tasks, as practised in different districts.
Presumably this method of working in echelon would enable diggers to align their mounds better than if they worked abreast as a true kapa or rank.
In a later communication Te Manihera gave the following notes:—When the foremost kaiko (digger) reaches the further side of the field, he ceases work and awaits the arrival of his co-workers. As each one finishes his row he also awaits the others. When the last man has worked out his row and arrived, then all wheel round and take up their stations ready for the return trip, as shown in the diagram. They do not stand in a row as a tutira, or as a kapa, that is parallel to, or at right angles to, the edge of the māra, but stand in echelon formation as it were, forming an oblique line to that edge. This position is described as a whakarapa. In working back to the taremu of the field, the diggers face the way they are going, so that they are working forward instead of backward. Thus, no taremu.
Another statement is to the effect that the diggers worked from west to east, beginning at the taremu side, and then worked back from east to west, and so on. This would be in a district where the west side of the field was called the taremu, and the east side the upoko.
In his account of agriculture in the Tongan Isles, Cook says:—"In planting the plantains and yams they observe so much exactness that, whichever way you look, the rows present themselves regular and complete."
From the foregoing evidence it seems clear that in some districts, a lining cord was employed, and that in others it was not. Also that boneing rods were sometimes used. The statements about working forward and backward are in some cases dubious. To work backward as we do in digging would be the best method, inasmuch as, in cases where a correct alignment has to be preserved, the worker would have his completed row of puke to align by, in addition to any other aid, such as boneing rods, that might be employed.
The following account of the cultivation of the kumara, and the lifting of the crop was given by a native of the Kahungunu tribe who has passed his life in the Napier and Wai-rarapa districts. The translation here given includes some explanatory data obtained later. The original version will be found in No. 2 of the Addenda.
"Regarding this matter of plantations of kumara, taro, and korau, which comprise the [cultivated] foods of former times, the site of a kumara cultivation ground was carefully chosen, that it might not lie in a damp situation, but at an elevated spot; that was one matter seen to. The second consideration was that the lay of the field should be toward the sun. The third matter attended to was that such a field should not lie at the base of a ridge (lest damage be caused by storm waters) Another thing to be considered was as to whether the field lay sideways on, or end on [to the sun, i.e., east or north-east. It was considered necessary to plant the kumara in rows running east and west, if arranged north and south the plants would not flourish]. Another thing to be noted is as to whether the remu [tail or rear end of the field] is up or down; the head of the field remu should be at the western end. If the remu is high lying, the kumara will be seriously affected by dampness. If the head is high lying then the remu will be affected in a like manner. The field should be a fine open expanse of an even surface. It is then examined in order to see if its surface is somewhat rounded; if so, then that is the best of fields. The next best field is a perfectly flat one, fields of these two aspects are the only good ones for the kumara.
So much for the kumara. Now, another is the korau; that also is the sort of field wherein the korau flourishes and matures, as it also does in a flat plot. It is watery if planted in a damp place.
The taro will grow well in all situations, except right down in a hollow; in such a place it runs to leaf without substance, the taro are small and watery. Here ends the examination of the field.
Another matter to look into; if the soil is one matua [? stiff loam] that kumara field should be gravelled; gravel will improve it. The reason why persons dislike that soil is on account of the heavy work of carrying gravel. If a spot having one paraumu [a dark, friable soil] can be found, that is desirable, the work will be light, gravel will be carried only to put under the leaves, lest they suffer from mud and wet. If there be no one paraumu, and one haruru [a light sandy loam] can be found, that will serve well as a cultivation ground. The one tuatara is never approved of, it necessitates so much labour in pulverising, also another labour is carrying gravel for this soil. That is all as to the examination of the soil.
Treatment of the field is now considered; if it is situated in open land then manuka brush or second growth is cut and spread over the field, beginning at the head of the field and working towards the remu. It is left lying there, and when it is known that the kumara planting time is near, it is then set fire to, and a layer of charcoal and ashes covers the earth. It is not kindled on a windy day, lest the kota [residue of burned brush] be blown away to other parts, but during a gentle breeze; it is then set fire to. When burned off, then the ground is again covered with manuka, lest the wind blow the kota away; this is but a thin layer. This process is for one matua [loam], but was not employed for one paraumu or one haruru. [The first layer of brush, for burning, was laid in thick overlapping rows.]
The kumara storage pit is now examined, that it may be seen if the seed tubers have sprouted, or not. If not, then persons are told to put them in baskets, and then rotten wood was prepared, crumbled up and softened, and some placed in the bottoms of the baskets so as to cover the same, the kumara then being laid on it. The first layer being so placed, some of the decayed wood was sprinkled over them, when covered the second layer was laid in. This process was repeated until the the basket was full, but no more than four or five layers should be put in, or there would be too much weight, and the young sprouts would be injured. These baskets were then carried back to the store pit and there arranged carefully. Timber, perhaps two pieces, was placed beneath them [as dunnage]; on these the baskets were laid. One basket was not placed on another, the reason being lest the kumara be bruised, or the young shoots become thin and weak.
If, on reaching the store pit, it is found that the seed tubers have sprouted, or when they are put in the baskets, persons go and remove the covering of the kumara plot, the manuka or other material being carried to the bounds of the field. The reason why it was placed there would be foresight on the part of the owner of the field, where a strong wind is felt, westerly or southerly, now, that brush will serve as a breakwind for purposes of shelter. When it has been so disposed of, then they turn to the digging.
When the puke [little mounds in which the seed tubers are placed] are dug the bulk of the ground is not dug, but only the puke, which are formed up. The lines [of mounds] run from the head of the field to the remu [east and west]; they are not directed to the north or south, for if the south wind had play along the spaces between the lines of plants in the field then the leaves would be thrashed about, and the plants would not flourish. No strong wind comes from the east, the N.W. is the only wind, and that wind blows gently, unlike the south wind, hence the fear of the southerly gale. [Our informant has perhaps made an error here; the east wind is a gentle one, but not so the N.W. wind in many places. He may, however, be describing a local peculiarity.]
Planting began on the Ari [eleventh] night of the moon's age. No planting was done during full moon, nor yet on the Korekore days [21st, 22nd and 23rd nights of moon's age] for very poor crops would result.
Now in regard to spacing the mounds. The cord was stretched so as to lie over the site of each mound. The distance between pou wharona) stuck in the ground at each end of a row to which the cord (aho tatai) was attached. A spacing rod, or teka, was also used in marking the position for each puke or mound in a row, a small stick being stuck in the ground where each seed tuber was to be planted. Thus all lines and mounds were equidistant from each other. The line was put away when all rows were marked, and the digging began, rows of little sticks marking the spots where each little mound was to be formed. In some cases the cord was knotted so that a knot marked the position for each mound, thus dispensing with the use of a spacing rod. The owner of the field would manipulate the spacing rod, and the pegs for stretching the line would be inserted. The work then proceeded and was continued to the further side of the field. When the head of the field was so marked off, then a move was made to the remu of the field and the process repeated, the same spacing rod being used. Thus all the pegs, each about two feet long, were inserted to mark the ends of the rows. The work of the teka whakaawa being done, then the teka ahu puke came into service; this was to measure the distance between the mounds, and a peg was inserted to mark the position of each puke, these being very small pegs; and so on until the whole field was marked off. The measuring line was a twisted cord made from dressed harakeke [Phormium fibre]. It was a tapu article, and, on the completion of the work, it was laid away in a house, or store hut. That cord was called an aho tatai, and some persons knotted it so as to accelerate the work of putting in the pegs. The puke in a row were one cubit apart from each other. Likewise the measuring cord used at the head of the field [to space the rows] was by some persons knotted along its length. This was an awa spacing line, the other was a mound spacing line. When this knotting method was employed the rod was not used.
Portions of the field were left on the southern, western, and northern sides as marginal deposits for weeds, but no such place was left at the head of the field [eastern side], lest the balmy hau tokihi be shut out; it was allowed to reach the plants and invigorate them.
Two men worked at each puke, the first being the wider of the ko whakaara, or breaking-up spade, with which three motions or insertions were made, but not deeper than the projection or foot-rest of the ko. It was inadvisable to go deeper, lest dampness result. The left foot was used to tread the foot-rest of puke. It was then raised, and three such movements completed his work, which was repeated at all the puke. [The spade was thrust in about eight inches and the earth loosened. This was done in three different places on the circumference of an imaginary circle, each thrust being towards its centre, so as to thoroughly loosen the soil.]
When the man has finished the puke, has made his three insertions, he proceeds to another and repeats the process. Should it be a working bee, a company of volunteer workers, then three or four men might be assigned to the breaking up, and an equal number to form the mounds. The task of the latter (called a tangata tuahu) was to remove rootlets and weeds, to clear and work the soil, which he did with his hands and his implement [club-like clod breaker] to pulverise the soil, that is the clods or lumps. He then stirred and mixed the soil with his hands so as to mix the fire refuse with it. [He also, with his hands, formed the loose, worked earth into a small mound.] The first puke formed was tapu, and continued so. The product of it was not taken to the store-pit.
Before the above operations commenced, the priestly adept would have arrived at the field before sunrise, as also the seed distributors and planters, were it a case of a number of workers. The priest then began to intone his ritual, during which all must face the rising sun. The god to whom the invocations were directed was Rongomarae-roa, who was the child of Rangi and Papa [Sky Parent and Earth Mother] dedicated to those arts, that is in regard to cultivated foods. The priest repeated his ritual chants prior to the rising of the sun. On the completion of the recital the people set to work; the seed distributors seized their baskets and commenced their labours. The planters would then come forward, and the work would proceed; by that time the sun would have arisen. On the completion of the work the priest would again recite certain ritual matter.
When the work was over the invocations of the priest were postponed until morning, at dawn of day. They pertained to conciliation, and to the completion of the task of planting; they would cause the kumara crop to flourish, and prevent it being affected by any mischance. The first recital [at the commencement of the work] was to start the work and to cause the tasks of the seed distributors to be ably performed. That ritual was directed toward Rongo-marae-roa and Uru-te-ngangana, for
Now, when a man goes planting he must stand so that he faces the rising sun, and also the row of mounds. His work commences at the head [? remu] of the field, but he stands in the awa [space between the rows of puke] so that the row [i.e., the one he is to work on] is on his left side. Now, the seed tuber is in his left hand: he thrusts his right hand into the mound, just below the summit thereof, on the side towards the head of the field, that is the eastern side. He thrusts the seed in so that it slants downward, and its head [the sprouting end] cants upward toward the sun [i.e., the east]. The soil is then heaped up over the seed, but so that the head, the part with the sprout, is not too deeply buried. With that his work is done, and he moves on to another mound to repeat the process, but ever keeping the row on his left side.
A different person carries the seed tubers, which are contained in small baskets. Only one seed tuber is put in each mound; they are carried in the basket, and he counts the mounds in the row so as to take the proper quantity of seed for that row. The cause of such action was the desire not to take too heavy a load, lest the young shoots of the seed be broken; hence, if the row of mounds was a very long one, then the seed tubers were placed in two baskets. Before the planting began, one of the baskets would be carried to the middle of the row, and there placed in the awa [space between rows]. The bulk of the seed would be lying on the margin of the field at the head end, packed in baskets. These baskets were kept open by means of a wooden spreader, lest the sprouts of the kumara be broken. The seed distributor deposits the seed tuber on the left side of the mound, in the awa on the left side of the row. This task he carries out from the head right along to the remu of the field; the planter picks up the seed as he requires them.
Expert males only were selected for these tasks, not women, lest one such be unclean, which would grievously affect the kumara. Likewise in the lifting of the crop, and conveying it into the storehouse, men alone were employed. No work was performed before kumara planted. Kumara were planted on fine days only, lest the soil be injuriously affected; never on wet days, lest the soil became puddled and unsuitable for covering the seed.
Gravel was spread under the leaves of the kumara, lest they be injured; if they became so, then the kumara did not flourish. Should no gravel be obtainable, then herbage was used, so placed that the leaves [runners in leaf] rest upon it. Should a storm appear, it injures the kumara, its growth will not be vigorous, it degenerates. In the case of a stiff loam the gravel was mixed with the soil in order to make the soil of the puke more open. If not so treated the soil cakes or solidifies; the gravel alone improves it and allows access to invigorating air, while the sun warms the interior of the mound. The one tuatara was treated in such a manner, but not the one haruru or one paraumu; in which cases gravel was brought to put under the leaves only; brought in baskets. Those baskets were made of scraped harakeke [Phormium], in form like a bag, and having two handles. Having arrived at the field [carrying a basket of gravel] the carrier retains his hold on one of the cord handles with his right hand, puts his left hand under the bottom of the bag, and strews the gravel along the mounds, or rather between the mounds, but not in the awa. [The connected swag or pack straps, kawe, of Taranaki were not used on the East Coast. The kete taritari kirikiri, or gravel carrying basket had two handles about one foot long. A handle, tau, was brought over each shoulder and gripped in either hand. A small heap of gravel was deposited between each two mounds, and half of the heap was scraped to one mound and half to the other.] The human hand spread it over the mounds, that of the person who formed the mounds. The breaker up was the first, the mound former the second, the distributor of the gravel the third, the planter of the kumara the fourth. In former times, that person, the planter of the kumara, did not partake of food in the morning, but when the sun began to decline, and hunger was felt, then the work was adjourned to another day. If he could finish the planting on the one day, he could work on. The others were allowed to eat.
Now, if it was seen that the field was getting covered with weeds, then the cultivators of the field proceeded to clean it. All harmful things, weeds and hard clods, were all cast on the borders, that is the sides of the field, or on the remu [rear end] of the field, but not at the head, such procedure being followed so as to allow the entrance of cool invigorating air and warmth. Enough on that point.
After that no weed was allowed to grow, and constant attention was paid to the work, such as loosening the soil of the mounds, until the spreading of the runners. When they began to run, such work ceased, lest the leaves and runners be bruised. Then the labours of these persons were confined to spaces not occupied by runners, and the inter-row spaces. On account of these labours no weeds were seen in a kumara plot, except on the margins.
Should rain ensue an examination would be made to see if the runners were prostrate on the mounds. If it was seen that they were clinging to the soil, in such cases where no gravel had been spread under them herbage was thrust under them, herbage of a soft nature that had been collected and dried. If pools of water were observed lying between the rows a digging stick would be procured, thrust into the ground, and worked about, to cause the water to sink in.
The only tapu performances were planting and the ceremony that concluded the planting. No marginal spot of the kumara plot was utilised as an eating place for the workmen, that is woman were not allowed to kindle fires or cook there, nor would persons eat there; workmen must go aside for some distance to partake of food.
Travellers would not trespass on a kumara plot, the only persons allowed there were the workman who tended the kumara and the whakaepa process, which is the gathering and disposal of the weeds.
The first act was the recital of certain ritual by some person, lauding and placating the gods on account of the crop, after which the ceremonial lifting of the tapu was carried out.
The first puke or mound was the mauri of the kumara store-pit. When the crop was dug, that was the first lifted, a task for the priest. The product [tubers] were taken to the tuahu [place where religious rites were performed] and there buried as an offering to Rongo-marae-roa.
The implement employed in taking up the crop was a kaheru, a short tool hewn from maire [Olea] or ake-rau-tangi [Dodonoea viscosa]. It was carefully thrust into the base of the puke or mound, as far as the centre thereof, and the plant and soil lifted and turned over. Such was the only work performed by that man; those who came after him collected the tubers and placed them in the awa. The tubers to be taken to the store-pit were placed in one awa (space between rows), while the korae, those to be eaten at once, were put in another awa. Another person placed them in baskets whatu or eyes, hence they produce more shoots.]
The women were not allowed to take part in crop digging, the time for which was denoted by the maturity of the crop. This was unmistakable; when the leaves of the kumara became brown, the tubers were matured. The digging was not commenced until the sun was well up, and ceased when it reached the zenith, when the products were carried to the store pit. At dawn on that same day the priest had recited his ritual over that store. The baskets having reached the pit, the persons appointed to stack the kumara in the pit appeared. Two persons were so employed, one on either side of the pit, and as they stowed the kumara they examined them carefully, so as to detect any abraded, bruised or broken ones, which would be put aside as food for the workers. The reason of this was, lest such tubers be left in the pit and cause the other tubers to decay.
The floor of the storehouse was level save that it was a little raised at the door end. Gravel was strewn over the floor, right back to the rear wall, to the depth of about one inch, in Maori phraseology a "thumb joint." This was a fine gravel; termed kirikiri rere by the Maori. Some puka [soft decayed wood of rimu, pukatea or totara was also used. It was dried, crumbled up, and spread over the layer of gravel; on this the tubers were stacked] was then spread over the gravel. (Some persons, having no puka available, would procure some timber, split it up, and bury it in a sandy spot, or gravelly place, there to decay.) Having finished that, the stacking of the kumara commenced. It was done in this manner (packed very carefully in rows overlapping each other). The remu [end lacking 'eyes'] should by no means be placed uppermost. Now the persons sorting the kumara proceeded with their work; those for food were separated from those to be used for seed, hence the stacks in the storehouse were arranged separately. The first were those to be used as food, that is to say those to be used as food were stacked first, near the door of the pit, so as to be handy for persons coming to procure them. That being done then a barrier was erected between the food tubers and seed tubers. When the space allotted for the food tubers was filled, then only did the manuka brush, which was laced on to wooden rods when in a dry condition; it was not used until the leaves had fallen. When all the seed tubers had been stacked, then the screen or barrier of the tākūwai was erected throughout. [The careful arranging of tubers in the store pit is described by the term whakapipi.]
Women were not allowed in the store pit, lest their condition cause the kumara to decay, hence men only might fetch tubers from the store. But when a woman had ceased to bear children, then she might be allowed to enter a store pit, because her paheke had ceased.
When the kumara had been safely stored, then a feast was held. When the remark—'The kumara of So-and-so have been assorted,' was heard, then was it known that a feast was toward, which was a concluding function.
The runners of the kumara plant were not cut or interfered with in any way, except to prevent them striking root. When these shoots fell from an upright position, and commenced to run, soil loosening operations ceased and care was taken that the runners did not suffer from wind, stagnant water, or contact with wet, muddy earth. Nowadays sections of runners are sometimes struck and develop into tuber bearing plants, but this process is confined to introduced varieties. Another method sometimes adopted with these is to cut out the young shoots of a tuber, each having a piece of the tuber attached to it, and plant these. In order to cause the tubers to throw out these sprouts they are laid on the surface of the ground and have earth scattered over them. This is known as "he mea parekereke." The tubers throw out sprouts which are, as noted above, either cut out or pinched off just below a joint recognised by adepts as one that produces roots. The lightly covered tubers will throw out other shoots after the first lot has been taken. The present writer has propagated the sweet potato in this manner.
The above account will be seen to contain certain differences when compared with others given above, but such minor differences certainly obtained in the various districts. In some cases further explanations might have been made; for instance, when women were not allowed to enter the tapu main store, then a quantity of tubers would be taken therefrom and placed in a small store pit near the cooking sheds. These pits not being tapu women might at any time enter them.
The above is a clear account of local procedure, but, unhappily for the collector of data, methods, names, &c., differed as in different districts.
I have been told that, occasionally, a cultivated area was divided into narrow lands or widths in each of which the earth was collected principally in the middle, so that each strip was rounded, being highest in the middle. This was done in the case of damp land—whenua hauwai, that was not dry enough for sweet potatoes. Occasionally good soil was procured from elsewhere and deposited on these rounded lands. The expression tuaka kumara denotes the formation of these raised beds.
The use of the measuring rod and cords above mentioned may have represented a local usage, but it was certainly not a widespread one. It was too elaborate a mode to be much practised by the Maori in such work, for he possessed a remarkably "true" eye. I suspect some exaggeration in this account. Again, the refraining from planting during the full moon seems somewhat improbable, inasmuch as the Maori held that the moon was the source of fertility. Again, if the actual planters faced eastward throughout their task, and commenced operations at the eastern side of the plot, then they must have worked backward, as the diggers did when working from the rear of the field.
The following ritual chant is one of those employed during planting operations. It was recited by Tuta Nihoniho:—"
The ceremonial chants sung by planters of the kumara are known as tapatapa kumara, ko kumara, whakatopatopa kumara and tewha. Naenae-moko and Mangungu are two of these kawa kumara employed in the Bay of Plenty district.
The late Mr. John White also gives some of the chants employed by planters and seed distributors. The following are some used by the kaironaki, or seed distributors:—
This appears to appeal to some old woman (kui), possibly Pani, to cause a prolific growth or bountiful crop.
It is difficult to see the drift of these effusions. In the last one a reference is made to the vigorous growth of the wharangi and mapau, both forest trees, without any explanation of their connection with the work of planting, or the crop. Then comes a mention of Pani, the mother of kumara. "Here am I, O Pani," and a statement that the reciter is seeking the "unpossessable," whatever that may be. Both meaning and application are obscure. Another of the recitations or chants of the seed distributors is:—
(Land seed, sea seed; seed from where; the seed (from) Hawaiki.)
This effusion seems to reappear in the following charm chanted by the planters as they placed the seed tubers in the ground:—
To translate these cryptic utterances with accuracy and confidence is impossible, but the above seems to contain an appeal for a bountiful return in the words homai ranea (give hither abundantly).
The following notes emanate from the same authority:—The first four tubers to be planted in a field are pushed into the loose soil of the puke with the big toe of the left foot, while the planter repeats:—
(The refrain herein runs—Here the seed is emplaced; here the seed is planted.)
When the labour of the planters was over, a number of tubers were cooked in a special and tapu oven. It was the duty of the kaironaki or seed distributors to extract one tuber from this oven, to cover it with leaves of the karamu, a Coprosma, and deposit it at some place near by. When the planters had completed their task, they proceeded to the place where this tuber had been placed, and there formed single rank. The right hand man of the rank took up the tuber in his right hand, passed it on to his left hand man in a similar way, until it had passed down the rank to the last man. It was then taken to the wahi tapu of the community, and there left, being suspended on a stake as an offering to Rongo. This single tuber was known as the mātā, and the oven in which it was cooked the hangi taki rarangi.
This use of the branchlets of the karamu tree in agricultural rites may be compared to a somewhat similar one in India. Crooke states:—"Among the people of Chota Nagpur the Karam tree (Neuclea parviflora), is held sacred by the Oraons, who worship it at their harvest home festival, when the young men and women fetch a branch from the jungle, to the accompaniment of singing and dancing. It is erected in the village and decorated with lights and flowers. A feast is held, and when they have eaten and drunk, they spend the day in dancing and merriment round the branch. Next morning it is flung into the nearest stream, and with it the ill-luck of the village departs."
Frazer gives some evidence of this use of branches, &c., in agricultural rites, for which see The Golden Bough Series, Vol. 2 of The Magic Art, p. 47 on. In one account of Maori agricultural ceremonies the use of poles of mapou (Myrsine) is mentioned. These would be termed toko, or wana, or tira, words that mean, not only a pole, rod, or wand, but also "rays," as of light, or the sun. It appears probable that Maori ritual was originally based largely on astronomy.
The following planting song was contributed by the Hon. A. T. Ngata. It was employed by the natives of the Waiapu district:—
1
2
Tioro i te whitu, tioro i te waru, ka haramai te hua o te kai, ka hua a kai, ka hua kuru, ka hua manu, ka hua a retireti. Toroa kai hoki au ka ngenge.
(Ka hamama te tokomaha.) (Here all joined in.)
3
Ka ngenge hoki au ki taku matua ki Te Aupouri. Tangi whakaingo rua ai, te haramai ai Maui-mua, Maui-roto, Maui-taha, Maui-pae, Maui tikitiki a Taranga. Te tapa mai e koe taku ika nei, ko Haehae uru roa te ihu o Tokanui ka heke, ka whakatopa roro, ka whakatopa i whiti nei au e tupe tane. I a kai te whakarua koia - - e."
(Ka whakahua te katoa.) (Here all responded.)
4
Tupe tane i whiti te ramarama, tupe tane ko tama te ahu iho, ko tama te kiko whitirau ki taku paenga e ru ai au e tupe tane."
(Ka whakahua te katoa.)
5
Koia e ru, koia e raro, koia patupatu, koia Rangahua, te tama i torohakina e koe ki Waero-ti, ki Waerota, te tau mai ai to hua kuru, tiwha. Tiwha horahia, whakataka te hua o te kai, taku rapa tu ki te tonga waihau te mata o te ko, ka tikoki hau nui, hau roa, hui kai hui tangaroa, mahuta i runga, mahuta i raro, he kakara, he kapua te hoki ta te atirua.
(Ka hama ma te katoa.) (Here all shouted the refrain.)
6
Whakarongo ake ai au ki te ngutu o te wahine ra, te riri ana, te nguha ana ki te paenga o tona māra. He kohimuhimu ki te pou o te whare, he korerorero ki te pou o te whare. He kapua, he kakara te hoki ta te atirua.
7
Uea, uea te titi o te rua kia tutangatanga te awa ki Mokoia, e Whatu mangungu, Whatu mangungu e. E hia aku mata kai taku tua, kai taku aro pihapiha o te kai kua riro iara i te taua koia - -e.
He Karakia. He tewha kumara i te wa e tuahu ana te mara, a e ono ana nga kaiono. (Ritual employed when forming the small mounds in which the sweet potato was planted, and while the planters were performing their task. Contributed by Te Keepa Wharekura.)
Na Te Keepa Wharekura i homai enei i raro nei.
1
Kapakapa tu taku wairua ki te ao tapiki tu. He kapua hekeheke iho i runga o Rehia. Tuhi te uira, rapa te uira, ko ana hau e kai te hani. Tenei koa te mokopuananga tikitiki o Wahieroa te tapa mai e koe taku ika nei, ko Haehae ururoa te ihu o Tokanui. Ka heke, ka whakaparoro, ka whakatopa whiti nei au e tupe tane i aua tupe tane.
(Ka hama ma katoa te tokomaha i tena wa.)
2
Tiwha horahia, whakataka te hua o te kauri, taku rapa tu ki te tonga waikau, ki te mata o te ko. Ka tikoki hau nui, hau roa, e aro mai tainuku, tairangi. Hiko te uira, rapa te uira, e ko ana hoki ta te Atirua.
(Ka hama ma katoa te tokomaha i tena wa.)
3
Uea, uea, parea te titi o te rua kia tutangatanga te awa ki Mokoia. Whatu mangungu e hia aku mata kai taku tua, kai taku aro pihapiha o te kai. Kua riro iara i te taua koia - - e.
(Ka hama ma te tokomaha.)
In a paper read by the Rev. Mr. Chalmers before the Royal Colonial Institute on January 11th, 1887, the author describes the method of digging employed by the natives of certain districts of New Guinea. The account is as follows:—"Each native holds one of the sharp pointed sticks in each hand, all standing in a row together strike them into the earth, give a pressure forward, then backward towards them, when the soil is moved, and then forward to turn it over. It is wonderful how much is accomplished in a few hours." In this use of two digging sticks we have a usage unknown to the Maori, but we note the same reliance on concerted and rhythmic action in the two methods. Evidently the process was one of soil loosening as practised by the Maori; the soil was not turned over as we turn it with a spade. Also the soil must be of a loose, easily worked nature, if but one hand is required to manipulate a digging stick.
We have been told by W. B. that the Moriori folk of the Chatham Isles dug the esculent fern root in the same concerted manner as that employed by the Maori of New Zealand in digging his māra kumara.
The following notes are from Mr. White's budget—When the time comes for the weeding of the growing crop, the men appointed to do the work assemble in the field and form a circle by the side of the oven above mentioned, the taki rarangi oven. One takes from the long cold oven, with his right hand, one of the stones used in heating it, passes it into his left hand, then to the man on his left hand. The stone is so passed round the circle until it reaches the last man thereof, who returns it to the oven, which is merely a shallow pit. The party then disperses and goes to work at the weeding. When the work is completed, the workers again assemble at the old oven and again perform the ceremony described above. If the work takes more than one day, and the men wish to return to their homes in the evening, the above performance must be gone through prior to their leaving the field. While working at the crop, planting, weeding, or digging, no communication was ever allowed between the workers and others; they were, for the time, cut off from their wives and families.
It was considered desirable that the owner, or an owner, of a plot of kumara should be the first to see the young shoots appear
When the crop was well sprouted, certain articles of food were taken into the field and used as kai popoa, held up and offered to Matariki (the Pleiades), certain karakia (charms, invocations, &c.), being recited at the same time. Such offering would then be placed in, or suspended from, an adjacent tree, and there left. This peculiar ceremony was performed just before dawn.
A saying applied to the kumara is "Rongo tapu hingahinga." The explanation is that the tuber frequently changes its condition, being tapu at some periods, as when growing, or stored; and noa or free from tapu at other times, as when being conveyed to the store pits, and when cooked.
Should any person be plundered, or slain, for having tres-passed on or near a tapu field, no attempt at gaining revenge would be made by his relatives.
Karaka Tarawhiti contributes the following item, as pertaining to the Waikato district:—"When the planting was finished then the priestly adept recited his karakia (ritual chant), of which these are the words:—
This was recited over the kumara only, never over the potato. When the kumara crop was lifted a small portion was laid aside as first fruits to be eaten by the principal chiefs. Prior to the latter partaking of this food they would set aside a portion thereof as an offering to the gods, then only would they eat the balance. October and November were the planting months.
The following formula recited by planters is apparently incomplete:—
It is not to be supposed that all these peculiar practices were universal throughout the country, for many were not so, differences occurred among the various tribes.
In Vol. XXII. of the Journal of the Polynesian Society, are published some old time ritual chants pertaining to kumara planting. As these are unexplainable it is scarcely worth while to introduce them here. These, and some explanation of planting customs and ceremonial observances, were obtained from Mohi Turei of the East Coast, and the latter notes were translated by the late Bishop Williams. We have already given those pertaining to the măra tautāne, and continue with the account of planting the crop:—"After this the men wearing the garments above mentioned would start to plant the field bringing the tiraha or baskets of the seed kumara to be planted in the field, for the kumara of the totowahi were for the special plot (māra tautāne) only.
When all the kumara were planted, the man who was to eat the anuanu (see under māra tautāne) would be roused up, the umu (oven) not being uncovered in the usual way, but the earth at the edge of the umu being pushed aside. When the food was thus extracted the umu would be entirely covered with earth. The men who had planted the field would also gather at the umu, which was called marere.
After this field was planted each man would set to work on his own field, working until all the fields were planted, that time being spoken of as Query, whakarerenga kaheru (laying aside of implements); and then each man would prepare his feast for the ceremonial bringing of the sacred pole for his own field. On the day for bringing the sacred pole all the members of the hapu, or of the tribe, would take part in this business. The pole (which was of the wood called mapomapou (Myrsine Urvillei).ko called Penu, the following karakia being recited:—
(The repetition of these lines continues, each sentence commencing with a place name, as Tauranga, Maketu, Whakatane,
The first part of this karakia would thus recite the names of all the principal places in these islands, after which would follow these words of the karakia:—
"He tau mua, he tau roto, he tau heketanga, &c., &c."
After this each man would hold a great feast at the margin of his own field.
When the kumara had grown and the weeds also had grown with them, the weeds were cleared away, which business was called ngaki tōtō. If, during the weeding, a kumara tuber was broken, the man who had broken the tuber would call out—"Step aside! Step aside! I have had the misfortune to break a kumara tuber, the sacred root of Rongoiamo's foster child." When all the men had gone aside the tohunga would take the broken tuber, and, putting it with some chickweed from the field, and some kumara leaves, would wave it aloft, offering it to the propitious breezes, and recite the following karakia:—
[Herein is asked who shall avenge the disaster that has overtaken the kumara. It is answered that Tu the war deity shall avenge it. "What is the wind? The wind is a muri" (north wind) "Rises the fog below, &c.]
The karakia being finished, the tuber would be buried again in the hillock of the kumara which was broken. On the following morning the tohunga would examine it and would find that it had already become united to its own stock.
The kumara would grow until the star Poutu-te-rangi appeared (a star whose appearance marks the tenth month of the Maori year), and then be inspected by a tabooed man called a mata paheru, and when he had ascertained that the kumara were fully developed, the storing pits (rua) would be set about and finished. [Note.—The word paheru is obsolete in New Zealand, but is still used in Tahiti, signifying "to dig," and is connected with the kaheru; mata-paheru therefore is a person whose office it is to dig. Compare matakite = seer.]
When the star Whanui appeared, the lifting of the crop would be begun. The mata-paheru tohunga would go to the first hillock of the field, where the sacred pole had been fixed, having as his implement a piece of kokomuku(kokomuka = Veronica salici-folia) not shaped with a tool, but simply broken off, and leaving also a string, not of flax but of toetoe mātā(Carex teretiuscula). On reaching the hillock he would gather up the trailing shoots and bind them with the string, reciting at the same time the following karakia:—
"Whitiki atu au i taura nei, &c."
The tohunga would then take his implement and begin to dig at the hillock, reciting, while doing this
[Herein the priestly expert appears to ask that the produce of the kumara be as plentiful as the fruits of certain trees, &c., of Podocarpus dacrydiodes, Rhipogonum scandens, Myrsine Urvillei, Alectryon excelsum, Coprosma robusta, and Corynocarpus laevigatus.] This done, and all the kumara of the hillock at which he had been digging being lifted, he would then bury all, the kumara still hanging to the shoots, with the string with which they were bound and the implement, reciting, as he buried them, the words of this karakia:—
"Tanu mai, ko tapukenga ki Wai-pupuni, &c."
Then the lifting of the whole crop would be set about; which being done, the kumara would be collected from the heaps, and when all were gathered into baskets, the kumara of the first hillock karakia [ritual] would be recited:—
The statement regarding the wearing of fine garments by those engaged in planting crops is something quite new to us. Such garments would be exceedingly cumbrous and unsuitable for the task, and would have to be drawn up and secured around the waist in order to give the workers freedom of action. No other account mentions this custom. As a rule any person performing any act of a ceremonial nature, anything that brought him into contact with tapu, wore as little clothing as possible, in many cases none at all. As before observed, however, there were many differences in methods and ceremonial observances as among the various tribes.
In the tradition of the voyage of the vessel named Horouta from Eastern Polynesia to these isles, occurs a variant form of one of the above ceremonial chants:—"When Pawa came hither from Tawhiti on his canoe Horouta, the kumara, and dogs, and other things were placed on board. The chiefs were Pawa, Hika-tapua, and Makawa; the principal women were Hine-manuhiri and Hine-kauirangi. On landing at Ahuahu [?Mereury Island] the kumara was planted at that place, and this ritual was recited over it:—
What interests us in this chant is the appeal to Pani, the mother of the kumara, in the last lines—"O Pani! Pour out your basket within this field." This is a direct appeal for a benefit such as is but very seldom met with in Maori ritual.
Archdeacon Walsh writes as follows on planting operations:—"The planting usually commenced about October and extended more or less up to Christmas, according to the variation of the season, the state of the weather, the locality, and the condition of the soil. Various natural signs and portents assisted in determining the proper time for the work. Thus, when the kumara hou (Pomaderris elliptica, a small shrub with a sage-like leaf and yellow tufted blossom), which had been in bud all the winter, suddenly shot out into flower, it was known that the season was approaching; and when a "mackerel sky" showed an exact picture of a kumara plot extending across the heavens, the Maoris knew that the atua (gods) were busy at their planting above, and that they themselves ought to be doing the same below. As a matter of fact the celestial phenomenon, portending as it does, according to the English farmers' proverb, a state of weather which is "neither wet nor dry," indicates an atmospheric condition exactly suited for starting the young plants.
Up to the time when the planting commenced everything was noa or "common," but once the seed began to be handled until the crop was harvested, the whole thing became tapu, or consecrated, including the ground, the plants, and even the workers so long as they were engaged in the cultivation. The tapu was invoked by the tohunga (priest) or the kaumatua (head chief), the two offices being often combined in the one person, by the performance of a karakia or religious service consisting of certain symbolic actions, accompanied by the chanting of an address to the atua (ancestral deity), its object being to ward off evil influences in the shape of injurious weather, insect pests, decay, &c., to protect the cultivation from intrusion, and generally to secure the blessing of heaven on the growing crop. Any breach of the tapu was a crime against the atua, and was punishable with death; and until it was removed by a second karakia by the tohunga it was unlawful for any common person to enter the plantation or even approach too closely to it under any circumstances whatever.
While agreeing in essentials, there appears to have been great variety in the details of these karakia, especially in the invocations, every tohunga of standing having his own particular form of words, some of which were handed down from immemorial antiquity. Many of the ceremonies were very expressive, among which was one that used to be performed on the island of Mokoia, in Lake Rotorua. It was described to me by Miss M. Bedgood, of Waimate North, who heard of it from some of the old natives kumara were to be consecrated, the tohunga brought a small quantity in a basket made of dry raupo, shaped like a canoe, and presented it to the matua atua (ancestral god), of whom a little stone image stood in a wooden shrine on the island. Then, after the waiata (song) had been chanted, the vessel was set adrift on the lake, and was supposed to find its way to Hawaiki, whence the image was said to have been brought, and which was still the abode of the god. By being thus made a sharer in the plantation it was believed that the atua would be reminded of the wants of his children and take the crop under his protection. A somewhat similar ceremony is related by Dr. Shortland in his Maori Mythology.
[The item referred to runs as follows:—Meanwhile Kahu was on the beach … busied about sending off a canoe with food for the atua at Hawaiki, and for Hou-mai-tahiti, food both cooked and uncooked. This canoe was made of raupo (a species of bulrush). There was no one in the canoe, only stones to represent men.]
"It was considered absolutely essential that the planting of the entire plot, however large, should be completed in a single day, and in order to accomplish this a plan was often adopted similar to that of the Canadian 'working bee.' In a large hapu, or division of a tribe, living together, every principal man would have one or more plots of his own, and when one of these was to be planted his neighbours would come to assist at the work.
The business commenced with the consecration of the seed, which was done on the day previous to the planting, the seed consisting of the tubers which were too small to be eaten. If these were not sufficient they were supplemented by the heads, the end containing the eyes, of the larger ones broken off for the purpose.
Early in the morning the workers, men and women, assembled. They were all of the rangatira class, no slave of either sex being allowed on the ground. After partaking of a plentiful meal provided by the owner, they were made tapu, and henceforth they could eat no food until the work was completed, when the tapu was taken off. This, of course, had the effect of stimulating their exertions.
When all was ready several of the leading women of the hapu, taking each a basket of the seed, threw [?] it right and left over the ground as they walked up and down chanting a waiata (song),
As the business drew near completion, the kaumatua or head chief, chanted a long piece, partly as a stimulus to the workers and partly as a signal to the slaves to get ready the evening meal, and when the party left the field they were relieved of the tapu by a further ceremony conducted by the tohunga.
The tapu, however, remained on the plantation during the whole period of growth, during which, as before stated, it was unlawful for any one not under tapu to enter it, while even a tapu person was obliged to use the greatest circumspection. It was unlawful to enter the cultivation either from the south, the east, or the west. The south was the worst of all, as a person coming from that quarter might bring in the cold cutting wind that was so injurious to the kumara, while on the east or west the wairua (shadow) cast by the sun might spoil the crop. From the north, however, a person, if properly tapu, might enter, as it was thence that the warm breezes came that gave health and vigour to the plants."
With respect to the commencement of the planting season, it certainly differed according to such circumstances as situation of the field, climate, and the aspect of the season. As a rule, however, natives state that it began with the fourth month of the Maori year, known in this connection as Te Wha o Mahuru (The Fourth of Mahuru), which lunar month includes about a half each of September and October. The fifth month is Te Rima o Kopu (The Fifth of Kopu). The planting season is called the koanga, from the verb ko, to dig or plant with a ko. A Maori belief is that seasons are largely influenced by certain stars, hence certain seasons and periods were named after stars, as Whakaahu, Poutu-te-rangi and Takurua.
The natives say that, if the stars of the Pleiades appear to be wide apart, then a warm and plentiful season follows; if they appear to be close together then a cold and lean season follows.
"From immemorial days the Maori, because of wars, and the knowledge that the possession of a fertile country exposed its owners to invasion, concealed its fertility; and so deeply was this kumara, taro and hue were guarded with an intricate ceremony of tapu to frighten the prying eyes of strangers. At that season every traveller avoided roads which led to cultivations, and if he dared to venture and defy the tapu, and was caught, the penalty was death. It was part of his comity of peace, his education, to keep the number of the harvest baskets secret." So wrote W. B. of Te Kuiti in one of his excellent articles on Maori life.
The statement above to the effect that seed tubers were "thrown" by the distributors, is of course, incorrect. They were handled with the utmost care, lest any tender shoot be broken off, or the tuber itself be bruised. Probably this error has arisen through a misrendering of the word whiu, which means to place, put, or throw. In this case it certainly should not be rendered as "throw". A similar error made in the hearing of the writer by a young native learning English, had a comical effect. In interpreting a query made by another native, he said:—"He throw this question, &c."
In speaking of the system of tapu, as affecting the industries of the Maori, the Rev. W. Yate tells us that—"At the time of planting the kumera [kumara], all who are engaged in the work, either in digging or preparing the ground, or sorting the seed, are under precisely the same restrictions. The land itself is also made sacred; and no person but he who has beentapu-ed for the purpose, is allowed to place his foot near the spot, or to pluck up the weeds which grow rankly around the roots of the vegetable."
Earle also mentions this tapu:—"The New Zealanders have established here a wise custom which prevents a great deal of waste and confusion, and generally preserves to the planter a good crop in return for the trouble of sowing; namely, as soon as the ground either in digging or preparing the ground, or sorting the seed, is finished, and the seed sown, it is tabooed, that is, rendered sacred, by men appointed for that service, and it is death to trample over utility of this regulation must be obvious to every one. But, however useful this taboo system is to the natives, it is a great inconvenience to a stranger who is rambling over the country; for if he does not use the greatest caution, and procure a guide, he may get himself into a serious dilemma before his rambles be over."
Cruise, who landed in the North in 1820, encountered a tapu crop field in his first walk abroad. He writes:—"We passed some small patches of cultivated ground, in which were planted common and sweet potatoes, and which are fenced in with a coarse kind of paling; but our guide forbade us to go too near to them, and pointed out to us that they were tabooed or consecrated."
This tapu pertaining to crops is also very prominent among some tribes of Borneo, where the paths leading to cultivation grounds were closed to traffic while the crops were ripening.
The Maori of former days, says Hori Ropiha, possessed much knowledge in regard to regulating the times for performing certain tasks. If kumara, taro, hue, gourd, or ti (Cordyline) were planted on unsuitable nights of the moon they would grow vigorously but the crop would be small, but if planted on the proper nights then good crops would result. "With regard to uncultivated products, such as fruits, &c., our elders knew the signs that foretold fruitful seasons. Such were foretold by the stars, by the blossoming of trees, by the moon, &c. The tau toa or lean season could also be foretold, and in such a season wind, hail, snow and storms prevailed."
A singular method of forcing seed kumara is described by the Rev. W. R. Wade, as seen by him at Rotorua in the fourth decade of last century. They were put in huts built on the warm earth in the vicinity of hot springs. "Early in the spring they place their kumara in baskets in these natural hot houses, leaving them for a month or six weeks to grow out [to sprout]. The weather by that time being sufficiently warm to allow of their being planted out in prepared beds, the plants are then put into the ground in rows, and sheltered from the winds and morning frosts by broom twigs about three feet long, placed upright so as to form a screen along the rows. In removing the kumara great care is taken not to injure the young shoots. By this method they gain a month or six weeks in the growth of the plant, the losing of which time would so shorten its summer advantages as frequently to prevent its coming to perfection. The kumara grown in the neighbourhood of the hot springs are very fine in quality and flavour. They seem to grow best in a soil almost entirely composed of pumice-stone sand, no kind of manure being used, except early turning in the grass and weeds of the previous years fallow."
The following communication from Hare Hongi is of a novel nature:—"A tohunga [priestly adept] sometimes rendered tapu a path leading to a māra when the crop was in. At some distance from the field, perhaps 100 yards, he secured a cord, stretched taut across the path, as a token. In this cord were tied a number of knots at irregular distances apart, which knots had some meaning that I am not acquainted with. Any person seeing this cord, even a child, would at once retire from the spot."
The late Mr. John White has left us the following note:—"Kumara fields under cultivation were tapu, and canoes were not allowed the passage of streams in its vicinity, until the field was planted and certain ceremonies had been performed over it. Should a canoe attempt so to pass, then a poor crop would result, or the seed tubers would decay in the ground instead of germinating, on account of the atua Rongo having been belittled by man. Rongo is the younger brother of Tu; from the former came the kumara, from the later sprang man. The descendants of Tu, by disregarding the tapu of the field, cause affront to Rongo, hence the destruction of the crop."
The following notes on the cultivation of the kumara were contributed by Hakaraia Pahewa of Te Kaha, Bay of Plenty district, a region ever famed for its production of this prized food product:—
"The preparation of the land for the kumara crop was a work very carefully performed in a manner truly conventional. A certain elderly chief of Raukokore, Herewini Moana nui a Kiwa by name, informed me that these were highly important tasks among all the clans of this district in former times. It mattered not how numerous were the plantations of a district, all would be completed in a short space of time by the ohu or working bee, a voluntary band of diggers and planters.
The most famous adepts of these parts at directing the labours of planting, and in chanting the working songs (tewha kumara), of the immediate past, were Tamehana Tarahanumi and his wife. It was owing to his fine work in directing the task of planting, as also the excellence of his work songs, that these clans experienced no pangs of hunger.
Herewini told me that he saw Tarahanumi directing a party of over forty workers at Wairuru, Raukokore; all were engaged in using the ko, being clad merely in kilts. As director Tarahanumi carried a tewhatewha [a native weapon] in his hand, but did no digging himself. The diggers kept perfect ko, in placing their feet on the tread of the tool, in thrusting it into the earth on the right side of the puke, then on the left side, so that the two thrusts would meet below, in placing the left foot and then the right foot on the teka [step] of the ko.
There was no line or cord used formerly, such as is seen at the present time. A cord was used for only one purpose in a plantation, to mark the bounds of the area to be dug (planted) and of the area to be left untouched for the time. The custom was for the owner of the field to mark (hahae) out the line of the first row. Worker No. 1 kept to that line in his puke digging operations; No. 2 followed the footsteps of No. 1; No. 3 followed those of No. 2, and so on to the last kai ko, or digger.
So long as the first row of puke or hillocks is not out of a true line, none of the subsequent rows will be so. There was no mark of any kind to denote the spacing of the different rows, that was done by the pacing of the diggers.
Should a member of the hunga ko [digging party] prove inexpert at the work, he was dubbed a 'waewae wera' and dismissed. He would be sent back to join the seed planters in rear. The director of the operations arranged all such troubles.
There were three different parties engaged in planting the field:—
There were two methods of planting the kopura (seed tubers). Those planted before noon were so placed in the earth that the sun was on the right; after noon they were so placed that the sun was on the left.
The following is the song sung during the digging of the field.
I
Chorus by workers: E hara i te taua; koia!"
(As the workers chanted the chorus they raised the points of their digging sticks on high in unison.)
II
Chorus:Tiwha!" (Implements again brandished.)
III
Chorus: Te hoki te atirua!" (Implements brandished.)
IV
Chorus: Ei! Ei! a - - a!"
The baskets of seed tubers were placed at the margins of the dug field, and the following ritual was chanted while the seed was being planted:—
Chorus: I - - i - - o - - o!"
When the seed was covered, the following was chanted:—
Chorus: I - - i - - o - - o!"
The following charm was recited for the purpose of causing rain to fall, that the kumara might grow and flourish:—
A considerable number of formulae recited or chanted by planters of the kumara has been collected, and in many cases one fails to detect any allusion therein to the crop or the work being performed. Observe, for instance, the following whakatapatapa kumara or planting chant collected from the Ngati-Toa folk:—
And the following, contributed by Pakauwera of Ngati-Kuia, and termed by him a koko kumara:—
We have now to review some very singular beliefs and practices of the Maori people with regard to crops. These involved a ceremonial use of the skulls and other bones of dead and gone tribesmen with a view to causing fertility and an abundant harvest. The idea lying behind this, to us, amazing act, was doubtless a belief in an inherent, perhaps supernatural, mana or power pertaining to such bones. Such a belief would be evolved, perhaps, by a people practising ancestor worship. On the other hand some of these peculiar usages cause one to think that they may possibly be survivals of an old and abandoned custom of human sacrifice. Such sacrifices were made by many peoples of antiquity with a view to the production of good crops. The following note on the subject was collected by the late Mr. John White:—
"When it was seen that the kumara plants were of poor growth, betokening an inferior crop, steps were taken by the priestly adepts to remedy the matter. The cause of such an affliction was often held to be the neglect or wrongful performance of some ceremonial matter pertaining to the planting of the crop, or of something entirely unconnected with the crop, such as disinterment of bones of the dead. Hence it is seen that such a misfortune as a poor crop was viewed as a punishment inflicted by the gods for some transgression of the laws of tapu.
One method of averting the impending misfortune of a poor crop consisted of reciting certain ritual matter over the bones of the dead. A person or persons would be chosen to proceed to the toma [cave in which were deposited the exhumed bones of the dead] and fetch therefrom the bones of some person or persons to be used in the ceremony. Such bones would necessarily be those of a person of some standing and influence when living. The bones were placed on the ground at some place at or near the village, and the priestly adepts would gather around the covered remains in a circle, and recite or chant the appropriate karakia [charm]. A part of the ceremonial consisted of an elder tohunga taking kumara and, holding it towards the oldest of the skulls, which had now been uncovered, he recited these lines:—
"Kia kai mai koe i nga kai ngaki a tou tini, a tou mano i waiho i te ao nei, &c."
(Eat thou of the food cultivated by your many folk left in this world.)
The above performance was also gone through in some cases when the crop was planted, skulls of the dead being brought to the field and elevated on a stake or other object at the head of the cultivation. This was to ensure a vigorous growth and a good crop. In some cases offerings of kumara, taro, or leaves of these plants, are said to have been placed in the skull, between the jaws. When finished with the bones of the dead were returned to the cave.
When remains of the dead were brought to the village for such ceremonial purposes, relatives of the dead were given an opportunity of weeping over the bones. After the ceremony, such as the one described above, was over, male relatives of the dead approached the remains, female relatives remained in the rear, and both indulged in continued weeping and lamentation over the bones of their defunct relatives." A scene of this kind witnessed by the writer many years ago was a most impressive one.
Mr. White has also a note to the effect that, when a field was about to be planted, and prior to the recital of any form of ritual, four toko (staff or wand), provided by a tohunga, or priestly adepts, were stuck in the ground, one at each corner of the field. Bones of the elders or ancestors of the planters were brought from the cave of the dead and suspended from these staffs, or placed at their bases. Such staffs were used in many rites.
It must be noted that these customs and rites varied to a considerable extent in different tribal areas.
Dried or preserved heads were utilised in a similar manner, and were believed to be equally efficacious. Such remains were believed to add force to the charms of the priestly adepts. See Fig. 46 (p. 195).
The following paragraph is another illustration, preserved by Messrs. S. Locke and W. Colenso:—"Tia and his party did not return from Taupo to Maketu; they all died inland at Titi-raupenga, where their bones and skulls long were…. Those skulls were annually brought out, with much
Description: This image is not available for public viewing as it depicts either mokamokai (preserved heads) or human remains. The reasons for non-display are detailed in the kumara plantations, by the margins of the plots, that the plants might become fertile and bear many tubers."
In the Rev. Mr. Brown's Journal of 1835 occurs the following passage:—"Dec. 1. Last day of kumara planting. A large party assembled…. A human head, dressed with feathers, was placed on a fallen tree in their midst, and sometimes, in their horrid war dances, one of them would brandish about the head in his hand, and by this action apparently increase the savage exultation displayed in their fiend-like countenances."
It is hardly likely that war dances were indulged in at such a time and place; doubtless the performance was a form of haka. The head was probably used for the purpose described above.
The heads of slain enemies seem to have been equally as useful as those of friends as crop forcers, according to native evidence. When Tuhoe defeated the Arawa at Rere-whakaaitu some generations ago, they slew a chief of that tribe named Tionga. Having regaled themselves on his flesh, as also that of others, they carried his head home with them and placed it on a certain bird snaring tree (tutu) at Okahu, that it might cause that tree to bear an abundance of fruit and so attract many birds. Hence it is that the descendants of Tionga are now known as Tiaki-tutu, or the tutu guardians. Apparently this skull did its work well and achieved fame, for, some time after, we find the Awa folk of Te Teko asking for the loan of the head that it might be taken to their māra kumara to cause an abundant crop. Can these singular customs and beliefs be a survival of human sacrifice for similar purposes in past times?
In Wiedemann's booklet The Realms of the Egyptian Dead, the author states that, at an early period, dismemberment of corpses was practised in that land:—"It was divided into a varying number of pieces, but the severance of the head from the rest of the corpse was considered specially important. The pieces were buried in the cultivated land…. After a time, when the flesh had decayed, they dug up the bones, collected and cleaned them, and buried them in their final tomb in the sand of the desert."
There are in the Dominion Museum, some rudely fashioned phallic emblems from the Taranaki district that the Rev. T. G. Hammond thinks were used as a sort of cultivation mauri in plantations, but the evidence seems to be scant. (See Fig. 47, p. 197.) Some have been fashioned so as to resemble a phallus.
The Bay of Plenty natives have preserved the following tradition of the introduction of the kumara into that region:—Many generations ago, some say about 400 years, other versions make it longer, a woman named Te Kura-whakaata,
kumara. The woman conducted the castaways to her father's home on the cliff head above the present township of Whakatane where, on being provided with a meal, the seafarers were astonished to find that the kumara was not known in these islands. Under the supervision of the castaways a large sea-going canoe was made, and named Te Aratawhao, in which a crew sailed from Whakatane to the isles of Polynesia in order to obtain the coveted kumara. Hoaki sailed on this vessel, while his brother Taukata remained at Whakatane. We are told that the vessel made a successful voyage, safely reached the isles of Polynesia where the desired seed tubers were obtained. Prior to the return of the party to New Zealand the adepts of Hawaiki advised them to be very careful in their treatment of the kumara, and to closely observe all ceremonial matters connected with it, otherwise the mauri of the kumara would return to Hawaiki, a name which here stands for the isles of Polynesia. By mauri is meant the life principle or vitality of the tuber. They were advised to direct special care to the storage of the seed tubers, and, when safely housed, to conduct Taukata into the storehouse and there slay him, also to sprinkle the entrance to the storehouse with his blood—kei hoki mai te kura ki Hawaiki—lest the treasure return hither to Hawaiki. Even so, on their arrival at Whakatane, these instructions were carried out, and the hapless Taukata was slain as a means of preserving and retaining the mauri of the newly acquired product. We are also told that, for many years after the above events, at every planting season, the skull of Taukata was taken from the cave in which it was kept and deposited on the edge of the cultivation, and in each eye socket was placed a seed kumara. At the same time certain ritual was recited by priestly adepts with a view to the retention of the fruitfulness of the tuber, and to cause it to produce a prolific crop.
In his Nineteen Years in Polynesia, the Rev. G. Turner tells us that, in New Caledonia, "the teeth of old women are taken to the yam plantation as a charm for a good crop, and their skulls are also erected there on poles for the same purpose."
In his account of Maori life and industries, Cook wrote:—"We saw, near a plantation of sweet potatoes, a small area, of a square figure, surrounded with stones, in the middle of which one of the sharpened stakes which they use as a spade was set up, and upon it was hung a basket of fern roots: upon enquiry the natives told us that it was an offering to the gods, by which the owner hoped to render them propitious, and obtain a plentiful crop."
Mr. White tells us that, when the crop has sprouted well, and the young shoots well grown, some article of food was selected and held out in the hand as a kai popoa or sacred offering to Matariki (the Pleiades), a charm or invocation being at the same time repeated. The food so offered was then suspended on a pole or placed in a tree near the spot where the ceremony was performed. This performance took place at dawn.
The Dyaks of Borneo hold curious beliefs concerning the soul, or life principle of rice, and these much resemble the Maori belief described above. The Dyak belief that rice was originally obtained from the Pleiades, reminds us of the old Maori saying that the Pleiades are the food bringers, and of the myth that the kumara was first obtained from the sky world, from Whanui, the star Vega. Perry, in his Megalithic Culture in Indonesia, tells us that some of the folk of that region maintain that their ancestors learned the art of agriculture from an ancestor who had reached the Pleiades, where he acquired the knowledge. Here we recognise the myth concerning Rongomaui. These Indonesians employ certain ritual to ensure the flourishing of the rice crop, that is to protect the mauri or life principle of the plant. E. B. Tylor furnishes similar evidence in his work on Primitive Culture.
In the Sarawak region of Borneo the natives believe that the skulls of enemies cause crops to flourish.
We have already seen that a considerable amount of tapu and ceremonial pertained to the kumara and its cultivation, also that the Maori held very peculiar views regarding the mauri of that useful tuber. In order to make this matter somewhat clearer to our readers, it is well to explain that, in native belief, all things possess a mauri. This term is sometimes rendered as "soul," as in the case of the mauri of a person. Not only man, however, but all things, trees, plants, the lower animals, birds, fish, stones, forests, streams, &c., &c., possess a mauri. In these cases it may be rendered as life principle, but the Maori mind seems to recognise certain spiritual attributes in the mauri of even inanimate objects. Nothing can exist without this principle, and if it is polluted in any way, then its physical basis is in parlous plight. For instance, should the mauri of a forest be polluted, then that forest loses its fertility, fruits become scarce, and the birds desert it. If the mauri ora of man meets with a like misfortune, then his welfare suffers grievously, he being exposed to all evil influences. The idea seems to be that the loss or pollution of this spiritual life principle deprives its basis of the protection of the gods, a fact that spells disaster to it.
Maori tradition tells us that, when the old time Polynesian voyager, Hape, reached New Zealand, he resided for some time at Ohiwa, and then went on his travels southward. Now, for some unexplained reason, when he left Ohiwa, Hape took with him the mauri of the kumara. "Ka tangohia e ia te mana, ara te mauri, o te kumara, ka riro, ka waiho ko te matao." He took away the mana, that is the mauri of the kumara, and left the cold (infertility). After his departure, the Ohiwa folk found that their crops would not grow, the plants did not flourish, and produced but a few poor tubers. They at once knew that the mauri of the plant was affected in some way, and messengers were dispatched to seek Hape and ask him if he had tampered with it. They followed him to the South Island, from place to place, until they arrived at a village where he had died some time before. His body lay in a hut, and there they found it in a desiccated or mummy-like condition. Tamarau, one of the offsprings of Hape, proceeded to perform a certain ceremony by means of which he might acquire the mana and powers of Hape, as well as recover the mauri or life principle of the kumara. He recited certain ritual as he entered the hut, and then proceeded to bite the ear of his dead kinsman. By this act he at once became endowed with supernatural powers. He then sought the mauri and found it concealed in the waist belt of Hape, the material kumara plant. He then took the wairua (spirit) of Hape, represented in this case by a lock of his hair, and he and his party returned to their homes. The mauri of the kumara having been regained, the plantations produced prolific crops.
In taking the piece of stalk to represent an immaterial quality it would be necessary to rely on a certain ceremonial performance which imbued that stalk with the ahua (semblance) of the life principle of the kumara. This curious form of belief extends far back into Maori myth, for we find that in the very beginning of things, when guardians were appointed for the different realms of the universe, and departments of nature, the three beings Tane-te-hokahoka, Tangaiwaho, and Rongo-marae-roa were appointed to preserve the welfare and fertility of plants, trees, fish, and other things.
We have seen that the term mauri is used in two ways; it denotes the life principle, and is also applied to anything that represents that principle. In the case of a forest, stream, or the ocean itself, some object might be chosen as a material mauri, over which certain ceremonies were performed in order to preserve the productiveness of such forest, stream, or ocean. Thus we are told that, in some districts, a stone was selected as a mauri for a cultivation ground, being concealed somewhere about the margin of the field. Having been endowed with the necessary powers by priestly adepts, it was supposed to preserve the vitality, &c., of the cultivated products, to cause the tubers to grow to a large size, to prevent ravages by pests, to protect the crops from the magic arts of evilly disposed persons. Such a material mauri is a taunga atua or shrine of the gods under whose care the crops are.
In his Maori History of the Taranaki Coast, Mr. S. P. Smith describes a small stone vessel termed punga-tai, in which the Maori of former times is said to have preserved a small quantity of earth brought by his ancestors from their old home in the isles of Polynesia. This earth was used as a medium in the ritual performed in connection with the planting of the kumara, and it was believed to have an important effect in producing a good crop.
This belief in the efficacy of the innate powers of soil brought from the homeland is strong in the Maori mind. We are told in Maori tradition that when the vessel Takitumu arrived from Polynesia, she ran down the east coast of the mauri combined with the potent charms that caused whales to be cast ashore at that place, and, down long generations, have they so come ashore there, where a hill resembling a whale in form is viewed as the mauri of whales. It seems probable that the name of Te Pakake a Whirikoka is connected with a similar story, and this name was applied to a block of land, or a range, near the Waingaromia tributary of the Waipaoa river. Whirikoka was a great-grandparent of the three brothers Hourangi, Whiro and Wahawera, who were the children of Mohiku-tauira.
We now come to another form of "fertiliser" employed by the Maori of yore. These were rude stone images, rough hewn into semi-human form, that were placed in plantations for the same purpose that a mauri was, in fact they were mauri. These rough objects, however, seem to have been material representations of the gods themselves, such as Rongo. They are alluded to by natives as taumata or resting places, in full taumata atua or resting places of gods, that is to say temporary abiding places, or shrines. Another described them as he toi no te kumara, the word toi here bearing some meaning with which the writer is not acquainted, but possibly the toi of toiora. They may be alluded to as atua, which includes anything endowed atua kumara, however, it must be distinctly understood, were not viewed as real gods, but merely representations of such, something material that might be moved about, set in plantations, and seen by the eye of man. They were usually kept at the tuahu or sacred place of the community, or concealed, and were taken to the field when the planting commenced. They were placed at the upoko or head of the field, where they remained until harvest time, when they were returned to the tuahu, or elsewhere.
The first puke, that is to say the first tuber, planted at the upoko (eastern or northern side) of the field, as also the last planted at the remu or lower end of the field were tapu, or consecrated to the atua kumara, and are described as an ohonga ki te atua, a curious phrase, apparently meaning that the act of so devoting this offering was intended to stimulate the god represented by the image.
Prior to the lifting of the crop such an image would be returned to the tuahu. The two tapu plant hillocks were then opened and the produce thereof placed in two baskets. The contents of these baskets were then cooked, and one tuber of each lot was taken to the tuahu and there buried under the stone image. The two little mounds in which the first and last tubers were planted were known as the puke hopara, the word hopara apparently signifying abundance.
The remainder of the contents of the two baskets was eaten by certain privileged women, and by women only, no men were allowed to partake thereof, a singular custom pertaining also to the first fruits of birds. The oven in which the above tubers were cooked was known as the umu tamawahine. After this ceremonial performance was over the digging of the crop was commenced, and, at close of day, a portion of the product might be cooked as the meal for the workers, the above performance having lifted the prohibitive tapu therefrom.
The ritual recited by priestly adepts when placing the two tubers as an offering to the image has not been preserved.
Our illustrations show several of the rude images described above. The one named Rongo (Fig. 48, p. 204) is a Taranaki product and was formerly in the possession of the Waitara natives. In a weak moment they lent it to the residents of Puke-ariki, at New Plymouth, who, having heard of its excellent effect on crops, wished to increase the produce of their own fields. So pleased were they with its powers and effect that they
In Fig. 49 (p. 205) we see three more of these rude stone images. A. and B. represent Rongo, B., being the side view of A. C. is a specimen in the Whanganui Museum; it is one foot in height. D. is a Taranaki specimen of unusual form, a cast of which is in the Dominion Musuem. Fig. 51 (p. 206) shows two more of these stone forms.
Hari Wahanui, of Otorohanga, spoke of the image of Rongo as a double one apparently, and as though some tubers of the kumara were placed between the two figures. His words were:—"Te ariki o nga kumara ko Rongo te ingoa; penei tonu i te tangata te hanga, e rua e awhi ana raua nga kumara."
The old native rat was a comparatively harmless little animal, but once its European congener was introduced its ravages soon taxed the utmost ingenuity of the Maori."
In his paper The Peopling of the North, Mr. S. P. Smith remarks:—"The awheto, I suppose, is nearly extinct in New Zealand. It was a large green or brown caterpillar, about the size of a man's little finger, with a spike on its tail, which fed on the kumara plant, and which in former times it was the women's work to collect and destroy. There is a Maori saying in reference to the awheto—'Te awheto kai paenga,' which is applied to any one who goes round tasting the various dishes, derived from the habit of the awheto of eating round the leaves of the kumara."
The sea-gull was occasionally tamed and kept that it might eat these pests of the cultivation. Another plan for ridding the field of these creatures was to keep alive for a time a number of smouldering fires on which the pungent leaves of the kawakawa were burned.
In Laing and Blackwell's Plants of New Zealand, occurs the following remark concerning the kawakawa:—"The wet leaves and twigs slowly burned produce a bitter smoke, said to be fatal to insect life."
The Rev. Mr. Wade tells us that the natives collected the old gum of the kauri tree, which they burned in the kumara fields in order to destroy the caterpillar pest.
Yet another method was the banishing of these creatures by means of certain spells or performances by a tohunga. The Awa folk of the Whakatane district maintain that this was a most effectual way of disposing of a pest, called torongu. This is a form of caterpillar.
Another remark by Mr. Smith, in the above-mentioned work is as follows:—"The kumara and taro plantations required constant attention to keep down the weeds, which was always done with great care by patient hand weeding, and the use of the kaheru." This better describes such work after the introduction of European weeds.
An insect pest, the tupeke, is mentioned by Te Manihera Waititi, who says that it is the same as that called torongu in the Bay of Plenty district. It is some form of caterpillar. Both may possibly be the same as the awheto. The ngurengure and tungoungou are also mentioned as destructive pests.
[The master being of kumara was named Rongo, formed so as to resemble a person, two clasping to themselves the kumara.] See Fig. 51 p. 206). Or possibly there were two such figures, one being placed at either end of a field. In another communication the same authority remarks:—"Regarding the mauri; this stood at the very side of the wakawaka [strip or division of a plantation owned by a family] and resembled a person in form. The innate powers of that object originated at Hawaiki. By the side of the mauri was placed a small portion of soil with the object of causing the crop to flourish. The mauri was a stone [image]; it was passed down from one generation to another as a valued bequest, but its supernatural powers came from Hawaiki, it having been endowed with such by high priestly experts of olden times. It was placed at the tuahu [sacred place] pertaining to agricultural operations. You must understand that this was [represented] Rongo, who was the offspring of Rangi and Papa [Sky Father and Earth Mother]. There is further information concerning him."
The term mauri is applied to the images, as it may be to anything that serves to protect and promote vitality and welfare. The Awa folk of Te Teko stated that the agricultural expert planted a special tuber in its puke to serve as a mauri, after which he recited a charm the effect of which was to establish the mana of the proceedings (Ka whakauria te mana o nga mahi). That mound represents the mana of all ceremonial performances and tapu pertaining to the proceedings, hence it holds great protective powers. Should such a mauri be interfered with by evilly disposed persons by the exercise of magic arts, as by sending a plague of caterpillars to destroy the crop, then such base design would be foiled by the mana or inherent powers of the tapu mound.
Some natives state that a stone was set up at one side of the cultivated ground and endowed with such fostering and protective powers by means of the repetition of certain ritual formulae; that is it would serve as a mauri.
Certain stones on which were rudely carved representations of the male or female organs of generation were noted in the Taranaki district, and the Rev. T. G. Hammond believes that they were placed in the kumara fields and viewed as fertilising agents. Three such stone forms are shown in Fig. 47 (p. 197).
The best known of these stone images is that known as Matuatonga, the property of the Arawa folk of Rotorua, mana in former times, however rude its appearance. See Fig. 50 (p. 206).
Another representation of Rongo is in that form known to the Maori as atua kiato, a rounded rod of wood neatly enwrapped in sennit, and with a grotesque carved head on its upper end. See Figs. 52 and 53 (pp. 207-208). The lower end of such a medium was pointed to enable it to be stuck in the ground in an upright position. When a tohunga or priestly expert wished to conciliate or stimulate by entreaty the god Rongo, represented by this carved rod, he so stuck it in the ground at the tuahu, and, sitting down before it, he recited his karakia, ritual formulae supposed to have the desired effect, though in most cases bearing no aspect of invocation or entreaty.
We thus see that the unworked material mauri, the stone image, and the atua kiato may all be described as shrines, abiding places or mediums of the gods, or, as the Maori puts it:—taumata, taunga atua, and waka.
Mr. White gives the following:—"At early dawn on the planting day the chief procures a branch or young tree of tipau and sticks it in the ground on the eastern side of the field to be planted, in the middle of the eastern boundary thereof. This branch is now known as Rongo. He leaves the branch for a space and then returns to it and calls it by the name of Maui. This is done in order that it may serve as a mauri or tupuna kai for the crop. The baskets of seed are then taken into the field and placed in a row, with intervals of space between each two baskets, across the eastern side of the field. They are now of easy access to those whose duty it is to carry supplies of seed to the planters.
Should any members of the community have died since the last planting season, then a grandfather or grandmother (if living) of each person who has so died acts as reciter of the charms repeated during the process of planting. These elders seat themselves in a line on the eastern side of the field and, as the planting is being done, repeat over and over again the following karakia:—
This goes on until the task of planting is finished.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans on these shores the labour of keeping food plantations clear of weeds was very much lighter than it has been since that important event. This was owing to the introduction of many weeds, among which may be numbered certain species so intrusive and tenacious that eradication was an impossibility, such as the sorrel and dock. Others, such as the thistle and dandelion with their wind-blown seeds, though not so difficult to remove individually, are equally persistent. These introduced weeds gave native agriculturists a vast deal of extra work for some time, until their increasing apathy and carelessness led to neglect of weeding operations to a great extent. The few indigenous weeds of this land were not so persistent or difficult of removal. Some, such as Solanum nigrum, seeded freely but were easily removed. A plant called kohukohu was another of such weeds, also a plant called puha, and the common bracken (Pteris), with a few others.
In former times the natives kept their crops very carefully weeded. The operations of weeding, loosening soil round plants, and all such attentions came into the meaning of the expressive verb ngaki. Of a field of some forty acres of kumara and potatoes seen by him at Waimate, Nicholas remarks that:—"The plants were all disposed in the most perfect order, and the weeds rooted out with minute exactness."
In his account of a native village seen at the Bay of Islands in December, 1814, J. L. Nicholas again writes:—"Around this town, if it may be so called, were several plantations of potatoes, kumara, and other vegetables, and the cultivation had such an appearance of neatness and regularity, that a person not acquainted with the character of the natives, could never suppose it was the work of uncivilised barbarians. Each plantation was carefully fenced in… not a weed was to be seen."
Again, Nicholas remarks:—"The plantations on the hill which appeared to such advantage at a distance, improved still more on a nearer view of them, and everything bespoke not only the neatness, but even the good taste of the cultivators. Not a weed was to be seen, and the paling, which was ingenious though simple, gave an effect to the enclosure that was peculiarly striking." Again, he writes:—"As we left the village we crossed over some plantations of kumara and potatoes, which were neatly cultivated, and had stiles at convenient distances, with a
Polack wrote in the early part of last century:—"The native plantations have ever been cultivated with a degree of neatness far surpassing the generality of European farms, and greatly superior to the agriculturists in British America and the United States. Their principal defect has arisen from want of invention and materials to diminish manual labour, but certainly does not deteriorate from the extreme cleanliness in weeding and general neatness of their plantations." Polack was a somewhat careless writer, but his works contain some interesting matter.
Archdeacon Walsh has left us the following remarks on this subject:—"The work of cleaning the growing crop was a comparatively light one in the old days, as the host of troublesome weeds that have accompanied European cultivation had not then made their appearance. One weeding was considered sufficient, and it was done in the dry summer weather by a party made tapu for the occasion, and armed with small wooden spades shaped something like a short paddle. Care, however, had to be taken to prevent the vines from rooting on the surface, as this was found to reduce the strength of the plant…. Captain Cook noticed that the plantations were fenced in, generally with reeds, which were placed so closely together that there was scarcely room for even a mouse to creep between! This was done to shelter the crop from the strong winds which blew in the early summer; and in exposed situations additional breakwinds, formed of fern or tea-tree fronds stuck in the ground, were set up in lines across the plantation. This system may be seen at the present day in the settlements along the Taranaki coast."
As before observed even in most sheltered situations a plantation might be surrounded by a light fence, in order to protect the crops from the ravages of the swamp hens.
Of the caterpillar pest known as hotete and awhato the above writer remarks:—"With the exception of the hotete, a caterpillar about 2½ in. to 3 in. long, the larva of a large moth, the kumara does not seem to have had many enemies amongst the insect world. Though rarely seen of late years, probably owing to the introduction of the pheasant, the starling, &c., in old times it was often very abundant, appearing suddenly in countless numbers, and making complete havoc of the crop by stripping the leaves… they were carefully collected and burnt.
Some natives state that the moeone, a form of earth grub, was another pest in kumara fields, also the kowhitiwhiti or grasshopper. The kauwaha, mentioned at p. 148 of Vol. 14 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society I am not acquainted with.
Among the Matatua natives the name of ahi torongu or ahi patu torongu was applied to the peculiar rite performed by an expert in order to destroy the caterpillars attacking the crop. It was a magic act, and, next morning, the caterpillars would be seen past all help, hanging from the leaves of the plants; at least so I was informed by old Pio of Te Teko.
The awhato or awheto develops into the hawk moth, known to science as Sphinx convolvuli, and to the Maori as hihue. This latter is evidently a descriptive and appropriate name (hue, the gourd, plant and fruit; hi, to draw up) to apply to this creature so often seen on the flowers of the plant.
This important operation is known as the hauhakenga, the verb hauhake implying the lifting of a root crop.
Among the Awa folk of the Bay of Plenty, and some other tribes, the heliacal rising of the star Whanui (Vega) was looked upon as the sign for the commencement of the labour of lifting the kumara crop. Hence keen eyes scanned the horizon to catch the first view of that star, and the first person to so detect it at once roused the village community with the cry—"Ko Whanui, E! Ko Whanui!" Then adepts would examine the crop to see if it was ready to be lifted.
The statement at p. 27 of Vol. 28 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society to the effect that Vega marked the time for preparing the ground for the kumara crop is incorrect; apparently a lapsus calami.
In his paper on The Peopling of the North, Mr. S. P. Smith states that:—"The time for harvesting this valuable crop was denoted by the rising of the star Rehua (Antares)." This is not corroborated, apparently, and Rehua is viewed as the most important summer star, hence the remark so often heard on hot days—Kua tahu a Rehua.
The late chief Ropata Wahawaha was the author of the following statement:—"Tera whetu ra, ko Whanui, i te mea ka mohiotia nga po e puta ai a Whanui, ka whakapaia nga rua, a ka rere a Whanui ka timata te hauhake i nga kai, a te potonga o nga kai, ka mahia nga maki a Ruhanui." (About that star. Nga kai a Matariki nana i ao ake ki runga." [The foods of Matariki, by him brought forth.] Another old saying states that it is Matariki who drives food ashore. The old time Maori viewed the Pleiades in the light of a benefactor, and, in some districts, its heliacal rising in June was the commencement of the Maori year. It is recorded that such rising was greeted in a singular manner by the chanting of songs, and posture dancing.
The expressions Ruhanui and Ruwhanui were employed in the East Coast district to denote the period of leisure that ensued after the crops were lifted, the time when social pleasures and feasting were so much indulged in. In vernacular speech ruha denotes weariness, while Ruhanui may almost be said to be a season name.
The late Mr. John White collected a note on this subject:—"The tapu period of the year was the time when Matariki appeared above the horizon in the morning. That was the occasion on which our elders of former times held festival, when the people rejoiced, and women danced and sang for joy as they looked on Matariki" Sir G. Grey remarks that first fruits were offered to Matariki.
A curious note on Whanui, preserved by Mr. John White, runs as follows:—"Another star of the heavens is Whanui. His message to all persons on this side of the island is—O friends! Here am I, Whakakorongata. Awake, arise and grasp your spade! Gather and store the food supplies, then rejoice and give yourselves to pleasure and song, for all women and children will then rejoice and be thankful."
The kumara crop was dug up in the tenth month of the Maori year, which included parts of March and April. It was usually alluded to simply as the ngahuru, or tenth, such being the old word for ten, and so this word has come to possess a secondary meaning, that of harvest time. This tenth month was marked by the rising of the star called Poutu-te-rangi, which has not been a Aquilae. Some tribes utilise the name of this star as a name for the tenth month. The following are the month names formerly employed by the Tuhoe tribes, as given by Tutakangahau. They now use our names, though some old men still keep to the ancient names:—
Pipiri is a star name known to Maori and Tahitian. The first month is often called Te Tahi o Pipiri (The First of Pipiri). The ninth month is called Rūhi-te-rangi by Ngati-Awa of Whakatane. This Rūhi, also known as Peke-hawani, is also a star, and, in Maori myth, is said to be one of the wives of Rehua. When Rehua goes to live with Rūhi, she places her feet on the earth, the left foot first, and then the fruits of the earth are formed. When Rehua moves on to his other wife, Whakaonge-kai (another star) then blazing summer is upon us, and she renders food scarce, as her name denotes. All three personify spring and summer, also the enervating effects of summer heat.
The name Ruhi is apparently allied to the adjective ruhi, weak, exhausted, enervated, and to rūrŭhi, an old woman.
The eighth month was sometimes called Te Waru patote, on account of cultivated food products being then scarce, just prior to harvest time. The ngahuru was also known as ngahuru kai paenga, because, at this time, food was prepared on the borders of the plantations.
It is held that early man naturally measured the year from the time of the ripening of crops of one year to the corresponding period in the next year. This system of measuring time is said to have given the early part of May as a starting point for the year in ancient Egypt, as also in Chaldea at a still more remote period. The Maori year began about two months after the harvest was gathered, but little notice was taken of these two months, which are held to be of no importance and were not so precisely named as the other ten months. The twelfth month was known in some parts as the Matahi kari piwai or gleaning month, when the piwai or tubers overlooked by crop-diggers were dug up for use. The term matahi seems to have been also applied to the first month (June-July) according to Williams, as the Matahi o te tau (First of the season).
The Pleiades year was also recognised in the Cook Group, and it would be of interest to know if it has been introduced from the northern hemisphere in past times. As a passing remark it is interesting to note that in some districts the Maori year commenced with the rising of Rigel (Puanga).
The Maori tells us that when Whanui, the star Vega, moves slowly (appears to do so) it is a token of a plentiful crop, an abundance of food. When it moves quickly, as though blown by the wind, it is a sign of a lean season, of poor crops.
Prior to the crop lifters commencing operations certain ceremonies had to be performed by priestly adepts, but we lack details of these matters. Mr. White tells us that the tohunga or adept, with certain companions, proceeded to the field, where he pulled up one of the kumara plants with the tubers still adhering to the roots. These were taken to the sacred place and there left as an offering to the gods, being simply suspended on a pole or stake. A few tubers were then dug and cooked for the tohunga, who ate them as a part of the tapu lifting ceremony. The recital of ritual matter or charms accompanied all these acts. One of the tubers cooked for the expert was held out by him and waved to and fro as an offering to the gods; the balance he ate. More tubers were cooked in a separate steam oven for the companions of the tohunga, while a third and much larger quantity was cooked in a third oven for the balance of the people. Having partaken of this ceremonial repast the work of digging the crop was proceeded with.
Here follow some further notes collected by Mr. White:—When the kumara crop was taken up, a few tubers and leaves of the plant were suspended to a stake or a tree at the side of the field as an offering to the gods. A few were also cooked and eaten by the priests or adepts who performed the various ceremonies.
Those engaged in lifting the crop were not allowed to partake of food between sunrise and sunset until the work was completed.
When the crop was about to be lifted, a priestly expert, or, in some cases, an elderly woman, would enter the field and take up sufficient tubers to fill a small basket. These were cooked in a steam oven, and, when the oven was opened, the first tuber taken out of it was offered to the souls of the dead relatives of those who had recited the usual ritual at the time of planting the crop. While this small oven was being opened, the officiating tohunga took his stand on the eastern side of it, and some little distance away. When the woman lifted off the last covering and disclosed the cooked food, she took up the first tuber caught sight of in her right hand and held it up on high, being careful, however, not to hold it over her head. As she did so, the tohunga (priestly adept) recited the following:—
the meaning and application of which are obscure. This appeared to take the tapu off the remainder of the cooked tubers, which were then eaten by the tohunga and chiefs.
When the kumara crop is matured and ready for lifting a few tubers are first taken up and cooked in a steam oven. This is termed a whakamahunga, a trial of the crop. The crop is then taken up and conveyed to the stores, but all the largest tubers are placed together. The tubers, as taken up, are put in heaps in the field, and persons, termed kai whakarawe, take baskets to these heaps and fill them. These basket fillers, as also those who carry the same to the store houses, must not obey any call of nature while engaged at their tasks.
Any tubers cooked as food for the workmen while engaged in lifting the crop, must not be scraped, but are cooked with the skin on and eaten in the same condition.
When all the crop was stored then some of the large tubers were cooked for the workmen in an oven known as a tuapora. When this oven was opened, a tohunga first took therefrom a small portion of the food and, holding it up, waved it to and fro. This was then suspended, probably to a tree, as an offering to Rongo, atua, inasmuch as the people had been cooking his offspring, the kumara. The contents of the oven were then put in baskets and placed before the workmen.
Mr. John White left us some further notes on kumara cultivation, among which is the following:—He remarks that the crop was expected to be a tenfold return of the seed planted, or even more. Describing what were presumably methods employed by the Ngapuhi folk of the far north, he says that this tenfold return was called a ngahurutanga, apparently from ngahuru= ten. If 6 baskets of seed tubers produced a crop of 70 baskets, this would be expressed as maea mai e ono tekau ma rau ngahuru, meaning that sixty odd baskets were gathered. There is probably an error in this statement, the word denoting "and upwards" is ngahoro, not ngahuru, hence the expression should be e ono tekau ngahoro, I presume. Some further notes on this mode of counting are also of doubtful accuracy. However, the above may have represented a local usage.
Tuta Nihoniho of the East Coast contributed the following brief note:—As the tubers were recovered they were placed aside to dry, and, when dried, they were collected in heaps which were covered with a layer of haulm, and then with earth. The tubers were sorted as to different sizes, also all damaged ones were set aside for immediate use. The sorting process is described by the term kopana.
All those intended to be stored in the rua or pits were placed in large flax baskets termed tiraha, which were all made the same size. Each basket must be quite full and must be carried on the back to the store pit; it was deemed extremely unlucky to half fill a basket, or to carry one in the arms, that is to hiki it. These baskets of tubers were counted in pairs, as ngahuru pu= 20; hokorua pu = 40; hokotoru pu = 60.
Women in a paheke condition were not allowed to take part in lifting and storing the crop, because such a thing would cause the crop to decay in the pits.
Here follow a few general remarks culled from Mr. White's unpublished manuscript:—
In some cases at least there appears to have been a careful division of labour when taking up the crop. A certain number of men attended to the digging only; others collected the tubers into heaps; others put them into baskets, while others carried these baskets to the store pits, where the task of stowing them away was performed by old men, often by the leading men of the clan.
When the crop was all consigned to the store pit, a kind of ceremonial feast was held, and some of the tubers were cooked for this purpose in a special steam oven known as the umu tuapora. When cooked, and prior to the distribution of the food, a small portion thereof was taken out and used as an offering to the gods. The process was to hold it with outstretched hand and wave it up and down, after which it was deposited on some tree in the vicinity. First fruits of a crop are termed maomaoa and tuapora.
Archdeacon Walsh's remarks on the harvesting operations are remarkably brief:—"The general crop was taken up about March or April, a dry sunshiny day being always chosen, so as to avoid the danger of mouldiness. Should frost or prolonged heavy rains come on, however, the roots had to be dug at once, to save them from rotting or second growth. The general harvest, or hauhakenga, as it was called, was the most important event of the year, all other operations being suspended until it was completed. It was naturally made the occasion of a hakari, or harvest festival, accompanied by religious rites, but of these I have been unable to learn any details."
Any kumara tubers overlooked by the crop lifters and left in the ground are known as houhunga, a name also applied to a crop left too long in the ground. The word seems to denote a condition in which the tubers will not keep, but must be eaten soon.
If a nest of the pohowera bird, the banded dotterel, should be found by harvesters in a sweet potato plantation, then the yield of the field is already known, for there will be twenty baskets of tubers for each egg found in the bird's nest.
The peculiar ceremony performed for the purpose of lifting the tapu from a crop about to be dug is sometimes styled the pure, while tamaahu, a verb, describes the act. The first fruits of the kumara are also termed tamaahu. The tubers used in the tamaahu rite are termed tamoe. The Rev. R. Taylor states that the first fruits of the kumara were offered to Pani, and there seems to be a curious division of honours between Pani and Rongo. It is worthy of note that the first is always spoken of as a female and the latter as a male.
The laying aside or offering of first fruits to the gods was a general Maori custom; the first fish caught in a new net, the first birds of the season, the first portion of harvested crops, &c., all went to placate the gods and retain their favour. Connected with the feeling that prompted these offerings was the peculiar attitude of the Maori toward the stars. Many of the principal stars were regarded as food suppliers, as influencing such supplies in some way, hence certain ritual chants were recited by tohunga during the first fruits ceremony in order apparently to influence the stars and invoke their aid and favour. The following ritual, given by Tutakangāhau of Tuhoe, was chanted by priestly adepts (tohunga) at the opening of the planting season, prior to the commencement of the labours of the season. They collected a quantity of new, young growth of plants, &c. (styled te mătabreve; o te tau), took it to the tuahu, where rites were performed, and there offered or fed it (whangaia) to the principal stars, which are styled atua (super natural beings). The object was to obtain the favour of these atua, the stars that influenced food supplies, that all food products might flourish; also to prevent any pest or malign influence affecting the same. The invocation is as follows:—
The chant continues, naming as above all the principal stars. Tuputuputu is one of the Magellan Clouds; Atutahi is Canopus; Takurua is Sirius, and Whanui is Vega.
The spot where the pure rite was performed over the kumara crop was called the taumatua, while Williams gives tuperepere as signifying the pure ceremony on housing the kumara crop. If this signifies a secondary pure rite, then its object could scarcely be the lifting of tapu at such a juncture. In noting the various usages of this word pure, it is fairly clear that it does not always mean the lifting of tapu; in some cases its signification is of rather an opposite nature. The name tokomauri was applied to certain poles, wands or branchlets of mapou (Myrsine Urvillei) used in the pure rite over a plantation.
The Rev. R. Taylor gives whakamahunga as the name of a ceremony for rendering tapu those who planted the kumara, and those who lifted the crop. These persons had to be fed by others while under tapu, for they could not touch food with their hands. Williams gives amoamohanga as an offering of first fruits of the kumara crop to the principal chief; also māhu, and mahukihuki as ceremonies to remove tapu from a kumara crop.
Cruise, who sojourned in New Zealand for ten months in 1820, has left us the following notes connected with native agricultural operations:—"The commencement of the koomera [kumara] harvest is the great epoch which marks the recurrence of the year; and the labour of gathering it supersedes all other occupations. It is ushered in with the blessing of the priest for its success, and terminated by his tabbooing, or making sacred from intrusion, the storehouses in which this favourite food is deposited. Even in the predatory excursions of the New Zealanders it has sometimes happened that, when everything else has been plundered, the superstition of the tabboo has saved the koomeras from violation.
One of the gentlemen of the ship was present at the shackerie [hakari] or harvest home, if it may so be called, of Shungie's [Hongi] people. It was celebrated in a wood, where a square space had been cleared of trees, in the centre of which three very tall posts, driven into the ground in the form of a triangle, supported an immense pile of baskets of koomeras. The tribe of Teperree of Wangarooa [Whangaroa] was invited to participate in the rejoicings, which consisted of a number of dances performed round the pile, succeeded by a very bountiful feast; and when Teperree's men were going away, they received a present of as many koomeras as they could carry with them….
The rejoicings are the same when the koomeras are planted, as when they are gathered in. During the sowing season the ground is strictly tabbooed, as well as the people employed in cultivating it: they have temporary huts built upon it; nor can they pass the boundary night or day until their labours are terminated. So cautious were the natives lest we should approach those tabbooed [tapu] grounds, that they had persons ready to warn us off, and to lead us, often by a considerable circuit, to the place for which we were bound. In some instances, when Europeans came accidentally upon them while so employed, and did not immediately go away when desired, the work was suspended, and they seemed to think that they dreaded a failure
The statement made by Cruise concerning the safety of the crops from the attention of raiders is scarcely in accordance with native ways. They were very frequently despoiled by war parties. Visitors who sojourned a brief space on these shores might well make errors in recording native customs, &c.
The formation of small terraces on hillsides was by no means a common or usual occurrence in these isles, but such a method was occasionally adopted to a limited extent, as in places where flat land of a suitable soil was not available. Thus, in his account of Great Barrier Island, published in Vol. XXII. of the Transactions of the N.Z. Institute, Mr. Weetman writes:—"There are places, notably at Korotiti on the east coast, which mark the site of their old habitations and cultivations, the slopes of the hills being terraced, and the ground supported by stone facing; while in other places enclosures are fenced in by stone walls, which are as straight and well built as those constructed by Europeans. Out of these enclosures large trees are growing, more than a foot in diameter…. There are also; in places now likewise covered by forest, large heaps of stones which had evidently been collected from the surface prior to cultivating the land."
E. J. Wakefield tells us of a small terraced cultivation seen by him at Te Paripari, near Pae-kakariki, in 1840. "Some neat plantations of the kumara, or sweet potato, betrayed the neighbourhood of a settlement. They extended about thirty yards up the face of the hill, in terraces formed by logs of wood laid horizontally, and supported by large pegs. The terraces were covered with sand from the beach, which the natives assured me was the best soil for the growth of the kumara. In storms, these plantations must be covered with salt spray, and swept by the north-west wind; but on this day a hot sun shone upon the bank, and I was told that such a position was esteemed highly productive."
"In some cases," writes Mr. S. P. Smith—"Both kumara and taro had to be protected from the wind by neat little screens surrounding a dozen or so of plants, work that required patience and industry." This would be the case in windy situations, where breakwinds divided a small field into a number of little patches. There are also signs that, in windy exposed places, where flat
Stone-faced terraces are said to exist in the Waimarama district of the East Coast. Many hills or spurs on D'Urville Island are said to be terraced; possibly these were terraced hill forts. An interesting paper by Mr. Rutland on numerous artificial terraces and pits in the Pelorus district appeared in Vol. III. of the Journal of the Polynesian Society.
An account of Whangape Harbour in The British Colonization of New Zealand, published in 1837, contains the following:—"Some part of this land is cultivated by the natives in detached patches, but the greater part of their cultivation is on the steep sides of their magnificient hills. Patches are enclosed and cleared, and planted up almost to the tops of the hills."
In a work entitled Rovings in the Pacific from 1837 to 1849, appears an account of the district about Wharekahika, near East Cape, as seen in 1840:—"Every hill was under cultivation in greater or less degree, and most of the natives we fell in with were engaged in agricultural pursuits…. The natives appear very partial to cultivating the face of the hills; they contend that the crops are better in such situations, probably owing to alluvial deposits washed by the heavy rains from above. I have seen crops of maize growing in such acclivitous positions as quite fatigued me to reach them."
On this subject the late Archdeacon Walsh wrote:—"The storing of the crop required the greatest care and judgment, as, in spite of every precaution, it was barely possible to preserve the stock until the next planting time. Besides being a delicate article to handle, the kumara is susceptible to every change of weather. A single bruised or chafed tuber will soon rot and communicate the decay to those in contact with it, while a very short exposure to damp, or even to cold air, will quickly spoil the whole lot."
As to the methods of storage, and the storage pits most of the information has already been published in Bulletin No. 5 of this series, entitled Maori Storehouses and Kindred Structures, to which I refer the reader. See also Figs. 54 and 55. Some further notes will be found in the native account following this.
In a paper on The Food Value of Kumaras, by Dr. J. Malcolm, read before the Otago Institute, August 1st, 1911, occur the following statements:—"Of the kumara, two-thirds consisted of water; carbo-hydrates were present in the kumara to the extent of 19 per cent. of the whole. The sweet taste of the kumara was due to the presence of a substance which promoted a plentiful supply of saliva, which converted the starch into sugar. There was only 0.27 per cent. of fat in the kumara. It was a vegetable that did not keep well. Mould grew quickly, owing to the presence of sugar; the ordinary potato was not so affected, owing to the absence of glucose."
A storage pit in which were stored seed tubers was known as a rua whakaahu at Wairarapa, while that in which tubers were stored for food supplies was called a rua taranga. The well-like pits often seen about old village sites were used for food storage purposes and are known as rua kopiha and rua korotangi.
In Figs. 54 and 55 (p. 225) is seen the semi-subterranean type of storage places wherein the sweet potato crop is stored. kete kumara, or baskets of sweet potatoes, is seen some manuka brush which is used as dunnage. Such pits are called rua tahuhu.
The Maori usually employed subterranean or semi-subterranean storage pits for the preservation of the kumara, but he also used for many products elevated storehouses. These resembled those of certain tribes of Borneo, which were erected on posts about six feet high, the posts being encircled by wooden discs to prevent the passage of rats. These elevated store huts, used largely for rice, are provided with a sliding door at one end. This description will apply equally to the Maori pataka. The semi-subterranean storage pits used by the Maori for the storage of sweet potatoes are termed rua tahuhu in some districts. This tuber was not stored in the elevated stores or pataka.
Local names of yam. Seen by early voyagers. Its far spread name. Evidence of Banks and others. Distribution of the yam. Its original habitat. Diascorea alata. Candolle's evidence. Several species grown in Polynesia. The species cultivated in New Zealand said to be D. alata. Cultivation of the yam abandoned by Maori early in nineteenth century. The name of uhi applied to other plants.
The yam is but seldom included in the list of cultivated food products of the Maori, though it unquestionably should be. It was certainly cultivated in the northern part of the North Island, and on the East Coast, as observed by Cook and his companions, though we are not aware of its southern limit. Its Maori name is uwhikāho, and it was also known as uwhi. Cook gives its name as tuphwhe, which presumably stands for uwhi or te (the) uwhi.
Capt. Cook remarked as follows on the cultivated food plants of the Maori:—"We could find but three esculent plants among those which are raised by cultivation, yams, sweet potatoes, and coccos [taro]. Of the yams and potatoes there are plantations consisting of many acres…. Gourds are also cultivated by the natives of this place, the fruit of which furnishes them with vessels for various uses." In another place he remarks that no cultivations of these products were seen to the southward, by which he evidently meant the South Island.
At Tolaga Bay Cook speaks of sweet potatoes, taro and gourds as having been seen. A few pages further on, in his description of the district, he writes:—"The soil … is light and sandy, and very fit for the production of all kinds of roots, though we saw none except sweet potatoes and yams." At Mercury Bay he saw—"About half an acre planted with gourds and sweet potatoes, which was the only cultivation in the bay."
In Forster's account of Cook's second voyage occurs a remark connected with the yam. Describing a visit of a Maori to the ship south of Cape Kidnappers (October 22, 1774), he says:—"Our young Borabora man, Mahine, … hearing from us that
Uwhi and uhi are names applied by the Maori to the yam, and it bears similiar names in Polynesia, uhi at Tahiti, Mangareva, Nukuoro, and the Paumotu and Hawaiian groups, ufi at Samoa, while related forms seem to exist in Melanesia. In Malay and Malagasi the yam is termed ubi. Williams' Maori Dictionary gives pounamu as the name of a variety of yam.
In his story of The Peopling of the North, Mr. S. P. Smith mentions two small islands at Oruawharo named Motu-uwhi (Yam Island) and Motu-kumara (Kumara Island), and, in a footnote remarks:—"The name of this island, Motu-uwhi, if it is an ancient one, which I have no reason to doubt, is of great interest. Uwhi is the name given to the winter potato, which only grows in the north, and it is also the Polynesian name for the yam. Major Gudgeon says that he learnt from the Maoris that the uwhi was known to them before the arrival of the Europeans. In Sir Joseph Bank's Journal he gives a list of Maori words collected by him when he was in New Zealand with Captain Cook in 1769, and in this list we find the following: Cocos, taro; sweet potato, cumala; yam, tuphwe, which later is clearly the name uwhi. This shows that the yam was still growing in New Zealand in 1769. Banks also mentions the yam in other parts of his Journal as forming part of the food of the Maori."
In an account given by a native of the far north many years ago, he stated that the yam, termed uhikaho by him, had been introduced but had become extinct. Its cultivation probably demanded much care in this country, and, on the introduction of the common potato, a very easily grown esculent, the growing of the yam would be abandoned, even as the cultivation of the taro is now almost unknown here.
The late Bishop Williams, in a short paper on the kumara (Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. III., p. 144) states that, in the East Cape district, tradition states that the kumara, taro, hue (gourd) and the uwhikaho or yam were brought hither uwhikaho has disappeared altogether from this district."
In the Journal of Sir Joseph Banks mention is made of yams having been seen at the Bay of Islands—"They then showed us their plantations, which were very large, of yams, cocos [taro] and sweet potatoes." Again, in his general account of New Zealand, he writes:—"Nor does their cultivated ground produce many species of esculent plants; three only have I seen, yams, sweet potatoes, and cocos, all three well known and much esteemed in both the East and West Indies. Of these, especially the two former, they cultivate often patches of many acres…. They also cultivate gourds, the fruits of which serve to make bottles, jugs, &c., and a very small quantity of the Chinese paper mulberry tree." These observations evidently refer to the far north, about the Bay of Islands. These voyagers did not land in the southern parts of the North Island, and saw no cultivations in the South Island. They saw a few small ones about Tolaga Bay, and one only at Mercury Bay.
Candolle, in his Origin of Cultivated Plants, states that "The yam which is most commonly cultivated in the Pacific Isles under the name ubi is the Dioscorea alata of Linnæus…. It is divided into several varieties according to the shape of the rhizome." Three species appear to have been cultivated in China for a long period, and perhaps the balance of evidence is that it was introduced into Oceania from Asia.
Mr. Rutland, in describing the cultivated food plants of Polynesia (See Transactions of the N.Z. Institute, Vol. XXIX., p. 14) writes as follows:—"The common yam (Dioscorea alata) was found in cultivation throughout Polynesia by the old European navigators. Another species, Dioscorea sativa, was also cultivated, but the rhizomes contained an acrid principle, and required a particular sort of cooking, hence it was less in vogue than D. alata, which seems to be foreign to the region, though its original habitat cannot be accurately determined, it being now very widely spread both on the mainland and the Asiatic Islands. Since the European discovery of America the indigenous species cultivated there have been superseded by African and Asiatic species."
Candolle states that there are about two hundred species of the genus Dioscorea scattered over all tropical and sub-tropical countries. In summing up, he says:—"Several Dioscorea wild in Asia (especially in the Asiatic Archipelago), and others less
Mr. Cheeseman, in a paper on the food plants of Polynesia (Transactions N.Z. Institute, Vol. XXXIII., p. 309), says:—"Five or six species of yams are grown in Polynesia, in some of the islands to a very large extent. In Fiji their cultivation was of so much importance that the months received special names from the class of work that had to be done at those particular times in the yam plantations. Some of the species are doubtless indigenous, but others are almost certainly introduced, probably from tropical Asia, or Malaya." The same authority has also sent us the following notes:—"There is plenty of evidence that it was grown to some extent in the north, and sold, together with potatoes and kumara, to the whaling vessels at the Bay of Islands, Mangonui, &c. In the former locality, Sir J. D. Hooker explicitly states that one species, Dioscorea alata, was grown by the Maori during his visit to New Zealand. The cultivation of the yam in the North probably ceased at the time when the Maoris abandoned general agriculture, not being able to compete with European farmers."
This evidence makes it appear that the yam was cultivated by natives for some time after the commencement of European settlement, in which case the statement made by a native many years ago, and quoted above, must have referred to some local condition. It is just possible that, after the introduction of the potato, the cultivation of the yam was gradually given up, and that it was re-introduced by the early whalers, great numbers of which vessels used to cruise about the Pacific area, the Bay of Islands being one of their principal rendevous.
Mr. Cheeseman states that, very many years ago, a Colonel Wimberley conveyed a variety of the yam known as the Otaheite (Tahiti) Potato from New Zealand to the Andaman Islands, where it was much appreciated and is still cultivated.
Mr. John White gave uhi para as a name for the para tawhiti (Marattia fraxinea), the large starchy rhizome of which was eaten by the Maori in former times. Mr. Cheeseman states that it was occasionally cultivated near their villages. See Manual of the New Zealand Flora, p. 1026.
Te Manihera Waititi of Whanga-paraoa, tells us that uhi was the name of a kind of kumara that is now extinct. It was a small kind, in form resembling the potato called taewa roroa. He speaks of it as being hairy or bristly, a singular term to apply to a tuber. Its flowers and leaves resembled those of the pohue (Calystegia sepium). The tubers were not scraped prior to cooking, but cooked in the skin, which was removed after cooking. Apparently this was not the yam. In a later communication he says that this tuber had many fine fibrous rootlets attached to it.
Williams' Maori Dictionary shows us that the term uhi or uwhi is used in rather a loose manner, as uhi po is a variety of potato, uhi perei is applied to Gastrodia Cunninghamii, and uhi koko and uhi raurenga to varieties of taro. The same work gives ngangarangi as a name for the yam.
In a letter written by Captain Cook to Mr. John Walker of Whitby, giving some account of his first voyage, his description of New Zealand includes the following statement:—"Their chief food is fish and fern roots; they have, too, in places, large plantations of potatoes, such as we have in the West Indies, and likewise yams, &c."
The Ngati-Porou natives of the Waiapu district state that there were two forms of uwhi, the uwhi kumara and uwhi parareka. The former, it is said, was not scraped prior to cooking, inasmuch as its skin was very easily detached when cooked. It is possible that the uwhi parareka is the same as the uhi po of Williams.
Shells were used wherewith to scrape the kumara in olden times. When these were not obtainable a piece of split supplejack, bent into a curved form, was often used as a substitute.
Tutakangahau, of the Tuhoe tribe, stated that, in pre-European times, the Maori cultivated the uhi, which resembled the kumara in growth, but tasted more like a taewa, the introduced Solanum.
Original habitat. Grows wild in India, Ceylon and Indonesia. Not an irrigated crop in New Zealand. Traditionary account of procuring of taro. Propagation. Taro employed in ceremonial performances. Planted on certain days only. How planted. Remarks by Nicholas. Varieties of taro. Flowering variety. Remarks by Thomson; by J. A. Wilson; by W. B. Old varieties not grown now. Taro cultivation at the Sandwich Isles. Method of cultivation in New Caledonia. Gravel used in cultivation. Both root and petioles eaten.
This is another of the cultivated food plants of Polynesia that was introduced into New Zealand by early Polynesian voyagers in these southern seas.
Candolle states that the taro is found growing in a wild state in India, Ceylon, Sumatra, and several islands of the Malay Archipelago. Its Polynesian name of taro, talo, and Fijian dalo, seems to be traceable to Malaysia. Rutland states that it has been cultivated in Hindostan for more than 4000 years, but Candolle merely says that it is mentioned in a Chinese work of 100 B.C. Mr. Christian tells us that kachu was the Sanscrit name for the taro, now applied to the potato, and that kachu is the Inca name for the potato.
The taro, writes Mr. Cheeseman, in the paper mentioned above, "Is considered to be truly native in India and Malaya, and possibly also in some of the Pacific islands, but it also is widely grown in most warm countries." Another paragraph in his paper is as follows:—"I have mentioned the taro among the New Zealand cultivated plants, but one or two allied species are also largely grown in Polynesia, especially the gigantic kape (Alocasia macrorhiza). How far either it or the true taro is indigenous in the Pacific islands it is almost impossible to say, from the readiness with which they establish themselves in swampy places or on the banks of streams, in a very short time presenting all the appearance of true natives. Both are often cultivated in artificial ponds or swamps, frequently of large size, and fed by runlets of water conducted from the nearest stream."
It is a singular fact that, in New Zealand, the taro was cultivated in ordinary soil. There seems to be no evidence to show that any form of irrigation was ever employed by the Maori See Fig. 56.
In Vol. III. of the Journal of the Polynesian Society, the Rev. T. G. Hammond gives a Taranaki tradition of the acquisition of the taro by the ancestors of the Maori. This event occurred in times long past, when those ancestors were dwelling at Hawaiki, a name applied not only to various isles of Polynesia, but also to the original homeland of the race. An ancestor named
taro growing. On returning home his account of the taro as a food product induced the people to send an expedition to obtain it, hence two vessels named Pahitonoa and Hakirere were despatched for that purpose. One Rauru was in command of the former vessel, and Maihi of the latter. Pahitonoa was wrecked, and the survivors of her crew were rescued by Maihi, who safely reached the island and took the taro back with him to Hawaiki. Samoan traditions tell of a noted voyager of olden times named Maru, who made many voyages among the isles of Polynesia. The Maori tribes of Taranaki state that the taro was brought to New Zealand in the vessel named Mātātua. A note in Mr. White's MSS. is to the effect that Maru saw the taro growing at Wairua, a lake at Mata-te-ra, and sent one Maiho (?) to procure it.
Mr. John White also states that, during mourning ceremonial, taro were placed in the hands of the corpse, while the curious ceremony illustrated in Tregear's Maori Race (p. 388) was being performed.
In describing the cultivation of the taro, Colenso writes:—"This also was propagated by planting its roots or tubers, or, more properly speaking, its small offset shoots; which were carefully pinched off for that purpose; but, being a perennial, and always in season, its tubers were not taken up and stowed away for future use, but were generally dug up when wanted. Hence it was doubly useful to them, in some respects more so than the kumara. It was also very prolific, increasing its set tubers rapidly, both in size and in the offshoots, in a suitable soil, so that a clump of taro tubers passed into a proverb, to show the number and resources of a strong tribe:—"He puia taro nui, he ngata taniwha rau, e kore e ngaro." (A cluster of flourishing taro plants, a hundred devouring slugs, cannot be extirpated. So with a large tribe, it is difficult to destroy them all.) Of this plant there are also more than twenty varieties or species, which, like the kumara, differed greatly in size, in quality, and in the colour of its flesh; besides one which is known to have been introduced since the time of Cook's visit. This newer one is called iaro hoia; it is a much larger root and plant, and it is also coarser in its flesh, and it is not so generally liked. Both the tubers and the thick succulent stems (petioles) of the large leaves of the plants were eaten, but only after being thoroughly cooked; a severe burning of the lips, mouth, and throat, attended by
This esculent tuber was made to play an important part in many of their higher ceremonial observances, as at the naming of a newly-born chief's child, at the death of a chief, at the exhumation which in due time always followed, and also at the visits of welcome strangers. For each observance, or feast, the ancient Maoris used their particular varieties or sorts; a similar usage was also practised on such occasions with their varieties of animal food. This custom they could not so well have carried out with the kumara, as there were seasons when it was not to be had at all."
In describing a journey made by him down the East Coast in 1841, the above writer says:—"Leaving Te Kawakawa and travelling south by the seaside, I passed by several of the taro plantations of the natives. These plantations were large, in nice condition, and looked very neat, the plants being planted in true quincunx order, and the ground strewed with fine white sand, with which the large pendulous and dark green shield-shaped leaves of the plants beautifully contrasted, some of the leaves measuring more than two feet in length, the blade only. Small screens formed of branches of manuka, to shelter the young plants from the violence of the winds, intersected the grounds in every direction.
A curious superstition demanded that the taro be planted only at certain phases of the moon, thus the Rakaunui, Rakau-matohi and Orongonui (17th, 18th, and 28th nights of the moon) were favourable planting days. If planted at the wrong time a fine growth ensues, but a very poor crop; so says the Maori.
The following brief note was obtained from Ngati-Porou sources:—"In planting taro the holes were made in a straight line, a flax line being used in the operation. A quantity of gravel was put in the holes, and this gravel was flattened out, a hollow was formed in it, and a portion drawn out of the hole and placed on its brink. Three or four taro were put in the hole and covered with gravel, and when the young sprouts grew up, some of the gravel lying on the brink of the hole was raked in with the hand and put round the growing shoots; this process being repeated several times. A native knew, by noting the shape of taro, what form of hole they had been grown in, whether ipurangi or parua koau, that is a shallow or deep hole.
Concerning the taro, Nicholas writes:—"In the plantations … I observed a plant very common in our West India settlements, where it is called tacca, and named by the natives of this island tarro. It does not appear to me that this plant is indigenous to New Zealand, but must, in my opinion, have been brought hither, either by Capt. Cook or some other European navigator who has visited the country. This was the first time I had the opportunity of seeing this plant cultivated, and the care that was here employed in bringing it to perfection, was very great; the plants were disposed in rows, about eighteen inches apart, and the earth carefully dug up and pressed in round the roots of each of them." He states elsewhere that the taro was introduced by Europeans, in which he was certainly mistaken, unless he was referring to the taro hoia, brought hither by early voyagers.
As to how far south the Maori was able to cultivate the taro we have no precise information. The writer has seen it grown at Otaki, but that would probably be the introduced variety. Mr. Rutland, in a paper quoted above, says:—"In New Zealand it was planted in ordinary dry ground. Notwithstanding this adaptation of culture to the climatic conditions, it was only in the northern portions of the Archipelago the taro could be successfully raised. The very few cultivated plants the New Zealand people possessed being so ill-adapted to the climate of the country accounts for an agricultural people being mainly dependent on the root of a wild fern (Pteris aquilina) for their vegetable supplies."
Dieffenbach tells us that he saw the taro being cultivated at Queen Charlotte Sound in 1839:—"At the head of East Bay is the village of Mokupeka…. This village stands on a spacious beach surrounded by hills. Neatly planted taro and potatoes, kept free from weeds, ornamented the fields." This was probably about the southern limit of the taro; it may possibly have grown at Nelson.
Nicholas, an early sojourner in the far north (1814-15) wrote concerning the fern root:—"This root is to the New Zealanders an invaluable production, as it forms the chief article of their diet, having no idea of subsisting on potatoes or coomeras [kumara] exclusively, which are considered rather as luxuries diet, having no idea of subsisting on potatoes or coomeras food capable of supplying them with their principal sustenance." After the visit of Nicholas the ordinary potato was grown to a kutnara, are just, and describe the position. In most districts the sweet potato and taro cannot have represented the main food supply; in a few districts, such as the Auckland isthmus, the lower Whakatane valley, &c., where large areas of very fertile soil were available, great quantities of the sweet potato might have been produced, and which probably formed the chief food product. Some of the great fortified hill villages of Tamaki must have contained thousands of inhabitants, and this would mean much agricultural work.
The fact that no ceremonial performances pertained to the planting and cultivation of the taro tends to show that it was not held in such esteem as the kumara.
The taro was always planted in patches by itself, and not among or near kumara. The basin-like holes in which it was planted were termed parua, and of these there were two forms, the parua koau, a deep hole, and the ipurangi, a shallow one. As a rule the holes were about two feet in diameter, and eight inches deep, of a circular form. Large mussel shells were often used for scraping earth and gravel in cultivation work. It is generally stated that four seed taro were placed in each hole, and the holes were from a cubit to half a fathom apart. As the taro grew, more covering of gravel or earth was occasionally added. As growth proceeded the rito or innermost immature leaves were, at least in some cases, pinched off, with the effect, it is said, of increasing the size of the edible part. If well grown plants, the product would fill the parua. There was no tapu pertaining to the cultivation of the taro. When the crop was lifted it was, in many cases, not stored in the rua or food storage pits, but stacked outside in conical heaps and covered with rushes or sedge grass, or toetoe.
The name wha taro denotes the leaf of the taro, including the petiole, both of which, in their younger state, were cooked and eaten as greens. Mr. White gives rohewa and hikaukau as names for the stem, presumably the petiole, but possibly including the whole leaf.
The statement of Mr. Hammond anent the flowering specimen of taro seen by him at Hokianga is interesting.
Mr. A. E. Pickmere of Te Aroha supplied the following note:—"I once, and once only, came across a single flower ona (taro) plant of the large variety, which was growing taro.
The following list is of names of varieties of taro, as given by Messrs. Tregear, Williams, Colenso and White:—
How many varieties of taro the Maori possessed it is impossible to say, for it is highly probable that many of the above represent duplicate names. Colenso gives twenty-one names, and yet he remarks, "several of these taros I have both seen and eaten." How is it that he saw no more than several varieties in his numerous journeys in early days? He himself doubted if the uhi-koko and uhi-raurenga were really taro. He remarks that the pongo (? pongi) and turitaka had a pleasing scent, that the potango was a very superior variety, and that all three of these were used in ceremonial feasts. Also that the awanga was an abundant grower, the ngongoro a very large and prized variety. The wairua-a-rangi had pink flesh, the koareare white flesh, and the kaka-tara-haere dark flesh. The tokotokohau was a large kind.
Williams gives ao taro as meaning "to prepare beds of gravel for taro."
In a paper on The Polynesians and their Plant Names, H. B. Guppy tells us that 21 varieties of taro are cultivated in New Caledonia, 18 at Fiji, and at least 13 at Tahiti.
Dr. Thomson, a resident in New Zealand for eleven years, who published his Story of New Zealand in 1859, writes:—"Next in importance to the original sweet potato was the taro. The edible part is the bulbous root, which weighs from ten to sixteen ounces. This plant grows best in damp soils, but its cultivation is now much neglected."
Judge J. A. Wilson remarks, in his Ancient Maori Life, that the Maoris are proved to have come from the tropics by the tropical character of the plants they brought with them:—"Kumara and taro are both of that character. The latter is especially so, in the fact that it never could be properly acclimatised to the change. For six hundred years the taro always manuka branches fixed in the ground at intervals. The same remarks in a much less degree apply to the kumara. The great labour of growing taro maori (the old pre European variety) caused it to be abandoned when the taro Merekena was introduced. The latter is hardy, prolific, runs wild in fact, and easily cultivated, but it is very inferior in flavour and flouriness to taro maori. I don't think I have seen taro maori for thirty years."
"Taro," writes W. B. in Where the White Man Treads, "being a root neither as palatable nor prolific as the kumara, nevertheless, with the hue (gourd), held a strong position of its own. Besides being a succulent delicacy when young, the matured vegetable hue (gourd); with its strong, horny rind, could be put to the uses of many utensils, as drinking cups, bowls, &c., and, most important of all, water and oil flasks."
In his account of the Sandwich Isles Cook writes thus of a plantation seen: —"The greatest part of the ground was quite flat, with ditchesfull of water intersecting different parts, and roads that seemed artificially raised to some height. The interspaces were, in general, planted with taro, which grows here with great strength, as the fields are sunk below the common level, so as to contain the water necessary to nourish the roots…. On the drier spaces were several spots where the cloth mulberry was planted in regular rows, also growing vigorously, and kept very clean." Again, he writes: —"What we saw of their agriculture furnished sufficient proofs that they are not novices in that art. The vale ground has already been mentioned as one continued plantation of taro, and a few other things, which have all the appearance of being well attended to. The potato fields and spots of sugar cane, or plantains, on the higher grounds, are planted with the same regularity, and always in some determinate figure, generally as a square or oblong, but neither these nor the others are inclosed with any kind of fence, unless we reckon the ditches in the low grounds such, which, it is more probable, are intended to convey water to the taro."
Cook remarks that the natives of Tahiti had about twenty names for taro.
Cook also gives us a description of irrigated taro grounds seen by him at New Caledonia in 1774:—"The taro plantations
It is probable that irrigation of crops was carried out more thoroughly in New Caledonia than in any other isle of Polynesia and Melanesia. A passage in Captain Erskine's Journal reads as follows: —"It is evident that this part of the country is not generally fertile, but a degree of pains seems to be taken in its cultivation that I never expected to see among savages. The face of the hills above the river is covered with rectangular fields surrounded by channels for irrigation, which, as far as can be seen from below, is conducted on a careful and scientific system, levels being carried from the streams."
I have been informed by persons who have travelled in New Caledonia that in many places are seen hill sides formed into many terraces, these being cultivation grounds of former times.
The natives of the Waiapu district informed me that the taro plant was planted in damp situations, about three in each pit, and gravel was placed round them. If the holes chanced to become filled with water the plant would still flourish. It was propagated by side shoots that spring from the edible root. The maikaika. These folk gave pongi matapo as the name of a variety. The pit in which the taro is planted they call parua taro. The word ranga is employed to denote the lifting of the crop, not hauhake, as in the case of the sweet potato. (Kai te ranga a Mea i tona taro.) Taro was viewed as a high class food product; it was a kai rangatira. reserved for persons of consequence, placed before distinguished guests, manuhiri paerangi.
It has been held by some that the draining of swamps in the far north as carried out in past centuries was for the purpose of cultivating the taro. Such a damp situation would be highly suitable to the growth of the plant.
In Maori folk tales the taro is alluded to as the raho or testes of Tuna, who is the personified form of the eel. The taro is said to have been brought to New Zealand by the immigrants of Nukutere, Matatua, and other vessels, but originally was brought from the old homeland in the west.
The Hawaiians practised both methods of cultivating the taro, that is in both dry and wet land.
Concerning the draining of swamps by natives in pre-European times it may be noted that Mr. D. M. Wilson has contributed some interesting papers on this subject to the Journal of the Polynesian Society. These papers will be found in Vol. 30, p. 185, and Vol. 31, p. 130. They refer to drained swamps of the North Auckland district, and are of much interest. It seems probable that the swamps were drained for the purposes of cultivation. If rendered sufficiently dry the old varieties of sweet potato may have been so cultivated, but some think that the taro was grown at such places. Mr. Wilson tells us that many wooden earth working tools have been found embedded in drained swamps of the north.
The late Mr. C. W. Adams described similar drains as found in the Marlborough district of the South Island. We have no satisfactory evidence from native tradition concerning any of these drainage systems, though probably it might have been obtained in the early days of European settlement.
The gourd found wild in India and Abyssinia. Widely cultivated in the Pacific Isles. Personified in one Pu-te-hue. Mythical origin. Charm to promote growth. Remarks by early voyagers. Colenso's account of its cultivation. Gourd vessels. Certain food products preserved in gourd vessels. Names of varieties. Curious method of planting. An acted invocation. Artificial fertilisation of flowers. Fruit ligatured. Method of germination. Fruit used as food in kotawa stage of growth. Gourd bowls decorated with incised designs. Hawaiian notes on the gourd.
The gourd plant cultivated by the natives of New Zealand was undoubtedly introduced from the Pacific Isles, where its cultivation is, or was, widespread. It is the Cucurbita lagenaria of Linnaeus. Candolle, in his Origin of Cultivated Plants, remarks that, under cultivation, its fruit has taken different forms, but that botanists have ranked them in one species which comprises several varieties. "The most remarkable are the pilgrim's gourd, in the form of a bottle, the long necked gourd, the trumpet gourd, and the calabash, generally large and without a neck…. The species may always be recognised by its white flower, and by the hardness of the outer rind of the fruit, which allows of its use as a vessel for liquids, or a reservoir of air suitable as a buoy for novices in swimming." This authority gives India as the original habitat of the species, and says that it has been found there in a wild state, as also in Abyssinia. He does not believe that it existed in America before the arrival of Europeans, but remarks that "out of the ten known species of the genus Cucurbita, six are certainly wild in America." Regarding C. maxima (the great yellow gourd, Spanish gourd, turban gourd, &c.) he is doubtful, for it is said to have been seen on the Niger in a wild condition.
The general Maori name for the gourd is hue, by which name it is also known in the Society, Hawaiian, Paumotu and Gambier groups, and other isles of Polynesia. At Samoa it becomes fue. The names wenewene and kowenewene are also applied to it on
The gourd is honoured in Maori myth with a personified form, or parent, as is the case with the kumara. Among the Awa folk of the Bay of Plenty the gourd is believed to have originated with one Pū-tē-hue, who was one of the offspring of Tane. This Tane was the progenitor of man, and of all productions of the earth, he was the Fertiliser. This Pū-tē-hue remarked—"The seeds within me shall provide water vessels for my descendants. Some of those seeds are of the male sex and will not bear fruit." The seeds of the gourd were planted during the Turu and Rakaunui phases of the moon (16th and 17th days of moons age), the following charm being repeated by the planter: —
This calls upon Pu-te-hue to flourish and become large. The third line may refer to the curious position of the arms of the planter when about to place the seed in the earth, as explained below.
The gourd was cultivated to a considerable extent by the Maori in pre-European days, in all suitable localities, but it did not flourish in some high lying districts, and was not a success in the South Island, where seaweed vessels appear to have largely taken the place of the calabash. The Maori put the fruit of the gourd plant to three different uses, as a food, as domestic vessels, and occasionally as floats. The old Maori gourd is almost extinct now (1919). It is no longer necessary to look to the gourd for domestic vessels, and the many introduced kinds of pumpkin and squash are much easier to grow for food.
The Bay of Plenty natives state that the gourd was introduced into these isles long before the sweet potato and the taro, which may be a fact, for the seeds could be wrapped up and carried with ease, where large tubers might spoil during a long voyage, or perchance be consumed by hungry sea-farers.
We have already noted several remarks made by early voyagers concerning the gourd as seen in cultivation here. Banks wrote—"The cucumbers [gourd] were set in small hollows or ditches, much as in England." Cook says—"The gourds were set in small hollows, or dishes, much as in England."
In McNab's Historical Records of New Zealand, Vol. 2, appears a Journal kept by one Lieut. L'Horne, of De Surville's vessel, Saint Jean Baptiste. Under date December, 1769, he makes the following note: —"I have previously spoken of the sweet potatoes which the natives cultivate. I must add here that they also cultivate a kind of sweet calabash, but only in as small quantity as the potatoes."
The following note is taken from Bayly's Journal, the writer having been on board the Adventure in 1773. When at Tolaga Bay in November, he wrote: —"They have small plantations of sweet potatoes near their houses, but they run long and small in general. I saw plantations of something that resemble Pompion Plants. They were planted in the same order the Gardeners plant Cucumbers in holes [in England]. The plants were about two Inches above ground & out in rough leaf. They first set fire to the Wood & then cut it about knee high & then turn the earth and cleanse it with sticks which serve instead of spades."
Colenso has written as follows on the gourd, its cultivation and uses: —"The third food plant cultivated by them was a fine one of the gourd family, called by them the hue. This noble and highly useful plant was annually raised from seed, and was their only one so propagated; and, curiously enough, of this plant, though yielding seed in great plenty, there was only one species and no varieties. Its seeds, before sowing were wrapped up in a few dry fern fronds (Pteris esculenta), and steeped in running water for a few days. It was to them of great service, furnishing not only a prized and wholesome vegetable food, or rather fruit, during the whole of the hot summer days while it lasted, and before their kumara were ripe for use, but was also of great use in many other ways. It was always a pleasing sight to see it growing in a suitable soil, as it grew fast and looked so remarkably healthy with its numerous leaves, large white flowers and fruit, the latter often of all sizes, from that of a cricket ball up to that of a globular, pear shaped, or spheroidal figure, capable of holding several gallons. As an article of food it was only used when young, and always cooked, baked like the kwnara and taro, in their common earth oven, and eaten, like them, both hot and cold. Prodigious numbers of them were formerly daily consumed in the summer season. It was from this plant that the Maoris obtained all their useful vessels for holding water, oils, cooked animal food, &c. This was done by carefully drying and hardening the fully matured fruits with the heat of the sun
In another paper Colenso says:—"The hue, which is only propagated by its seeds, is very constant to its kind, although it varies much in size and shape, and has no varieties." The natives, however, have different names for the fruit, applied apparently to the different forms assumed by it. The following names have been collected:—
Of these No. 2 is said to be a large form, No. 10 was the kind used in making bowls (oko), for which purpose they were cut in half. No. 12 was used for the large vessels styled tahā huahua; No. 5 was for tahā wai, water vessels, No. 7 as a food vessel (tahā huahua), as also was No. 6. See Figs. 57-58 (p. 248).
kōkī. No. 7 grew to a larger size than No. 5. In the East Cape district the form of gourd with a curved stem end used as water vessels are described as hue kautu. A round but flattened form is styled a kina because in shape it resembles the sea urchin (kina). The name of hue mōri seems to be applied to a gourd after being taken from the vine. Gourds or gourd plants are sometimes termed kowenewene, a name that appears to have also been applied to some insect, probably the hihue or hawk moth that frequents its white flowers. Matured gourds, when picked, were dried before a fire, or buried in sandy, or gravelly soil, when the spongy interior (pukahu) would decay, whereupon it was easily removed through a small aperture, and the inside surfaces cleaned with gravel as we clean a bottle with shot. After this the gourd was hung in the smoke of a fire to harden.
The following notes were furnished by Tuta Nihoniho, of Ngati-Porou:—The seeds of the gourd were planted at the full of the moon in little heaps of earth. The planter takes a seed in each hand, each held between thumb and finger, and, facing the east, he raises his arms until his hands meet, but bringing them upward far apart so as to almost describe a circle, in order that the gourds may grow to a similar large size. As the right arm is so brought up, it is bent at the elbow, so that the gourds may acquire that form and grow with the curved shank so desirable in gourds used as water vessels.
The Maori fertilised the female blossoms of the gourd plant as we serve those of the pumpkin at times, a not unusual practice in the early days of European settlement, when bees were scarce. The word whakaaiai describes this process.
In some cases gourds of a long form were caused to assume a shape called mahanga by having a band of flax tied round the middle, which caused the gourd to develop into a dumb-bell like form. A hole was made in each of these ends, and these mahanga vessels were used for potting the tui bird in. At a feast these vessels were placed in forked sticks which served as supports, and were sometimes ornamented with feathers.
The Tuhoe folk of Ruatoki described their old method of planting gourd seeds, to the writer, and it agreed exactly with that given by Tuta, the arms swung upwards and then lowered so as to place the seeds in the hole prepared for them. At the same time the charm given above was repeated.
Seeds of the gourd plant were subjected to a process termed whakarau, ere being planted. In this process they are first soaked kono), which contains a mixture of earth (humus or sandy soil) and decayed wood (popopo rakau). The seeds are embedded in this mixture. The mould in the basket is then covered with leaves or grass, and the basket is buried in the warm earth near a fire until the seeds sprout, when they are planted. I have caused pumpkin seeds to germinate in this manner, leaving them in the warm earth for about 24 hours, sometimes less.
It was considered quite necessary that seeds of the gourd plant should be planted at the full of the moon.
The first pair of leaves put forth by a seedling gourd are termed rau kakano (seed leaves). The third leaf to appear is styled rautara or patangaroa, and the fourth is the putaihinu. When these appear, then the work of cultivating or tending the plants commences, and the earth round them is loosened. When the young shoots or runners (kawai) begin to fall earthwards preparatory to running, the hika stage of growth is reached, after which it starts to run (toro). Wood ashes are now placed round the plant as manure. During the hika stage earth is heaped and pressed round the plants.
The fruit of the gourd plant is only fit for food in its young state, while small and when the outer part is soft. In this stage of growth the fruit is termed kotawa by the Mātātua tribes. It is very soft when cooked and cannot be termed a sustaining food, being much like our squash or vegetable marrow. The gourds that were allowed to mature became very hard and dry, the rind resembling wood. These were used as vessels to contain food, water, &c. The largest ones were selected to be used as vessels wherein to preserve food of various kinds, such as birds and rats. Others, usually somewhat smaller, were used as water vessels. These calabashes are called tăhā, ipu, kahaka, kiaka, kimi, koaka, pahaka, papapa, tăhē, tawha and wai. (See Williams' Maori Dictionary.) Some were cut in half, each half being used as a bowl or basin, oko or karaha. Small ones were used for a great many purposes; exquisites used them to contain the scented oil used for toilet purposes.
In his work Te Ika a Maui, the Rev. R. Taylor remarks:—"The hue (or gourd) is everywhere raised, and it is, indeed, an excellent vegetable. It bears a white flower, and produces a calabash which is sometimes of very large dimensions. When young it is a delicious vegetable. When ripe it is of the greatest use, supplying the place of crockery. In it the New Zealander hue, that the seed can always be procured from the entrails of the sperm whale, which they affirm they have frequently verified. They account for it by saying, "that, in Hawaiki, the hue grows upon and hangs over the cliffs in great quantities, which, when ripe, fall into the sea and are devoured by the whales which frequent that part."
This myth can only be compared with such puerile beliefs as that concerning the cuckoo, its origin and mode of passing the winter.
In Crozet's Voyage are noted a few remarks on the gourd plant cultivated by the Maoris, and the uses to which the fruit thereof was put—"They cultivate a few small fields of potatoes similar to those of the Two Indies, they also cultivate gourds, which they eat when they are small and tender, and when they are ripe they take out the inside, dry them, and make use of them for carrying and conserving water. Some of their calabashes will hold as much as from ten to twelve pints of water."
The following item appeared in an account of New Zealand products published in the Sydney Herald of April 17, 1837—"The calabash (called in its green state a ui [hue], and when dried and scooped out for holding water, a taha, will decidedly not keep without attention to them, as they rot quicker than the kumara; the young calabash is carefully lifted from the ground when about the size of a large orange, and some dry grass is then constantly kept under it until it attains maturity. In its small state it is considered rather a luxury by the New Zealanders; it is very watery, but, with a little assistance from butter and pepper, it becomes a very passable food; and I should imagine a very wholesome one."
The Matatua folk apply the name of hue to a constellation of four stars called Pi-a-wai, possibly on account of its form.
On the East Coast the term hue kautu was applied to gourds that grew in an upright position, while hue kaupeka denoted those that decreased in size at the stem end, such stem being curved. These were used as water vessels.
East Coast natives assert that gourd seeds were sometimes planted in a seed bed, he mea parekereke, and transplanted into the puke or small mounds, four being planted in each. Ends of runners were often pinched off, and also some of the kawai. A gourd intended for a taha huahua was often stood up on end and kept in that position by means of pegs, that it might assume the desired form. The puau variety had a thicker rind than most others.
An old saying pertaining to the gourd is—"Te kai pae kau a Rangi."
The late Mr. John White collected the following charm repeated by a person when planting gourd seeds:—
These puerile compositions were supposed to have effect in producing a good crop. The names of the two phrases or "nights" of the moon on which gourd seed was planted are here applied to the seed itself—"What is my seed? My seed is a Turu; my seed is a Rakaunui." A request also seems to be made that numerous fruit like the eggs of the kiwi and moho (birds) be formed upon the kawekawe or runners of Pu-te-hue (the gourd plant). The egg of the kiwi is an abnormally large one, hence, perhaps, the reference to it.
The following note was also found among Mr. White's papers:—"When the first young fruit was plucked and cooked early in the season, a branch of the karamu shrub was put into the oven and the cook tending the oven made certain movements of the hands over the oven as though she or he were digging with a ko. This is supposed to have had the effect of causing the gourd vines to bear abundantly."
There was a wide range in the size of matured gourds, some were very small. Colenso says that, in capacity, they ranged from a gill to three gallons.
Forster tells us that the natives of Queen Charlotte Sound, who obtained glass bottles from Cook's vessels, applied the name of tăhā to them, from the name of their gourd vessels.
In his History of the Hawaiian Islands, J. J. Jarves remarks:—"The most useful article, and one which can be applied to an Cucurbita, the calabash or gourd. From it their drinking vessels, dishes, masks, and musical instruments were made…. They are often prettily ornamented after the same patterns as their tapa, and are of every size, from the smallest water cup to the great poi dish capable of holding ten gallons."
The curious name Te Ika roa a Rauru was applied to the gourd in former times, and an old fragment reads:—"The gourd emanated from Rauru, hence it is Te Ika roa a Rauru. On the death of Rauru it was allowed to become prostrate and to spread out; and it was also then eaten." The meaning of this is unknown, it probably refers to some old myth. In the old legend concerning Maia-poroaki of the East Cape district, Maia is said to have, by pressure and other means, caused gourds to assume different forms, to each of which was assigned a distinctive name. Thus the one with a curved stem end was called Hine-kotuku-rangi; a long form was styled Te Ika roa a Rauru. Another with a big base and narrowing toward the stem was named Pu-matao. A round form was Tawake piri, while two diminutive forms were Ponotinoti and Te Karure. These names were probably mere local ones.
The Hawaiians treated the growing fruit of the gourd with great care, and so produced the different forms desired for various purposes. Some were suspended so as to hang between containing sticks. On the dried surface of a thick gourd rind, says the Hawaiian, fire can be generated by friction as it is on a piece of wood. These people were as careful as was the Maori to plant crops only during the certain phases of the moon, on certain nights of the moon, as the Maori puts it.
In David Malo's Hawaiian Antiquities we note the following:—"The calabash, or pohue, was the fruit of a vine that was specially cultivated. Some were of a shape suited to be umeke [kumete in Maori], others ipu kai [food bowls], and others still to be used as hue wai [Maori tahā wai] or water containers. The soft pulp within was first scraped out; later, when the gourd had been dried, the inside was rubbed and smoothed with a piece of coral or pumice, and thus the calabash was completed. A cover was added and a net sometimes put about it. In preparing a water gourd, or hue wai, the pulp was first rotted, then small stones were shaken about in it, after which it was allowed to stand with water in it till it had become sweet."
In an account of the Sandwich Isles given in Cook's Voyages, occurs the following:—"The gourds, which grow to so enormous
A publication of the Bishop Museum at Honolulu states that Cucurbita maxima, the giant gourd, was cultivated in the Hawaiian Group prior to the arrival of Europeans.
Ellis remarks that the drinking water of the Tahitians "is contained in calabashes, which are much larger than any I ever saw used for the same purpose in the Sandwich Islands, but destitute of ornament. They are kept in nets of cinet, and suspended from some part of the dwelling."
C. terminalis grown by Maori. Probably an introduced plant. Its edible root. Propagation. Method of preparing the food product. Near extinction. The ti para or ti tawhiti. Edible fecula in trunk and root. This plant not known in a wild state. Its flower unknown. How grown at Taranaki. The mauku or C. pumilio. The ti para an unnamed species or variety. Species of Cordyline and their names. How root and trunk were cooked. Only young plants so utilised. Evidence of early writers; of Rev. R. Taylor; of Mr. John White. South Island data. Brunner's evidence. Notes by Canon Stack; by Shortland; by H. Tikao. Tapu and quaint beliefs pertain to the cooking of the ti. Waitau kauru. The para of the Cordyline used as sugar. Offerings to atua. The rua ti.
It is clear that the Cordyline terminalis and the Ti para were preserved by the Maori and planted as a food product, though this does not imply cultivation in the sense in which the kumara, yam, taro and gourd were cultivated. So far as we are aware C. terminalis was known here under cultivation only, it was not known growing wild, and its range was apparently limited to the northern part of the North Island. Mr. T. F. Cheeseman has shown, in a paper entitled On the Food-plants of the Polynesians, published in Vol. XXXIII. of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, that this species is a native of Polynesia, Melanesia, North Australia and the Malay Archipelago, as far north as Malacca and India. "It is largely planted in most of the Pacific Islands, mainly for the sake of the huge tuberous root, which often weighs from ten to fifteen pounds. Its north and south range in Polynesia is from the Hawaiian Isles to the Kermadec Group. It being found at Sunday Island of the latter group, its introduction into New Zealand across 600 miles of ocean would present no difficulties."
The late Archdeacon Walsh found a few specimens of C. termi nalis, known to northern natives as ti pore, growing in the Bay of Islands district about the year 1886. These had been found in old native cultivations. It was formerly known only as a cultivated plant, and was commonly grown in that district in pre-European C. pumilio (ti rauriki) was also there utilised as a food plant. No species of the genus can ever have formed any important part of the food supply. The Archdeacon remarks:—"In appearance and habit the ti pore is quite distinct from any other species of Cordyline found in New Zealand. A short slender stem, with a tolerably smooth bark, showing a ring for every leaf fallen off, is surmounted by a handsome head of soft glossy leaves, from l½ft. to 2ft. long by 3in. or 4in. wide, each leaf being set on a fine stalk and bending over in a graceful curve. In older and well grown plants the tree trunk forks about 3ft. or 4ft from the ground, and the top divides into several heads…. The root was by far the most important part of the plant from the Maori point of view. It is a mass of greenish white pulpy fibre, of such consistency as to be easily cut through with a sharp spade. In shape it is a very elongated cone, with an irregular outline and lumpy and corrugated surface, and furnished at occasional intervals with thin, wiry feeders set on at right angles to the axis. In size the root is out of all proportion to the rest of the plant. On one that I transplanted it was nearly 3ft. long, with a principal diameter at the upper third of from 3in. to 4in., and tapering to a fine point at the lower end. Soil and situation, of course, greatly influence the growth, and the Maoris inform me that on rich alluvial bottoms the roots often attained such large dimensions that it was necessary to quarter them down the middle in order to reduce them to a convenient size for cooking.
The propagation of the ti pore was very easy and simple. The usual plan was to cut off and replant the stalk with a small portion of the root attached in the same manner as is done with the taro. Advantage was also taken of the offsets which often spring up from the foot of the old stocks, especially when any injury has happened to the top. So far as I have been able to learn, the ti pore does not seed in New Zealand.
To prepare the root for food it was finely pounded with a wooden club on a flat stone, in the same manner as the fern root, until the fibre was quite broken up, after which it was steamed in the hangi or native oven, for from twelve to twenty-four hours. The substance then presented the appearance of a glutinous mass, and the taste is described as of a sugary sweetness far beyond that of the ti rauriki (C. pumilio), but, like that root, with slightly bitter after flavour. The cooked article was highly esteemed, not only for its agreeable taste, but for its nutritive and keeping pa, or carrying food on the war path. It is probable, however, that owing to the slow growth of the plant, it was most generally used merely as a sweetmeat. In fact the Maoris say that, in olden times, the chewing of a piece of the prepared root, when one had nothing else to do, gave the same satisfaction as is now afforded by a pipe and tobacco.
The almost total disappearance within a couple of generations of a plant once so widely grown and so easily propagated is not so difficult to account for as might appear at first sight. In the first place, its tropical origin limited its culture to certain favoured spots within a comparatively small area of the northern peninsula, while the fact of its not reproducing itself from seed rendered its preservation dependent on continuous plantation. And as on the general introduction of European trade which took place during the second quarter of the century, sugar and other ready made delicacies of the pakeha (Europeans) could be obtained at a cost of much less labour than was necessary to produce the primitive sweetmeat, its cultivation would naturally be abandoned, and the few plants which remained in the deserted enclosures would be gradually exterminated as the number of cattle increased and the fences fell to decay. It is not surprising, therefore, that although there are several men now living who can remember the general cultivation of the ti pore, the number of known survivals should be limited to the four specimens discovered by Mr. Reid at Ahipara, and the two in my possession at Waimate North."
The Archdeacon came to the conclusion:—"That it was introduced by the Maoris is self-evident, from the fact that it has never been found in a wild state, and that it cannot reproduce itself in the New Zealand climate without artificial help." He discusses the possibility of it having been introduced by whalers in early days—'who are known to have introduced the taro hoia (the large coarse variety), and to have attempted the introduction of the yam,' but comes to the conclusion that it was brought hither by the Maori in pre-historic times. Mr. Cheeseman seems to have come to the same conclusion.
A later note states that one of Mr. Reid's specimens of C. terminalis has flowered for the first time.
There is another species or variety of Cordyline that was culti vated by the Maori, and which was known as ti para on the east ti kowhiti at Whanganui, and as ti tawhiti at Taranaki and in some other districts. It does not seem to have been described by botanists, and, so far as the writer has been able to ascertain, is not found growing wild, though occasionally seen in old abandoned cultivation grounds now covered with a growth of scrub. Bay of Plenty natives state that it never grew wild there, but that it was formerly cultivated; it is a short stemmed species, the trunk growing to about 3ft. or 4ft. in height, according to native evidence. C. terminalis appears to have been unknown in the district mentioned, and local natives say that the ti para was the most highly prized of the different species known to them. Both trunk and tap-root (more) were eaten, and this, it is said, is the only species which it was not necessary to hew or chip the outside off prior to cooking in the steam oven. It was supposed to be extinct in the district, but about 1906 a plant was found growing in a long deserted cultivation at Ohaua-te-rangi, far up the Whakatane river, in a remarkably wild region. A shoot from this propagated by the writer grew into a flourishing plant; when the trunk was two feet high a number of shoots sprang from its base. This represented two years' growth. Its leaves were l½in. wide in the middle. When leaving the camp I cut the trunk and got an old native woman to cook it in the orthodox manner by steaming. The result was a mass of soft fibre containing a considerable amount of fecula that had a slightly sweet taste, but left a bitter taste in the mouth. It was by no means a food to yearn for, from my point of view; possibly the tap-root would have provided a daintier repast.
The Rev. T. G. Hammond has recorded the following note concerning this species, under its name of ti tawhiti. In describing the coming of the vessel Aotea to New Zealand, and the introduction by her crew of certain food plants, he writes:—"Another tree was also cultivated which it is contended formed part of the 'valu able freight of Aotea,' the ti tawhiti, one of the varieties of the cab bage tree. It was grown from suckers or branches, planted over large stones to prevent the roots penetrating too deeply into the soil. When developed the roots were taken up, washed, and steamed in the umu (oven) and eaten at once or stored for future use. This root is very nutritious. The tender shoots and part of the stem are also edible. This tree has always been cultivated, and in the fighting days of old warriors from Hokianga carried plants home with them, where specimens are still found and known as ti tawhiti from Taranaki. It is in all probability ti tahiti or ti from Tahiti."
Colenso writes:—"Another plant which was also cultivated by the old Maoris as an article of food, was the ti para, a species of Cordyline; this was propagated by its side shoots and suckers. Its thick stem, as big as, or bigger than, that of a very large cabbage or broccoli, was cooked and eaten. In these parts, however (Hawkes' Bay), it has become very rare; indeed I only know of the plants now growing in my own garden, which I raised from a single plant I found in an old Maori cultivation belonging to the father of the present aged chief Tareha, in 1845. I have had some dozen of plants from it, and although they were very healthy and grew well, not one of them ever flowered, in this respect resembling both the kumara and taro. It grows four to five feet in height, never quite erect, and then it sends out suckers from below ground and from its stem, and dies. Thirty years ago, whenever some of the oldest chiefs here should happen to see this plant growing in my garden, they would invariably longingly beg for its stems to cook for a meal, saying how much they liked it. Its leaf is shorter and broader and of a finer texture than of C. australis, with slightly recurved edges, and its bark is also much thinner, and smooth, not rugged…. It was formerly cultivated extensively, both at Waikato and Upper Whanganui, also here in Hawkes' Bay, and in other places; and, from what I have heard from the Maoris, there also it did not produce flowers.
Is this another curious instance of a plant losing its powers of producing blossoms, etc., through long and continuous cultivation from its suckers?
I have also good reasons for believing there was yet another and a much smaller species of Cordyline formerly cultivated for the sake of its root. It was in 1838-9, at Waikato. Young seedlings were carefully selected and planted out, and in the following year the root was fit for use. The plant was then dug up, stacked in small piles, and dried in the sun; while drying the fibrous roots were burned off; and when sufficiently dry the roots were scraped and baked slowly, requiring 12 to 18 hours to cook them. These were chewed, or pounded and washed and squeezed, and used merely to extract the saccharine matter, which was eaten with their fern root to give it a relish. I have never seen the plant itself, only its dried roots. It may be the same as Cordyline pumilio, but this I doubt. By the Maoris of Waikato it was called mauku."
This name of mauku is certainly applied to C. Pumilio in the Waikato district, and perhaps also at Hauraki. Hence it appears that this species also was cultivated, or at least planted, as a food product in former times.
The Bay of Plenty natives informed the writer that, in former times, when the ti para matured, they bent the trunk down until
Williams gives:—Tahanui=A variety of ti para with broad leaves. Mahonge=A variety of ti para with narrow leaves. It would be interesting to know if these varieties have been produced by cultivation. A Bay of Plenty tradition states that the ti (species not given), the taro, and seeds of the karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus) were brought to New Zealand in a vessel called Nukutere some twenty generations ago. This vessel landed at Waiaua, near Opotiki. The ti plant so brought was named Whakaruru-matangi, and it was planted at Pokerekere. The name of Te Huri a Roau (the seed of Roau) seems to be applied to both the ti and the taro so introduced, they having been brought by a chief named Roau.
The Rev. W. R. Wade makes a clear statement that the mauku (C. pumilio) was cultivated as a food product, in the following paragraph:—"One species of the ti, which somewhat resembles the grass tree of New South Wales, is planted out and cultivated by the Waikato natives for the sake of the root, which furnishes a saccharine matter, and is called mauku. The young seedlings are carefully selected, though but little care is taken in planting out, and the following year the root is fit for use. It is dug up and stacked in small piles to dry in the sun. The filaments are burned away by making a fire under the pile, and the roots are then left for some days for further drying. When sufficiently dry the roots are scraped and put into the hangi or native oven, to remain from twelve to eighteen hours, when the preparation of the mauku is completed. It is either chewed by the natives to extract the saccharine matter, or it is pounded, washed and squeezed, so as to separate the fibre, and in this state it is used as a sweetener with the kaanga pirau (putrid maize), or with baked fern root."
The name of mauku seems to have been applied to the whole plant rather than to its root only, as given above. Again, the removal of the outer covering of the root seems to have been effected by a chipping process rather than one of scraping.
The foregoing remarks of Colenso concerning this species curiously resemble those of the Rev. Wade, as here given; the latter were published many years before Colenso's article appeared.
The young side shoots were removed from such plants of C. pumilio as were to be used for food purposes.
The Tuhoe folk apply the name of mauku to a fern, Asplenium bulbiferum.
A note in Vol. 7 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society states that the ti tawhiti 'was grown by the natives for the sake of the starchy matter which was produced when a part of the plant would be tightly ligatured.' This ligature has not been mentioned by any of our native contributors. The above note also speaks of the plant as seldom or never flowering. A remark had been made by Dr. Hector in 1896 on 'the curious Ti tawhiti, supposed to be a Cordyline, which never flowered in New Zealand. It was grown by the natives in the Taranaki district, and had large branches of rather thick green leaves for a palm-lily, with long intervals of stem. These were tightly ligatured by the Maoris, and pegged down, when they developed a large amount of sweet starchy matter, which was used as food.' Sir W. Buller remarked that the ti tawhiti was a narrow leafed Cordyline, and very scarce. He believed he had once seen the flower which was of a pale blue colour. These remarks are to be found in a discussion that took place on July 22, 1896, and which appears at p. 600 of Vol. XXIX. of the Transactions of the N.Z. Institute. Mr. Kirk stated that the ti tawhiti had never been known to flower in New Zealand, and that it might turn out to be a plant that flowers in a warmer climate. Sir James Hector said that he had seen a Cordyline growing in the Sydney Botanic Gardens that seemed to be the same as the plant under discussion. He was told that the plant had come from New Zealand, and that it produced blue flowers. This species or variety does not seem to be referred to in Cheeseman's Manual of the New Zealand Flora. He states that all species found in New Zealand except C. terminalis are endemic.
In a paper by T. H. Potts on The Cultivation of some Species of Native Trees and Shrubs, in Vol. 3 of the Transactions of the N.Z. Institute, we are told that "The Ti tawhiti of the Whanganui tribes grows here [at Wellington] very well; it has a dark green leaf, and throws off young plants more freely than some of the other species." Of this species the late Professor Kirk remarked:—"The form cultivated by the Upper Whanganui natives, so far as an opinion can be formed from the foliage of young plants only, is closely, related to C. australis, but I believe the flowers are unknown."
The ti tawhiti was grown by the natives at Waikato, Whanganui, Taranaki, Heretaunga, the East Coast and Bay of Plenty districts, and probably elsewhere, but was unknown in the South Island. Several plants grown in a Wellington garden show very slow growth, and have developed several offsets ere developing a stem.
It should be here explained that Ti is a generic term that includes all species of Cordyline in Maori nomenclature. The following native names of the various species have been collected in divers districts:—
An East Coast native gives kouka tarariki as a name for a narrow leaved variety of C. australis, and kouka wharanui as that of a broad leaved variety of the same. The Rev. T. G. Hammond gives ti manu as another name, but does not give its specific name.
The generic term is by no means always employed by natives, and very seldom in using the names toi, whanake and mauku. Ti kupenga = C. pumilio; ti parae = C. Banksii, and ti rakau = C. australis, also appear but are not so well corroborated. All species are said to have provided food to some extent, but of C. Banksii the rito or young undeveloped leaves alone were eaten. The taproot and upper part of the trunk of C. indivisa are said to have sometimes furnished food to bush folk, as also the rito. A bitter principle contained in young leaves of C. australis is said to be absent in those of C. indivisa. The Tuhoe native say that, when a tree was to be cut for food purposes, the crown of leaves was cut off in early spring, and the trunk and tap-root allowed to remain for some time before being taken for cooking. It was steamed in a hangi or earth oven for a considerable time, being sometimes left in it for as much as 48 hours. On being taken out and allowed to cool it could be eaten in two ways; a portion of the soft fibrous mass might be chewed and the fecula or meal swallowed while the fibre was ejected, or the meal could be first detached by lightly tapping a portion of fibre on some object. The tap-root of Cordyline is called the kopura in the Whanganui district. C. australis, the most common species, the common 'cabbage tree' of our settlers, was utilised as a food product, but considered much inferior to the ti para, though apparently superior to C. indivisa. One native authority says that the tap root of the ti para was dug up about March or April, the outer part chipped off and the inner part cooked. During the time that the roots are in the oven it is highly necessary that men and women should keep apart; the same superstition is connected with cooking of the mamaku (Cyathea medullaris) according to Wairarapa natives. In some cases the root was dried after being cooked, then pounded in a wooden bowl to free the meal, which appears to have been sometimes placed in water to disengage any fibres remaining in it.
The Waiapu natives say that only young plants of Cordyline, those of a few years' growth, were utilised for food purposes. The top of the young plant was cut off some time before the trunk was taken. The outer part was chipped off with stone adzes, and the inner, soft part, was taopakatia, that is cooked for a prolonged period in a steaming pit. See Fig. 61 (p. 265).
The Rev. R. Taylor writes:—"There are several varieties of Cordyline, all of which have long tap roots, which the natives cook; they have then a bitter sweet taste. The early missionaries brewed excellent beer from them. The tender shoots are also eaten, and, although rather bitter, make a wholesome dish. The toi also has a large tap-root, which is likewise eaten."
An East Coast native states that, when a number of plants of ti para were set out, a damp rich soil, such as alluvium near a stream was selected. When the tap-root was taken for food the upper part was cut off, the balance left in the ground would throw up new shoots; these would be taken and planted out. The root for cooking was scraped or 'shaved,' soaked a day in water, then steamed thoroughly. The cooked product might be kept for some time wrapped in leaves and packed in baskets
Mr. John White writes as follows concerning C. pumitio: The ti papa was formerly cultivated and tended as carefully as was the kumara. It was grown on rich, deep soil and propagated from the shoots that spring from the upper part of the stem of a full grown plant, and from seedlings growing round roots left to seed.
This species did not grow with an upright stem, but like a thick bunch of tussock grass partially trailing on the ground. When full grown or ripe, which was in the latter part of December, just before the appearance of the flower stem, it was taken up and allowed to lie on the ground, care being taken not to break the root stem or the shoots on the top. It was turned over each day so as to get quite dry.
When dug, those with the healthiest looking shoots were left untouched in the ground for future cultivation, and of such the flowering stem was pinched off when it appeared. These roots were allowed to grow until September. A ko or a maire spade was used to dig a hole or loosen the earth, in which a sprout of the te was planted, but it took three years to come to maturity.
The roots that had been dug up were dried until the fibrous rootlets thereof were all dry and brittle, when they were burned off. The leaves were then removed and the root scraped clean with shells. The larger roots were split lengthwise and wrapped in hangehange leaves (Geniostoma) which were tied on. This was to prevent it breaking when taken in a soft condition from the oven. A large hangi (steam oven) was made to cook ti root, possibly 8 ft. in diameter or more, and large stones were used for it, many people collecting to assist in the task. Each family brought its lot of roots and all were cooked in the same oven. Manuka (Leptospermum) was used as fuel to heat the oven. The wood of the rewarewa (honeysuckle) was not allowed to be used for this purpose because its wood, when decayed, is phosphorescent, like a glow worm, which latter is the offspring of Tangaroa-piri-whare, the mischief maker, and if the wood was used for such a purpose some mishap would occur to future crops. When the stones were placed on the fire in the oven another lot of fuel was piled on the top of the stones. When the fire had burned down the mass of stones was thrashed with green branches in order to dislodge all ashes or dirt.
Each family tied its roots up in small bundles which were distinguished by a peculiar knot in the cord of flax. The elderly men arranged the roots in the oven, putting the large ones in the middle and the smaller ones at the sides, while water was sprinkled over them. The oven was then covered with leaves and then with some green flax mats plaited for the occasion, after which it was covered over with earth and left for days until it was cool or comparatively so. The roots were then taken out and hung up on poles or laid on a platform to dry, being placed under cover each night until the process was completed, after which they were placed in the food stores for future use. When used these roots were pounded and placed in a trough of water, where the fecula or meal was separated from the fibrous parts of the root by a rubbing and squeezing process.
Large sized stones were placed in any oven used for preparing any food, such as tiand mamaku, which requires long steaming; such stones retaining heat longer than smaller ones. Colenso has ti koraha (Cordyline pumilio) were tied separately for baking in bundles of hangehange (Geniostoma ligustrifolium)." And also the following:—'the large roots of Cordyline australis were sometimes slowly baked [steamed] and bruised up in water, and yielded a sweetish drink.'
In Brunner's journal of his explorations on the West Coast of the South Island, where he lived for many months on the products of forest and stream, we note a few remarks on the Cordyline as a food supply:—"The natives … make large ovens of the mamaku (a tree fern), and a species of the ti, the stem of which, called koari [probably a misprint for kauru] is the eatable part, and to the taste is sweet and pleasant." Further on he speaks of the root as providing food:—"The root of the ti is the part used by the natives, and is generally from three to four feet in length, of a conical shape, with an immense number of fibrous roots attached to it. The natives, whose tools consist of a pointed stick and their hands, consider they have performed a glorious day's work if they manage to obtain five ti roots in the day. It requires an immense oven, and must remain twelve hours' baking … The natives prepare a very palatable dish of the ti and fern root. They extract the sweet particles of the ti by beating and washing the same in a proper quantity of water. When about the consistency of honey, they put some layers of well beaten and cooked fern root to soak in the liquid, which, when properly moistened, you eat with a similar relish to gingerbread. This can only be made when staying several days at a place." During his arduous and perilous journey Brunner had often to rely upon fern roots and those of Cordyline for a food supply.
In the New Zealand Journal of March 25, 1848, appears a short account of some edible plants of these isles, in which occur the following remarks on Cordyline:—"There are several varieties of the tree, all of which have long tap-roots, which the natives cook, they have then a bitter sweet taste; the early missionaries brewed excellent beer from them. The tender shoots also are eaten and, although rather bitter, make a wholesome dish. The Toi also has a large tap-root, which is likewise eaten. The Kouka is another variety which may be used in a similar way."
In the South Island the ti was perhaps a more important article of food than at the north. This was C. australis. The southern natives seem to have spoken of it as kauru, a word denoting the kauru was prepared in the summer months from the cabbage palms, which grew in profusion on the upper parts of the plain. Young trees about five feet high were selected. The stems were cut into about two feet lengths, and stripped of the bark and woody substance which cover the fibrous core, the only part which was valued as food. These were tied in bundles and stacked, till a sufficient quantity had been obtained, when an oblong pit was dug, varying in size from four to twelve feet in length, and about five or six in depth. A quantity of stones were placed in the bottom and firewood piled upon them, which was afterwards lit, and, when consumed, the pit was filled in with the prepared ti palm stems, which were covered with matting and soil. A quantity of water was then produced in buckets formed with flax leaves, and poured into the pit, the bottom of which was covered with the heated stones. The steam generated was prevented from escaping by a sufficient quantity of soil being heaped upon the mat covering of the pit. After several hours the oven was uncovered and the kauru was found to be cooked sufficiently for use. It was then placed in flax baskets and carried to the storehouses. When required for food the fibre was either chewed for the extraction of the saccharine matter it contained, or it was pounded and mixed with water in a wooden dish till it assumed the consistency of thin gruel, when it was ready for use, being conveyed to the mouths of those who partook of it either with a mussel shell spoon or a sop of fern root; or, wanting these, with the first two fingers of the right hand."
The above account seems to show that the species of Cordyline utilised in the South Island was the common C. australis, and that it was not cultivated by the Maori. The fact that young plants were selected tends to show that the matured tree becomes too woody, the fibrous interior perhaps contained less meal. The Canon does not mention the tap-root as having been used. As to 'several hours' of cooking, native evidence tends to show that in no case was it left in the steam pit oven for less than twelve hours. Some state that 48 hours was the time allowed, but this probably depended on the size of the pieces cooked, and to some extent on the species and stage of maturity of the tree.
Of this South Island kauru, Shortland writes in his Southern Districts of New Zealand: "Just as we were leaving the place [Te Waia-te-ruati] Te Rehe brought us a basket of kauru or baked root of the ti, for which Waiateruati is celebrated. This root is in shape like a carrot, but from two to three feet long, and requires
The following notes on the treatment of C. australis in the South Island were contributed by Hone Tare Tikao, of Rapaki:—" The ti was not cultivated by man, but grew spontaneously in many places. This kind of food was prepared twice a year; in the months of November and February trees about four feet in height were cut down, the outer part was chipped off and the pieces set up to dry. In January [the first lot] was cut into lengths of about two feet and placed in baskets made of Cordyline leaves. The ovens of each family were prepared at dawn, the trenches used as steam ovens being very long. The cooking occupied about twenty-four hours. There was a considerable amount of tapu pertaining to the cooking of this food; the two sexes were compelled to remain apart until the process was completed. Should this rule be broken, then assuredly the food would be found not properly cooked, or possibly it would be burned. Persons so offending would be detected, they could not conceal the fact. If they did not confess on being questioned they would be slain. Burned contents of an oven were entirely lost, but the puna [oven] of underdone contents were rekindled, though the kauru would not be very palatable but would be puia [unpalatable, having a smoky taste]. The same remarks apply to the cutting of February. When this process was over the product was stored in the elevated store huts as a food supply for winter, and when it would keep without decaying for two or three seasons. When about to be eaten it was placed in water in order to soften it; it was then shaken so as to disengage the para [fecula] which was collected in the paepae [vessel]. It was now ready to be eaten. Some masticated the fibrous matter, swallowing the fecula and rejecting the former. The tap root and young leaves of the ti were also eaten, though not prepared in the above described way. They were cooked with eels, birds, etc., at all times of the year in a steam oven, and the fat mixed with the vegetable foods and rendered them much more palatable."
A subsequent communication from Tikao contained the following information:—"With regard to your question as to the Cordyline used as food by my ancestors in olden times. When the tree reached a considerable height it put forth branches, it flowered and produced seeds, these matured, fell to earth, germinated and grew. When about four feet in height these were cut to serve as kauru. The stumps again grew, and, in four years, another cutting would result; this process would continue. This is the Cordyline that is called ti para, the para [fecula] being eaten when cooked. The carrying of baskets of this kauru and other foods to the pa at Kaiapoi was a strenuous task, hence that pa was named Kaiapoi, because they [the people] did poi food supplies to it from inland and sea coast. See Fig. 61 (p. 265).
To return to the kauru. Having conveyed the lengths of trunk to the pa, these were beaten until soft, and when they had all been pounded they were tied together in twos at the ends with ti leaves. They were then placed on beams in a whata [elevated food store] and so preserved for two or three years. When required as food, they were put in water contained in a bowl or trough; when softened a shaking process disengaged the para [edible matter, fecula], and that food is called waitau kauru.
As to the kouka, the rito [young undeveloped leaves] was plucked off and cooked, and when saturated with the fat of eels or birds cooked with it, was good eating. In like manner was used the taproot of the ti. It was dug up and roasted at a fire, buried in the hot ashes until cooked. It was then pounded to soften it, spread out on flax mats, sprinkled with the sweet water [nectar] of flax blossoms, and when so saturated the edible matter was shaken into bowls, and men, women and children partook of that preparation of the ti para. This process was adopted during the month of November. At other times it might be cooked in a steam oven. These latter food supplies were not for long preservation."
These data furnished by Tikao give us a fairly complete account of South Island methods of utilising the food products of Cordyline australis. He applies the name ti para to it, and hints that it is so called on account of the edible matter (para) contained in its fibrous stem and tap-root. The ti para of the North Island was unknown in the South Island, and this application of the name to C. australis by southern natives has led to some confusion. They evidently apply the name kauru to the stem of C. australis, but we do not know that it was applied to the ti para of the North Island. Tikao uses the term kouka to denote the head of C. australis, the kauru means the head of a tree, any tree, but in the south it is apparently applied as given above, perhaps only when alluded to as a food supply. In some cases it looks as though it were used to define the edible fecula only. This food supply and the method of obtaining it reminds us of the sago palm. As to the term poi employed by Tikao, it means to swing or twirl, and scarcely seems applicable as used. Possibly it has another meaning, haply a local one.
In his Reminiscences of Earliest Canterbury, James Hay writes on Maori methods of cooking the Cordyline:—"In the 'forties' the Maoris had a method of extracting sugar from young cabbage trees which, I fear, is now lost. They began operations by digging a hole eight feet long, four feet wide, and from five to six feet deep. A layer of stones was placed in the bottom, and on them an enormous fire was built. When this had burned down, the young cabbage tree was stripped and laid on the stones. Water was then poured over them, and all was quickly covered over with earth and left for many days. Beyond this I do not know what other process was adopted, but it seemed to me that the pith of the tree had the sugar encrusted in it. The Maoris carried it with them in this fibrous form. They chewed it when on a journey, spitting out the fibre when they had exhausted the sugar from it. As boys we were very fond of this. It had an excellent flavour, and we collected it, soft and brown in colour, by knocking the fibre on a piece of wood. It was very good for sweetening tea. This native made sugar was troublesome to produce, and when ordinary sugar could be produced they gave up preparing it, and I believe the art is now lost."
The remark that the ti was left in the oven for many days seems to be an exaggeration. These steaming pits in which the Maori prepared his food are known as hangi, umu, etc. One in which the ti is cooked would be called an umu ti.
Hochstetter provides the following brief note:—"There are several varieties of this tree, all of which have long tap-roots, which the natives cook; they have then a bitter sweet taste; the early missionaries brewed beer from them; the tender shoots are also eaten."
Colenso writes again of the use of the tap-root:—"The large tap-root of this plant was also dug and split and cooked for food; it was very fibrous, yet contained a large amount of both saccharine and farinaceous substance. It took very long in cooking, and was chiefly resorted to in times of great scarcity of vegetable food. ti koraha (Cordyline pumilio), a very much smaller plant of low growth, with narrow grass-like leaves, had much more fleshy and saccharine roots; these were sought and dug up, hung in the wind and dried in small bunches, and eaten sometimes in their raw state. This plant was more commonly found at the north, growing in the open fern lands."
The following remark made by a South Island native shows how ceremonial observances entered into the manipulation of food products:—"Ka maea te mara kauru, ka whakairia te take tuatahi hei kai ma te atua, a ka taona etahi kauru ma nga tohunga." (When the kauru field was taken up, then the first root was suspended as a food offering to the god, and some other kauru were cooked for the priests.)
The expression rua ti implies a pit in which the ti is stored, but it is used in another connection, apparently as a metaphorical expression for plenty, in regard to food supplies. This usage is noted in the following sentences:—" Ka tu te rua ti o te tangata, ka kiia he tangata." (When a man possesses a rua ti he is deemed a person of importance.) " He tangata mate tenei, kaore ona rua ti." (This is an impoverished person; for he has no rua ti.) Even so it has come about that a person who accumulates a good supply of food is said to possess a rua ti (Na, kua tau ki te tangata whakaputu kai he rua ti tana.) The expression mara ti (ti field or plantation) is occasionally used in a similar way:—"Ki te kore he mara ti o te tangata, he tangata mate tena." (If a man has no ti plantation then he is in a poor way.)
With the exception of C. terminalis all species of Cordyline found in New Zealand are endemic, we are told, but the ti para is somewhat of a puzzle. The Aotea folk say that it was introduced here by their ancestors, but we hear nothing of it as existing elsewhere outside of New Zealand.
The sweetish taste of the meal or fecula contained in the tap-root and trunk of the Cordyline doubtless partially satisfied a natural craving for sugar in the Maori. He certainly much appreciated manufactured sugar when it was made known to him by Europeans, as also honey. Forster tells that, in 1773, the natives of Queen Charlotte Sound were very fond of water sweetened with sugar.
The korau or introduced turnip. A peculiar controversy. The pora and kawakawa of the South. Natives claim that certain species of Brassica are indigenous. Introduced turnip dried for future use. Early introduction of Brassica campestris. Native names for introduced species. The karaka tree planted by Maori. Partial cultivation of Phormium, aute, &c. Concluding notes on Maori agriculture. Effect of introduction of European food plants. The potato. Notes from De Surville, Roux, Crozet, Forster, Cook, King, Matthews. Keen appreciation of the potato in certain districts. The potato in the South Island. Cultivation of wheat by natives. Certain old methods preserved.
In references to cultivated food plants, as made by natives, we encounter the term korau, as applied to a species of turnip. Some natives insist that this root was cultivated here in pre-European times, but there is no proof that any such product was possessed by them at the time of Capt. Cook's arrival. Certain species of our garden plants were, however, acquired by them from Cook and other early voyagers. It is now very near 150 years since the Maori acquired such plants as the turnip and cabbage, so that they may well be forgetful as to their advent here.
Some East Coast natives introduce the korau into traditionary accounts of pre-European times in these Isles. Tuta Nihoniho stated that a species of korau or turnip like plant known as tahumairangi was brought to New Zealand from Polynesia about 20 generations ago. Both leaves and turnip root of this plant were eaten. It produced a tall seed stalk. Iranui, sister of Kahungunu, sowed the seed at Uawa, hence the expression ' Te kakano korau a Iranui.' (The korau seed of Iranui.) Such small seed as that of the purapura, not kakano. We can only say that no such plant was seen here or in Eastern Polynesia by Cook or his companions, who would certainly have mentioned it. Colonel Gudgeon has sent me the following interesting note:—"In a case heard by me at Wai-o-matatini it was stated that a migration of strangers came to that neighbourhood some ten generations ago, and lived on the korau that was growing in a large patch of burned scrub. I questioned this, and quite a big discussion was held that evening, at which old Rapata assured me that korau and puha (root and leaves) were known to them from the earliest times of their history."
In October, 1918, Mr. W. W. Smith, of New Plymouth, wrote to me as follows:—"For two years I have grown a plant which undoubtedly is a form of the wild turnip (Brassica campestris). I discovered some stunted plants near an old time Maori pa and brought them home with me to cultivate them and test their quality as a vegetable. The Maoris say that the korau was just like the Pakeha (European) turnip, but did not produce bulbs. It is precisely so with my plants. They grow three times larger and more robust than does the wild turnip or the charlock. The leaves are two feet long, extremely robust, and form a delicious vegetable with perfect turnip flavour. So far as I am able to ascertain from the oldest native and European settlers the korau has not been grown by either people since the advent of the latter."
The korau is mentioned not infrequently in traditions of the Kahungunu tribe as a food supply of pre-European times, but as this is also the name of Cyathea medullaris (which formed a part of native food supplies) I have always supposed the allusion was to the tree fern.
In Vol. 48 Transactions of the N.Z. Institute, at p. 432, is a Maori song containing the line:—
Altogether this question is an interesting one, but I cannot see how Brassica campestris could have reached these shores prior to Cook's arrival. Cook and other early voyagers must have seen it had it been here, and would have mentioned it.
The Waiapu natives maintain that they had the korau in pre-European days, and that it was also known as aotea, tairua and tahumairangi or taumairangi. Williams' Maori Dictionary has 'aotea, a species of thistle.'
The following interesting notes have been contributed by Mr. H. Beattie, of Gore:—In common with the kumara and taro he [John hue [gourd] to be cultivated in the south, but he made the following interesting statement: In the year 1836, my informant's father Rakiraki, and the latter's brother Kore, left the Tuturau kaika [village] to proceed to Lake Wanaka. This was in December, only a few days before Te Puoho's raiders reached Tuturau. The two brothers intended to 'live on the country,' as they knew a place north of the Kohai Bush on the Mataau or Molyneux river where they could get at least two edibles in the shape of kawakawa and pora. The first of these my informant describes as being like a swede turnip, but having not so much root and much smaller leaves. When young it was like a turnip; as it grew older it formed a shell under the skin, and the flesh inside could be easily cleaned out. He had never heard of it growing on clay or ordinary soil, but always in gravelly or sandy places. It is described as having three or four small leaves on top; the colour of the top was like a turnip, and the sides were a greenish colour. It kept well after being pulled, but if not pulled the inside decayed and the shells remained for a long time. My informant saw one of these kawakawa growing on a gravel bank at Wai-tahuna in his boyhood. It tasted, he remarked, like a turnip, but somewhat sweeter, or more palatable. It was bigger than a swede turnip and of a different shape. He had never heard how the plant originated, but it was understood to have been here for many generations. The top was cut off, and, when the flesh was extracted, the shell made a good water vessel. A hole could be pierced at either side, near the top, and flax inserted to carry it conveniently. The plant was called kawakawa; when the flesh was extracted the shell-like rind was called hue.
The other plant looked for by travellers along certain Maori routes in the interior of Otago was the pora. I think this was known to early European settlers as 'Maori cabbage.' Like the kawakawa this was edible about midsummer. This plant had a white root, generally divided into two, and sometimes three prongs. My informant says he never saw this plant with a single root, or one with four prongs. The leaves were like turnip leaves, only not so large, although they were larger than those of the kawakawa. The roots were generally about eighteen inches long, and these were eaten. The leaves were used in the oven and may have been eaten as well as the roots. The term pora was applied to the roots, the leaves being called merely rau [general term for leaf], but just before flowering, when at its most edible stage, the plant was called waikote. When it flowered it lost its value as food, as the roots became too hard and tough.
The above contributor also draws attention to a statement made by Hay in his Earliest Canterbury and its Settlers to the effect that the hard rind shells of the old fashioned yellow and black kamo-kamo, or squash, were used as vessels by the natives, often as a vessel to contain the pulp of ripe tutu berries.
In a letter received from H. T. Tikao of Rapaki, Lyttelton, in 1918, the writer makes the following remarks:—"Regarding the kumara and the pora; these were prized food plants grown by my ancestors in olden times in their cultivations at Kaiapoi, Waikakahi, Taumutu and Wai-a-te-ruati. They possessed the pora long before Europeans reached this land; they sowed the seeds of it in their cultivations for many generations; it was sown as turnips are. When matured they were taken up, cut into small pieces, and spread to dry. When dry the pieces were threaded on strings and cooked in a steam oven. When cooked they were hung up in a storehouse and so preserved for future use. In this condition it was called kao, and before being used as food it was soaked in water."
The pora mentioned by Tikao is evidently a turnip, and was probably obtained from early European voyagers at Queen Charlotte Sound, at which place Captain Cook formed a garden and planted many European vegetables. It is improbable that the Maori possessed any species of turnip prior to that time. In a later communication Tikao speaks of ' te pora, ara te pohata,' which seems to identify the pora with Brassica campestris.
Colenso tells us that the so-called Maori cabbage is Brassica oleracea, introduced by Cook, and that it was called nani at the north and rearea further south. The rearea of the East Coast has a turnip root, formerly dried by natives as kao, as the kumara often was treated; the upper part of the turnip root is dark in colour. John White gives rearea, nanī, keha and pohata as being all names for the turnip. Pohata is given by Williams as Brassica campestris, wild turnip. The Tuhoe natives apply the name of paea to what is apparently a degenerate form of cabbage, and which they state was obtained from an early voyager named Paea. This was probably Tupaea, Cook's Tahitian interpreter, who was known to East Coast natives as Te Paea. Ngati-Porou still allude to Cook's vessels as Te puke o Te Paea. But Mr. Uren, an early Poverty Bay settler, stated that Capt. Cook was known locally as Paea, so named from the circumstance of his calling out the word "Fire!" to his musketeers. This sounds somewhat doubtful.
The name kora seems to apply to several species, including cabbage, used as greens, but as to how it differs in application to puwha it is difficult to say. Koka is the name of a food plant unknown to us, it occurs in traditions.
This tree was often planted by the Maori in the vicinity of their settlements, and the fruit thereof formed a minor food supply, as it still does on the Whanganui river. A native tradition exists to the effect that this tree was introduced into New Zealand some 20 generations ago; this is maintained by the descendants of several parties of immigrants. Thus it is said to have been brought hither by the crew of the Aotea, who first planted the seeds at Patea. Also it was brought by Roau of the Nukutere canoe to the Bay of Plenty. The Tainui immigrants are also said to have brought it in that vessel, together with the kumara, the gourd, and the ante.
Colenso made the following remarks concerning the planting of the karaka by the natives:—"Two other food yielding plants were, I believe, also cultivated by the ancient Maoris, viz., the karaka and the kohoho (also called poporo and poroporo.) Occasionally, at least, they planted them both in their plantations, and also in their towns [ pa, or fortified villages]. And this will account for the karaka being often found isolated, or in small clumps of the old trees, in many spots inland, away from its own natural habitat near the sea. I am the more inclined to believe that they did so from the fact of my having been informed many years ago by an old priest of the secret tabooed way to make a young karaka tree, on its being so transplanted, become fruitful."
The karaka is found in New Zealand, the Chatham Islands and the Kermadec Isles (600 miles from Auckland). This tree is not found growing as a forest tree, but only near the coast and at or near native settlements inland, or at places where settlements have existed in past times.
The Takitumu (vessel) is also said to have brought seeds of the karaka, which Ruawharo took to Nukutaurua, Table Cape. Kupe, the Polynesian voyager who is said to have discovered New Zealand, is also credited in tradition with the introduction of the karaka. Some interesting notes on this tree have been published in Vol. 4 of the Memoirs of the Polynesian Society, pp. 64, 240, 274. See also Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. XII. p. 58.
The aute, or paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) was introduced into New Zealand from Polynesia by the Maori, and aute was introduced in a vessel named Oturereao, that arrived at Ohiwa about 21 generations ago.
The so called native flax (Phormium) was planted by the natives in places adjacent to their villages, on account of its usefulness in the manufacture of clothing, baskets, cordage, nets, etc. This, however, like the aute, does not enter into the list of food plants. The poporo (Solanum aviculare) is also said to have been occasionally planted about their villages. Its fruit was eaten, but is merely classed as kai tamariki, or children's food. The inferior native fruits formed a very small portion of the food supply of the Maori, except those of the hinau, tawa and karaka.
In the foregoing account of Maori agriculture there are a number of apparent contradictions, but this aspect is, in most cases, owing to the fact that certain differences of custom and practise existed in different parts of the island, that is to say among different tribes. In many cases writers have not recorded the place of origin of information given, neither district nor tribe being mentioned, hence some confusion is bound to exist. This is one of the most marked features of the MS. matter left by the late Mr. John White. We must also bear in mind that a single tribe may employ different methods of performing certain tasks. For instance clans dwelling within easy distance of a large area of level or rolling land, of good soil, would probably make large plantations which would be subdivided into plots for families or small family groups. Other divisions of the same tribe might possess no such lands, and be compelled to cultivate a number of small isolated patches of land. The methods of working large and small areas differed; there was more division of labour where many persons worked a large area, and the ceremonial performances would be much more elaborate. It was held to be most desirable to obtain the services of a tohunga or priestly adept, of renown, one well versed in all ceremonial performances pertaining to agriculture, and such an adept was sometimes induced to visit other districts than his own in order to conduct the ritual performances.
The differences in planting methods might well come about. A small family group engaged in planting a small field would practise but little division of labour, and probably little ceremonial. In the
The introduction by early voyagers of foreign cultivated food products into these isles had a very important effect on Maori life, for it brought about a change in the principal food supply of the natives, the potato took the place of fern roots, the edible starchy matter of the rhizome of Pteris aquilina, as the staff of life. The potato was the most welcome of all introduced food supplies, and was a more useful possession than even the pig. After its acquisition by a few coastal tribes it was soon carried to other clans and peoples dwelling in the interior. These latter now for the first time acquired a food plant that could be grown in high-lying and cold districts, which produced a good return of food supplies, and which at once had a considerable effect on the mode of life of the people. Where, formerly, these folk lived almost entirely on wild products: roots, berries, eels and birds, they could now rely principally on the potato crop. Where the forests had formerly been strictly conserved as providing an important part of the tribal food supply, they now became quite a secondary consideration, and small areas were destroyed year after year in making potato gardens. This factor in forest destruction is specially noticeable in such districts as that of the Tuhoe tribe.
In regard to the period of the introduction of the potato, the first are said to have been left by De Surville in 1769 (See Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. III., p. 232), but no reference is made to potatoes in L'Hornes Journal and Monneron's Journal of that voyage, though both state that two pigs, two fowls, wheat, peas and rice were given to the natives. Marion in 1772 planted potatoes in the far north. We read in Roux's Journal of that expedition:—"As the natives are extremely intelligent, we were able to make them understand that the plantations we had made on Marion Island of wheat, maize, potatoes, and various kinds of nuts, might be very useful to them. All these plants had grown very well, although it was winter." In Crozet's account of this voyage we note the following passage:—"I formed a garden on Motuaro Island in which I sowed the seed of all sorts of vegetables, stones and the pips of our fruits, wheat, millet, maize, and in fact every variety of grain which I had brought from the Cape of Good Hope; everything succeeded admirably."
Nothing is said concerning the potato in the account of Cook's first voyage. In Forster's description of the second voyage we are told that many garden seeds were sown in Queen Charlotte Sound in 1773:—"Captain Cook, who was determined to omit nothing which might tend to the preservation of European garden plants in this country, prepared the soil, sowed seeds, and transplanted the young plants in four or five different parts of this Sound. He had cultivated a spot of ground on the beach of Long Island, another on the Hippah rock, two more on the Motu-aro, and one of considerable extent at the bottom of Ship Cove, where our vessels lay. He chiefly endeavoured to raise such vegetables as have useful and nutritive roots, and among them particularly potatoes, of which we had been able to preserve but few in a state of vegetation. He had likewise sown corn of several sorts, beans, kidney beans, and peas, and devoted the latter part of his stay in great measure to these occupations."
This keen desire to introduce food plants is also noticeable in Crozet's work, when he says: "The garden on Motu-aro Island alone was not sufficient to satisfy my desires; I planted stones and pips wherever I went, in the plains, in the glens, on the slopes, and even on the mountains; I also sowed everywhere a few of the different varieties of grain, and most of the officers did the same. We tried in vain to get the savages to grow some, and explained to them the use of the wheat, of the other elementary grains, and of the quality of the fruits of which we showed them the stones. But they had no more mind for this than brutes."
It seems probably that Crozet was somewhat severe in his remarks as to Maori stupidity. The advantages of wheat growing were certainly not grasped by them at first, on account of their ignorance of grain products, but the potato, so closely resembling their kumara. would certainly be understood, and we have evidence to show that it was much appreciated and desired by natives when introduced. No agricultural people could be utterly stupid and callous in regard to the acquisition of new food bearing plants. We cannot positively state that the potatoes planted by Crozet in 1772 at the Bay of Islands, and by Cook at Queen Charlotte Sound in 1773, were preserved and propagated by the natives, but it seems highly probable that at least those planted at the northern port were so perpetuated. To avoid confusion it may here be noted that Motuaro or Motuara is an islet name at both the above mentioned ports. Forster tells us that Cook took special pains to impress the southern native with the value of the seeds planted:—
In October, 1773, Cook had communication with some natives south of Cape Kidnappers, and gave them 'a piece of red baize, some garden seeds, two young pigs of each sex, and likewise three pairs of fowls.' In November, 1773, Cook again visited Queen Charlotte Sound: —"We found almost all the radishes and turnips shot into seed, the cabbages and carrots very fine, and abundance of onions and parsley in good order; the peas and beans were almost entirely lost, and seemed to have been destroyed by rats. The potatoes were likewise all extirpated; but, from appearances, we guessed this to have been the work of the natives. The thriving state of our European pot herbs gave us a strong and convincing proof of the mildness of the winter in this part of New Zealand, where it seems it had never frozen hard enough to kill these plants, which perish in our winters."
There is no word of Cook having introduced the potato on his first visit to New Zealand. On his second voyage he was at Queen Charlotte Sound in the month of May and June.
When Cook, on his third voyage, reached the Sound in February, 1777, he wrote as follows on gardens sown by his party in 1773: —"Not the least vestige of these now remained. It is probable that they had been all rooted out to make room for buildings, when the village was re-inhabited; for, at all the other gardens then planted by Captain Furneaux, although now wholly over-run with the weeds of the country, we found cabbages, onions, leeks, purslain, radishes, mustard, etc., and a few potatoes. These potatoes, which were first brought from the Cape of Good Hope, had been greatly improved by change of soil; and, with proper cultivation, would be superior to those produced in most other countries. Though the New Zealanders are fond of this root, it was evident that they had not taken the trouble to plant a single one (much less any other of the articles which we had introduced); and if it were not for the difficulty of clearing ground where pototoes had been once planted, there would not have been any now remaining."
Though onions, leeks, and many small vegetables did not appeal to native tastes, it is by no means assured that these potatoes were not perpetuated. Though no cultivations were seen by Cook on the rugged bush clad shores of Queen Charlotte Sound, yet at that time the kumara was certainly being cultivated in the Nelson and Canterbury districts, and probably also on the alluvial plains of Marlborough, situated near the Sound. Any natives seen at the Sound by Cook must have been acquainted with the arts of agriculture, and the potato would assuredly appeal to them more than any other of the new food plants.
Dr. Thomson's statement that Cook left potatoes with North Island natives during his first voyage is probably an error.
In 1793 Lieut. Governor King, of Norfolk Island, visited the far north, north of the Bay of Islands, where he gave the natives two bushels of maize, one of wheat, two of peas, and a quantity of garden seeds, as also a quantity of tools, spades, hoes, axes, etc., and ten sows and two boars. He does not mention potatoes in his Journal, and it is quite possible that the natives of those parts were already well provided with that tuber from those planted by Marion's party. Dr. Savage, who visited the Bay of Islands in 1805, apparently alludes to the introduced potato in the following remarks: —"The inhabitants of this part of the world are by no means unskilled in arts and manufactures: among the former is their cultivation of the ground. This, it is true, is confined to the growth of one vegetable, but in which they are remarkably successful: I allude to potatoes; and, indeed, I never met with that root of a better quality; they keep remarkably well, and we provided a stock of them sufficient to supply the whole ship's company for several months…
I could not learn when they first became possessed of this invaluable root; they have, however, had some opportunities of changing their seed, which has been of great advantage to them. Cutting is not in practise, the smaller potatoes being always preserved for seed.
Their cultivation has hitherto been attended with considerable disadvantages, owing to the want of proper implements: the only mode of turning the soil being with a wooden spade; but as the soil is light, this impediment is not so great as might be imagined. Their potato inclosures are not planted with European regularity, but they are productive, and do no discredit to their owners. Though the natives are exceedingly fond of this root they eat them but sparingly, on account of their great value in procuring iron by
The mode of bringing potatoes to the ships is in small baskets made of the green native flax, and of various sizes, containing from eight to thirty pounds weight… I believe they usually have two crops in the year, and I have not heard that they ever fail from accidental causes. The potato is the only vegetable cultivated by the natives; they have had the seed of several others, but, as they are found ill-calculated for trade, they have been neglected. The diffusion of cabbage seed has been so general over this part that you would suppose it an indigenous plant of the country."
This was evidently the potato, not the kumara, so that it was common at least in the far north as early as 1805, and probably much earlier if the Marion expedition was successful in introducing it 33 years before. Dr. Savage may have seen the potato only at the Bay, but we cannot believe that the cultivation of the kumara and taro had been given up at that date.
In a letter written by Mr. J. Matthews at Kaitaia, and dated April 8, 1837, he states that the potatoes given by Governor King to Huru and Toki were the first introduced. He remarks: —"The potatoes they planted, but did not like them for many years: I suppose they attempted to eat them raw, as they did the corn, which was introduced also by Governor King in person at the North Cape." This letter also states that the pigs introduced by King were all killed by the natives, and left no issue, and adds "There were no pigs in New Zealand before this, so far as we know." At a later date the natives of Kaitaia obtained pigs from the Bay of Islands.
The following remarks have been culled from the account of the voyage of the Venus (1836-39), and refer to the Bay of Islands district: —"On coming away from the pa of Kawakawa, we noticed some natives who were planting pommes de terre. For this purpose they made use of a small piece of straight iron, something like an elongated nail with which they scooped a hole for every one. They then returned the earth on top so that each tuber was surmounted by a little cone something like those made by the moles in their earth-works. This arrangement, observed with great exactitude, gave to the plantations an appearance of very finished culture.
The natives prepare the lands which they intend to cultivate by burning all the vegetation which hinders them. They seek in preference the lands covered with bracken, to which they give, following the English, the generic name of "fern," and of which the root, which they dig up, serves also for food. It is seldom that they sow the same ground two years following; it is only when they have left it fallow for a year or two that they return to it. In addition to this these lands are exceedingly fertile and give two crops every year. As soon as the potatoes are sown the fields are tapu—a protection that no one dares to infringe. When the time of the harvest has come the entire tribe gathers at the place and carries out the work together, just as they did at the planting season."
It is worthy of note that many natives maintain that certain varieties of the potato (Solatium) were known and cultivated by them, prior to the arrival of Europeans. See Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 3, pp., 144, 237, 238, also Vol. 12, p. 55. We know from the evidence of early voyagers that the Maori was not found in possession of the potato, its cultivation could not have been overlooked, and would be well remembered by such tribes as Tuhoe, who were so situated that they were unable to become an agricultural people. The potato was the greatest boon to these bushmen, but they knew nothing of it in pre-European days. The origin of the above statement probably was as follows: the potato rapidly passed from tribe to tribe, and, in most districts, it was known and cultivated long before European settlers arrived, and even before the advent of European traders. For instance, the Tuhoe tribe sent parties from the Bay of Plenty to Hauraki to obtain European products years before traders reached the Whaka-tane coast. If the potatoes planted in Queen Charlotte Sound by Cook in 1773 were perpetuated, then the tribes of Cooks Straits must have cultivated them for nearly fifty years before the coming of whalers and traders. Little wonder if they claim a pre-European potato.
In the Bay of Plenty district it is a popular belief that the araro and rokoroko varieties of the potato (Solanum) were cultivated there prior to the arrival of Europeans, but old Tutakangahau of Maunga-pohatu stated that they were obtained during the early years of intercourse with Europeans.
The Maori certainly appreciated the potato, and it is at the present time his most favoured food supply. When he found that it not only suited his palate, but was also most prolific and was capable of being cultivated to advantage at all altitudes, and kumara, which requires very much more care in its cultivation. He soon became an adept in its cultivation and adopted some methods not employed by European settlers. For instance, in order to obtain a very early crop he planted seed tubers as early as June in scrub land or light bush, then felled the bush which was burned in early spring. The fire destroyed the haulm of the plants that had grown up through the felled timber, but a new growth soon followed, whereas exposure to frosts would have spoiled the crop. This method is called whakapara in the Bay of Plenty district, and whakaota at Taupo.
The following notes were contributed by Mr. H. Beattie, of Gore, South Island, in 1919:—"The question of the cultivation of food products by South Island natives prior to the advent of Europeans, is one of considerable interest, as the Maori was, by heredity and training, an agriculturist. The instinct to plant and grow food came with the wanderer across the trackless ocean, but the southern half of the South Island, generally speaking, proved too cold for the semi-tropical products the Maori brought with him. That the aptitude for agriculture still survived centuries of disuse is proved by the avidity with which the southern Maoris acquired and grew potatoes. In Historical Records of New Zealand South, the Sydney Gazette, Sept., 1813, is quoted (p.166) as recording the visit of Williams, a flax-dresser, to the Bluff in 1813. He narrated:—"The natives attend to cultivation of the potato with as much diligence and care as I have ever seen. A field of considerably more than 100 acres presented one well cultivated bed, filled with rising crops of various ages, some of which were ready for digging, while others had been but newly planted. Dried fish and potatoes form their chief support."
Mr. R. Carrick remarks: —"The foregoing is the first mention made of potato culture in Southern New Zealand. It could only have been recently introduced, and it may seem strange it should have been grown on such an extensive scale. We must keep in mind that the natives were acquainted with the cultivation of the kumara, and the one being a duplicate copy of the other, they may have had no great difficulty in adapting themselves to the new species."
At Tuturau, near Mataura Falls, there were splendid crops of potatoes recorded in the years 1844 and 1853, while in 1836 potatoes were growing there, for a native told me that the time when Te Puoho (the northern raider) reached Tuturau was about
Wheat was not appreciated by the Maori when it was first introduced. They had been accustomed to root crops and the gourd, and seemed to view grain as an undesirable product. A story is told in the far north of natives pulling up wheat in order to see what kind of tubers it produced. This story appears in Appendix III. to Nicholas' Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand.
As time rolled on the Maori became more accustomed to the peculiarities of European food plants, and so wheat came to be cultivated to a considerable extent, and many mills were built by them under European supervision. Yet a considerable proportion of the grain was sold to European traders, and apparently the Maori never appreciated bread as much as he did his root crop products, as the kumara and potato. In later years he has come to use bread much more than he did. The ten years of disturbed conditions of the 'sixties' seems to have put a stop to wheat growing among the natives. They did not resume wheat growing to any extent after the fighting ceased.
In early days of European occupation the Waiapu natives used to grow a considerable amount of wheat for sale to traders. Much of it was grown on the hill slopes, and the soil was dug by parties of natives using European spades. True to old usages they worked in gangs and preserved the ordered discipline of their forbears when engaged in planting the kumara. The digging was effected by concerted, rhythmic action, and the workers sang as they worked. Threshing was performed with a primitive kind of flail, ere the use of the English flail was adopted. Lengths of the tough and pliant supplejack were employed at first, and, as the people used them, they kept walking round the spread wheat, singing as they worked.
Te korero o Rongo-maui i piki ki runga i te rangi tona tuakana ki a Whanui; i haere ki te tiki i te kumara, ara i nga tamariki kumara a Whanui. Tena tangata a Whanui, e kite ana te tangata i te whetu e rere nei i te taha ki te rawhiti, ki waho ki te moana, i waho o nga whetu o te rangi; kotahi tonu taua whetu. Mehemea ka tae ki nga ra o Maehe, o Aperira, ara o te ngahuru, ka rere mai taua whetu. Koia ano te kaihomai i te kumara ki te puke o te mara kumara. Kati tena, ka piki a Rongo; te karakia tenei a Rongo i piki ai:—
"E Para E! Tukua atu au kia puta ki tawhangawhanga nui no Rangi, no Papa; he aio." Ko te karakia tenei a Rongo i piki ai ki tona tuakana ki a Whanui. Ka tae a Rongo ki a Whanui, ka mea atu: —"I haere mai au ki tetehi o ta taua whanau kia riro i au ki raro, ki Mataora." Ka mea mai te tuakana: —"Kaore au e whakaae kai riro atu tetehi o a taua tama i a koe." Ka hoki iho a Rongo, ka tae iho, ki tua mai o te whare, ka hokia atu e Rongo ki tua o te whare e noho ana taua whanau. Ka ki atu a Rongo: —"Me haere tatau ki Mataora." Ka riro mai, ka whakanohoia e Rongo ki tona ure, ka tae iho ki tona wahine, ki a Pani-tinaku, ka moe a Rongo i tona wahine, i a Pani-tinaku. Ka hapu a Pani, ka tata ki te whanau, ka ki atu a Rongo: —"Me haere koe ki te Wai o Mona-ariki Ko moana-ariki ke pea tona tiwai, tona tino hangaitanga; koinei hoki tetehi ingoa e whakahuatia ana i roto i enei korero o nehe ra.—E.B.
Katahi ka whakawhanau, ka whanau nga tamariki kumara a taua kuia, ka whanau a Pio, a Matatu, a Toroa-mahoe, a Nehutai, a Anurangi, a Patea, me era atu, he maha noa atu aua tamariki a taua kuia. Katahi ka mea atu a Rongo: —"Meatia te imu tapu. meatia te imu waharoa." Ka homai te mea tapu o te imu tapu; te
Ka noa i konei, ka mutu. Na, me korero rawa e au te take i tae iho ai ki nga uri nei. Ko taua kuia ko Pani he tuahine no Tangaroa-i-te-rupetu, nana a Mani ma. Kua mate a Tangaroa, kua noho pani aua tamariki, kua riro ko Tinaku [Pani-tinaku] hei manaaki i aua tamariki; kua mate hoki te whaea o aua tamariki.
Me korero au i aua tamariki. Tetahi o a ratau mahi he hi ika. Ka hoki mai a Maui ratau ko ona tuakana i te hi ika, ka mea a Maui-tikitiki-o-Taranga ki a Rongo-maui: —"Kaore koe e haere ki te mahi ika." Na, ka mate a Rongo i te whakama, koia nai te putake o Rongo i piki ai ki te rangi, ki tona tuakana ki a Whanui, ki tetehi mahi mana, ka riro iho ta rava whanau ko tona tuakana ko Whanui. Me whakamarama e au, ko te rironga iho he whanako, i whanakotia iho aua tamariki kumara e Rongo, na ka tupu tenei mea te whanako ki te ao. Na reira i tukuna mai e Whanui a Moka, a Torongu, a Anuhe, hei patu i a Rongo, ara i nga kumara; me te weri hoki ka tukuna mai.
Ka haere nga tamariki ra, ara a Maui ma, ki te hi ika. Ka tahu te kuia ra, a Pani, i te imu, he imu potaka taua imu kumara. Ka hukea te imu a taua kuia, ka kohia te kete ma aua tamariki. Ka u mai te waka hi ika o aua tamariki, ka karanga atu: —"E Pani E! Ki tatahi ki te unahi ika." Ka tae a Pani, ka unahi; ka tae mai ki te kainga, ka hoatu e Pani te kete kumara maoa ma Maui ma. Ka kite aua tamariki, ka ki a Maui:—"He kai rangatira te kai a to tatau kuia." Ka ui atu a Maui ki taua:—"E kui! Nohea to kai? He kai rangatira, rangatira rawa te kai nei." Kaore i whaki mai a Pani. Katahi ka whakahaerea e Maui, ka hunaa e Maui te tu whakawhanau o Pani. Ka kimi a Pani i tona tu whakawhanau, kaore i kitea; ka awatea ka hoatu e Maui te tu o taua kuia. Ka haere te kuia ki te wai whakawhanau ai, ka whaia atu e Maui ki te taumata, ko te ingoa o te taumata ko Taumata-tirohia. Kua rere te kuia kei roto i te wai whakawhanau ai, ko te karakia tenei: —
Katahi ka whakawhanau. Titiro iho a Maui, he kumara. Ka ki a Maui e whangaia ana ratau ko ona tuakana e Pani ki nga para-heka o roto o te kuia nei. I konei ka mate a Pani i te whakama; te take tenei i haere iho ai, te ara iho he pu mauri (Ko taua otaota ko te mauri, penei me te kokaha te ahua, engari he whaiti ona rau). Ko te ara tena o Pani i haere iho ai; tona hoa ko Hine-mataiti, he potiki wahine nana. I heke iho ai a Pani i Mataora. Kei te takiwa a Mataora. Kei runga a Mataora, kei raro a Hawaiki. E rua nga ingoa, ko Mataora, ko Hawaiki, ko Hawaiki ko tenei ao.
Ka mahi a Pani i tona mara kumara, ka ngaro taua kuia. Ka kimi a Maui ma, ka mahia e Maui ki te tekateka. Ka patua te teka a Maui, titi tonu ki te pu mauri i haere ai taua kuia. Ka haere iho a Maui, titiro iho a Maui e mahi ana a Pani i tona mara kumara.
E hoa! Me mutu i konei; kua marama hoki koe ki ena korero. Kua mutu nga kupu whakaatu ki a koe. E hoa! Tena koe. Ki a Te Peehi, kua mutu aku kororo. Tena koe.
[Na te kaumatua nei, na Hamiora Pio, o Te Teko, nga korero i runga ake nei, he mea tuhi mai e ia i te tau 1898. Anei etahi maramara korero ana e whai ake nei.]
Kaore e wareware i nga tipuna te whakahaere o nga tikanga o roto i te tau, i nga marama. Te hokinga o te ra, te ingoa o tena ko takanga o te ra, ka hoki ki te wahine mahi ika o te moana, ara ki a Hine-takurua. Ka tae ki te marama e hoki ai ki uta, ki te wahine mahi kai, ara ki a Hine-raumati (he mahi huahua tana), te marama e hoki ai ki uta ko Te Matahi me Te Maruaroa. Ka karanga nga kaumatua: —"Kua hoki te ra kei uta"—kua timata te mahi i nga mahi a nga tupuna. Ko Te Maruaroa, ko Te Toru o Ipiriwhea [Te Tom o Pipiri pea], ko Upokopapa, tena kupu kua kopa te upoko o te tangata i te takototanga. Kua whiti mai te marama ko Toru-kai-tangata, tena kupu kua piri nga papa o te tangata, kua tahu i te ahi, koia a Tahutahu-ahi, a Hupe-nui. Ka whiti ko te wha, ka aroaro-mahana, ka timata te mahi i te kai, te mara tautane a te ruanuku, e wha nga puke o te mara tautane, ka whiti ko te rima ka rere te kumara. Ko te kumara ko nga uri tena o te whetu e rere i te taha ki te moana, ko Whanui taua whetu. Na tona taina i hari mai ki te ao nei, na Rongo-maui. Tana kete i raua iho ai aua tama-riki kumara ko tona ure. Tae iho ka moe a Rongo-maui i a Tinaku, tona wahine tena. Ka hapu taua wahine, ka haere ki te whaka whanau i ona tamariki ki te Wai o Mona-ariki. Ka puta mai nga tamariki kumara, a Nehutai ma, a Patea ma. Koia nei aua tamariki kumara; na aua tipuna i mea hei oranga mo nga uri i te ao nei.
Kia puta aua tamariki ki waho katahi ka timata nga imu tapu, te imu kirihau, te imu potaka, te imu waharoa, te imu kohukohu, ma te tohunga tena; ko te potaka ma te tangata tika. I tupu mai enei mea i Mataora, i Hawaiki-nui.
Ko Pani-tinaku te tipuna mahi kai, nana i timata mai te mahi o tenei mea o te kumara. Te karakia o te kumara ko Naenae-moko, ka rumaki te mara kumara, ka tu te urupuke o nga mara katoa. Ka tikina he mapau, ko nga rau tonu o te mapau, ka haria tonutia hei puhipuhi mo nga kumara. Ka haere te tohunga karakia i nga mara, me te paiere mapau, koia nei ona puhipuhi o te kumara; ka tae ki te paenga o te mara, ka timata te karakia. Oti katoa te whakahaere o nga mara kumara ka takoto te hakari nui whaka-harahara mo te karakiatanga o nga kumara a te iwi Maori. Ka tae ki te ra e karakia ai ka noho katoa, ta te Maori ra tapu tenei, he karakia kumara.
Ka tupu te kumara a Pani-tinaku, ka ki atu a Whanui ki nga iwi o te rangi, ki a Anuhe, ki a Torongu, ki a Moka: —"Haere koutou ki raro, ki to koutou tungane, ki a Rongo, hei manawa mo koutou. Kaore e mutu te mahara a Whanui mo aua tamariki kumara i riro tahae iho i a Rongo-maui. E rua aua mea i riro iho nei, ko te kumara, ko te weri, te weri ko te takai mai o taua mea; no reira ka noho tonu.
Ka tae ki te iwa ka timata te mahi i nga kai katao, o ia mara, o ia mara. Ka tikina te kai o tena mahinga, o tena mahinga, kua hua hoki te kai i taua wa, ka hui ki te mahi i aua kai ano. Te ingoa o tena mahi mo nga kai katoa a te iwi he amoamohanga; ahakoa he kumara, he taro, he hue ranei, nga kai katoa, he amoamohanga. Ko Tane ma i tipu mai te uri ki te ao, ko Auroroa to ratau kainga; i muri mai ko Mataora, ko Maui ma, ko Pani, ko Rongo-maui, ko Muri-rangawhenua. I muri mai nei ko Hawaiki-nui, ko Rongoatau te rangatira o Hawaiki-nui, ka kiia tera whenua ko Hawaiki-nui a Rongoatau, mo tenei kura mo te kumara. Tona kainga, to Rongoatau, kei Te Whākao.
Koinei te tangata nana i whakaatu mai i te kumara ki a Toi ma, i to raua taenga mai ki Whakatane. Ko enei tangata he uri na Rongoatau, he tokowha taua whanau, ko Kanioro, ko Taukata, ko Hoaki, ko Tuturu-whatu; he wahine a Kanioro raua ko Tuturu-whatu.
No te weranga o Tuturu-whatu i te ahi ka haramai a Taukata raua ko Hoaki. Tenei wahine i wera ki tona kainga ki Mataora. Ka
Kia tae mai a Hoaki, a Taukata ki Whakatane ka hoe ai nga tangata o Aotearoa ki Hawaiki ki te tiki i te kumara. Katahi ka mohio i nga iwi o te ao he motu ano tenei, no reira ka hoe mai etahi tupuna ki Aotearoa nei. Ko Te Hapu-oneone anake te iwi o Aotearoa.
E hoa! Kia mohio koe, ko etahi iwi o te motu nei no naianei i tae mai ai ki tenei motu. Ko Maku te tangata tuatahi o Hawaiki i tae mai ai. No muri mai ka whiti mai aua tangata, a Taukata raua ko Hoaki. To raua kainga i tae mai ai ko Kakaho roa, ara ko Whakatane, no naianei tenei ingoa a Whakatane, na nga tangata o Matatua i tapa. Ko Whiro-nui tetahi tupuna i haramai i tawahi, āna uri ko Ngai-Tamawhiro. Te kiri o tena iwi kaore i hapa i te mangumangu, he kiri pango; te reo o tena iwi i rereke i te reo te iwi Maori. Koia tenei iwi a Ngai-Tamawhiro, tona kainga tuturu ko Omeheu, kei Matata.
E hoa! I tae mai a Maku ki konei i te takiwa ano e iti ana te tangata ki Aotearoa. Ko Hoaki te tangata nana i hoki ki Hawaiki, ko Taukata i noho iho. No te hokinga mai o nga tangata o tenei motu ka puta mai te kupu a Hoaki: —"E tae ki te ngahuru ka hangaa te rua kumara a Taukata, patua ki roto i te rua, kia maringi ona toto ki roto i te rua kumara." Koia te kumara e mau nei.
Ko nga whetu hoki nga tohu o te tau e ora tonu ana, e kotamutamu tonu mai ana i te rangi nga whetu tohu o te tau e titiro ai nga tangata matua mo te rerenga o tana kai, o te kumara. E wha hoki aua whetu tohu o nga tau, ko Matariki, ko Tautoru, ara ko Te Kakau, ko Puanga, ko Whakaahu, a i te putanga pai ake he tau pai, ka rere te kumara i Hepetema; i te putanga kino ka nekehia ki Oketopa rere ai. Te mea i korerotia ai e au nga whetu he tohu aroha ki nga mea i whakahaere ai o matau tupuna, me o matau matua kua ngaro atu nei i te ao.
Ko tenei mea ko te māra kumara, taro, korau, ka mutu nga kai o mua, he mea titiro te mara kumara kauaka hai takoto ki te hauwai, engari me takoto ki te wahi tairanga; ko tetahi tena o nga titiro. Te rua o nga titiro, me he mea e hangai ana te takoto o te rui o taua mara ki te ra, ara o te papa o taua mara ki te ra. Te toru o nga titiro, kia kauaka tetahi mara e takoto ki te take o tetahi hiwi. Ko tetahi o nga titiro, he pewhea te takoto o taua mara, he kaokao ranei, he matanui ranei. Ko tetahi o nga titiro, kai raro ranei te remu, kai runga ranei; ko te upoko o te mara kei te pito ki te ra, ko te remu kei te pito ki te mauru. Me he mea kai runga te remu, ka mate te kumara, ka heke mai te wai ki te kumara. Me he mea kei runga ko te upoko, ka mate hoki ko te remu; engari kia hora te mara, he papatairite tena ingoa. Katahi ka titiro kia tapuku; ki te kitea e tapuku ana taua mara, ko te tino mara pai tena. I raro iho o tena, o te tapuku, ko te mara hora, ara papatairite; ka mutu nga mara pai mo tena mea mo te kumara.
He kumara tena; na, he korau tetahi; koina te tu mara mo te korau e pai ai, e pakari ai, ka tahi, he hora ka rua. He kuwaiwai no te korau ki te tiria ki te wahi hauwai, ka kuwaiwai.
Ko te tipu noa atu te taro i nga wahi katoa, engari ko roto rawa o te marua kaore e pai. Te mate o te taro i kona, ka rau anake, kaore he kiko; ka pakupaku te taro, a he kuwaiwai hoki. Ka mutu nga titiro mo te mara.
Katahi ka titiro, me he mea he one matua te one, me kirikiri tena mara kumara, ma te kirikiri katahi ka pai. Ko te wehi o te tangata mo tena mea mo te one matua, he nui no te mahi ki te pikau i te kirikiri. Ki te taea te kite te wahi one paraumu, ka pai, kua iti te mahi, kua mauria mai te kirikiri mo raro anake i nga rau, koi kino nga rau i te paruparu, i te māku. Me he mea kaore he one paraumu, ki te kitea he one haruru, na kua pai tena hai mara. Ko te one tuatara kore rawa nei e pirangitia, he nui no te mahi ki te patupatu; tetahi mahi he pikau i te kirikiri no te one tuatara. Ka mutu nga titiro mo te oneone.
Katahi ka titiro me pewhea te mara nei, me he mea kai waho kai te mania, me tiki me tope mai he manuka, he hurupi ranei, a he toetoe ranei, katahi ka hora. Ka timata atu te hora i te whakaupoko, a tae noa ki te remu. Katahi ka waiho kia takoto ana, a kua tae ki te wa e mohiotia ana e tata ana ki te wa e tiria ai te kumara, katahi ka tukuna (ara ka tahuna) ki te ahi, ka horo nga kota, kia
Katahi ka haere ki te toro i te rua kumara, kia kitea me he mea kei te whakaniho ranei, kaore ranei. Me he mea kaore, ka karangatia nga wahine kia whaowhia ki roto ki te kete. Ka meatia he popo rakau, katahi ka miria, ka ngawari, katahi ka meatia ki te tekere o te kete; ka kapi a raro, katahi ka homai nga kumara ki runga. Na, ka whakatakoto i te kaupapa tuatahi, katahi ka ruia ano nga popo ki runga; ka ngaro i nga popo, katahi ka whakatakoto i te kaupapa tuarua; ka pena ano, ki noa te kete. Engari kauaka e neke atu i te wha, i te rima ranei nga kaupapa; ki te neke atu, ka taumaha, na ka kino nga tupu. Katahi ka kawea ano ki roto ki te rua ata tu ai; ka meatia he rakau ki raro, e rua pea nga rakau, ka whakatakoto i nga kete ki runga. Kaore e hoatu tetahi kete ki runga i tetahi, ko te take koi maru nga kumara, koi koauau nga tipu.
Me he mea kua whakaniho te kumara i te taenga atu ki te rua, i a ia ranei kua whakapapatia ki roto ki te kete, ka haere te tangata ki te tango i nga uhi o te papa kumara, ka heria nga manuka, aha ranei ki nga paenga o te mara. Te take i peratia ai he titiro na te tangata nana te mara, anei te hau kaha, he mauru ranei, he tonga ranei, na ko aua manuka hai takitaki kia ruru ai. No te otinga ki reira katahi ka tahuri ki te ko.
Ka koia nga puke; kaore te nuinga o te mara e koia, ko nga puke anake, a ka oti. Ko te whakararangi ka ahu atu i te whakaupoko ki te remu; e kore e whakaahutia ki te marangai, ki te tonga ranei. Me he mea ka haere te hau tonga ki nga awa o te mara kumara, ka rurerurea nga rau, ka mate, ara kaore e tino pai ena kumara. Kaore he hau nui o te rawhiti, ko te mauru anake te hau; na, ko tena hau he mahaki tana haere mai, kaore e pena me te hau tonga; koia te take i wehi ai ki te pārāweranui.
Ka timata te mahi tiri i te Ari; ka whakarakau te marama, kaore i tiri; he mate, he kore kai, he kiko kore; tae noa ki noa ki nga Korekore kaore e tiri.
Na, mo te tatai i nga puke. Ka takoto te taura ki runga ki te waha o te puke, ma te tangata tonu nana te mara e whakatakoto i te teka, a ka poua te pou wharona. Na, ka haere tonu te mahi, tae noa ki tetahi taha o te mara. Ka oti te whakaupoko, katahi ka hiki ki te remu o te mara, a ka pera ano te mahi, ko taua rakau ano te putu te roroa o nga pou. Ka mutu te teka whakaawa, katahi ka mauria ko te teka ahu puke. Ko tenei hai tatai i te pamamao o nga puke, i tetahi, i tetahi, a ka poua ano he pou kai te waha tonu o te puke, he pou pakupaku noa iho enei, a pau noa tena mara katoa. Ko te taura tatai he mea miro ki te whitau, he mea tapu hoki taua mea; ka oti te mahi ka heria ki ro whare takoto ai, ki te whata ranei. He aho tatai te ingoa o taua taura; taua aho ki etahi tangata he mea tipona, kia tere ai te pou haere i nga rakau. Kia kotahi te tuke ringa te tatahi o nga puke i te rarangi. Me te aho tatai i te whakaupoko he mea tiponapona haere ki etahi tangata. Ko tenei he aho tatai he aho tatai awa, ko tera he aho tatai puke. Ki te penei te mahi, na ka kore tera mea te rakau.
Ka waiho tetahi wahi o te mara hai paenga taru i te taha ki te tonga, ki te mauru, a ki te raki hoki; kaore he paenga ki te whakaupoko, koi araitia te hau tokihi; kia haere mai taua hau tokihi ki waenganui o nga kumara, hai whakapai i nga kumara.
Na, kia tokorua nga tangata hai mahi i te puke kotahi. Ko te ko whakaara ki mua; e toru nga meatanga o taua ko, ara nga kuhunga ki te whenua, engari kauaka e neke i te kaupeka o te ko, ara i te teka o te ko; kaore e pai kia neke atu i tena, koi hauwai. Na, tauhinga ana te ko, ka hangai ki waenganui ki te waha o te puke, katahi ka whakaarahia, e toru ano nga whakaarahanga ka mutu tana mahi; koinei tana mahi i nga puke katoa.
Na, ka mutu te mahi a te tangata ki te puke, ara kua oti nga kuhunga e toru, katahi ia ka haere ki tetahi o nga puke mahi pera ai. Me he mea he ohu, ka wehewehea kia toru, kia wha ranei, nga tangata whakaara; kia tokowha hoki nga tangata hai tuahu. Ko te mahi ma nga tangata tuahu he tango i nga weri, nga otaota, he whakawatea, a he whakangawari hoki i nga one. Ka mahia ki nga ringa tonu, me tana rakau hai patupatu i nga oneone, ara i nga pukupuku, kia ngawari; katahi ka mau atu ki nga one, ka natu, kia taka nga para ahi ki roto ki te puke katoa.
He mea tapu te puke tuatahi, a ka mau tonu tona tapu. Ko nga kai o taua puke kaore e mauria ki roto ki te rua.
Ko te tohunga kua tae ki reira i mua o te uranga o te ra, me nga kai whakatakoto, me nga kai ono, me he mea he ohu. Katahi ka timata te tohunga ki te karakia; me anga katoa o ratau aroaro ki te uranga o te ra. Ko to ratau atua e karakia ai ratau ko Rongo-marae-roa, ko te tamaiti hoki tena a Rangi raua ko Papa i whakaritea mo ena mahi katoa, ara mo nga mahi kai katoa. Ka karakia te tohunga i te wa kaore ano kia puta mai te ra. Ka mutu te
Kia mutu te mahi, ara kia oti, ka waiho mo te ata, mo te puaotanga o te ata, te karakia a te tohunga. He karakia whakaepa tena hai whakamutu i nga mahi, ara i te tiri. Ko te karakia nei kia tipu pai ai te kumara, kia kaua e pangia e tetahi mea kino. Ko te karakia tuatahi hai whakatuwhera i te mahi, kia pai ai te tiri, a kia pai hoki te whakatakoto a te tangata i nga purapura. Ka whakahua i tena karakia ki a Rongo-marae-roa raua ko Uru-te-ngangana, ko Uru hoki te tamaiti matamua a Rangi raua ko Papa. Ko te karakia whakamutunga ka tukuna ki a Rongo-marae-roa anake. Ko te tuku tena i te mana katoa o tena mara ki a ia. Ka tonoa a Tawhirimatea i taua wa kia whakataha, raua ko Tonganui-kaea. Ko tena tono he tono kia kaua e tukinotia taua mara, kia kaua e pa mai he hau kino, he huka; na Tonganui kaea hoki te huka, na Tawhiri-matea te hau.
Na, ka haere te tangata ki te tiri, kia hangai tona tu, ara tona aroaro, ki te uranga mai o te ra, kia hangai hoki ki te tutira o nga puke. Ka timata tana mahi ki te whakaupoko, engara ka tu ia ki roto ki te awa kumara, kia whiti te tutira ki tona taha maui. Na, ko te purapura kei tona ringa maui e pupuri ana. Ka kuhuna tona ringa katau ki roto ki te puke, ki raro tata iho i te tihi, i te aha ki te whakaupoko, ara ki te rawhiti. Na, ka komotia te purapura ki roto kia ahua tawharara, ara tauhinga, kia tika te uru o te kumara ki te ra, ara o te purapura. Katahi ka ahuahungia te one ki runga ki te purapura, engari kauaka e tino hohonu te uru o te kumara, ko te wahi tena i te tipu. Kua mutu tana i tena, kua hiki atu he puke ke, a ka pera tonu, engari kia waiho tonu te tutira ki tona taha maui. Na, he tangata ke māna e heri i nga purapura, he mea rau ki roto ki te rahu pakupaku nei. Kia kotahi tonu te purapura ki te puke kotahi. Ko nga purapura he mea heri ki roto i te kete; he mea tatau e ia nga puke o te tutira, a kia rite tonu nga purapura ki taua tutira. Te take i pera ai, kia māmā, koi whati nga whakaniho o nga purapura; no reira me he mea he tino roa te tutira, ka metia kia rua nga kete rau purapura. I mua o te tiringa ka heria tetahi o nga kete ki waenganui o te tutira, ki reira tu ai ki roto i te awa o te kumara. Ko te nuinga o nga purapura kei te paenga e takoto ana, kei te whakaupoko o te mara, kei roto tonu i te kete e takoto ana. Ko te kete he mea kaupeka ki te rakau kia tuwhera tonu ai, he
Ka whakaritea ko nga mohio o nga tane anake hai mahi i tenei mahi, kauaka nga wahine, koi tupono ki te whakatahe, ara ki te wahine mate toto, a ka waiho hai mate mo te kumara. Pera ano i te hauhaketanga me te kawenga ki roto ki te rua, ma nga tane anake. Kaore e mahi i te wa kaore ano kia puta te ra, ara mo te tiri tenei; kia ura rawa te ra katahi ka tiria te kumara. Ka tiria te kumara i te ra pai anake, koi ahua kino nga one; kaua i te ra ua, koi pokepoke te oneone, kaore e pai te tapuketanga i te purapura.
Ka meatia he kirikiri ki raro i nga rau o te kumara, koi kino nga rau; me he mea ka pena ka heke te tipu o te kumara. Ki te kore rawa he kirikiri, ka meatia ki etahi otaota, kia tau nga rau ki runga ki aua otaota. Ki te puta tetahi marangai ka kino nga kumara, kaore e hiwa te tipu o tena kumara, ka heke te tipu. Na, me he mea he one matua, ko te kirikiri he mea whakaranu ki te one; ko te take i pera ai kia tuwhera ai te puke. Me he mea kaore i pena kua piri nga oneone, ma te kirikiri katahi ka pai, ka puta te hau kotao ki roto, ka puta mai te ra nei ka mahana katoa ki roto o te puke. Ka pena ano ki te one tuatara, engari te one haruru, te one paraumu kaore, otira ka mauria mai he kirikiri mo raro anake i nga rau, ka mauria mai i roto i te kete. Ko aua kete he mea raranga ki te harakeke, he mea haro, ko te ahua penei me te peeke, e rua ona tau. Na, ka tae atu ki te mara, ka puritia tetahi o nga tau ki te ringa katau, ka rere tetahi o nga ringa ki te remu o te kete, a katahi ka ringiringi haere ki runga ki nga puke, ara ki waenganui o nga puke, kaore e ringitia ki roto ki nga awa. Ma te ringa tangata e hora ki runga ki nga puke; koia te tangata māna e whakaahu i nga puke. Ko te tangata whakaara te tuatahi, ko te tangata whaka-pai tuahu te tuarua, ko te tangata hora i te kirikiri te tuatoru, ko te tangata tiri i te kumara te tuawha. I mua, kaore tena tangata e kai i te ata, ara te tangata tiri i te kumara, a kia tawharara te ra, kia ahua mate kai, katahi ka nekehia te mahi mo tetahi rangi. Me he mea era e oti i a ia i taua ra kotahi, ka mahi tonu ia; engari era e tika ana kia kai.
Na, me he mea ka kitea kei te uhia te mara ki te taru, ka haere te tangata ahuahu i te mara ki te whakapai. Nga mea kino katoa o taua mara, nga otaota me nga oneone maro, ka rukea katoa ki te paenga, ara ki nga tapa o te mara, ki te remu ranei o te mara.
Ko te mahi i muri i tena, kauaka rawa tetahi otaota e waiho kia tipu, he whakapai tonu te mahi, he whakangawari i te puke kia ngawari, taea noatia te horanga o nga rau. Me he mea ka timata nga rau ki te hora, kua mutu te mahi, he wehi koi maru nga rau. Katahi ka waiho te mahi a nga tangata ki te wahi watea i nga rau o te kumara, tae noa ki nga awa. Na reira kaore e kitea he otaota ki te papa kumara, haunga ia nga paenga.
Me he mea ka ua te ua, ka haere ki te titiro me he mea kua hora nga rau ki runga ki te puke. Me he mea ka kitea e piri ana te aka o te rau o te kumara ki te oneone, ara me he mea kaore i kirikiritia, katahi ka komotia he otaota ki raro, nga otaota ngawari nei, he mea kohikohi, he mea whakamaroke. Ka kitea te wahi hapuna-puna te wai o roto i te awa kumara, ka tikina e ia te ko, katahi ka poua iho e ia, ka whakaueuetia e ia kia heke te wai ki raro.
Heoti ano nga mahi tapu ko te tiringa me te karakia whaka-mutunga i te tiri. Kaore e kitea he paenga kainga mo nga tangata ki te taha o te papa kumara, ara kaore e tukuna nga wahine ki reira ki te tahu ahi, ki te taka kai, a kaore hoki e kai nga tangata ki reira; me haere ki tahaki rawa atu nga kai mahi kai ai.
Na, kaore e takahia te papa kumara e te tangata haere, ka mutu te tangata e tukuna ki reira ko nga tangata mahi i te kumara, ahuahu, whakaepa hoki, he whakawhaiti te whakaepa, he whaka-whaiti i nga taru ki tahaki.
Ko te mahi tuatahi he karakia na te tangata, he whakapai ki nga atua mo nga kai, a, ka mutu tena katahi ka karakia kia noa ai te mara.
Ko te puke tapu mauri o te rua kumara. Ka hauhaketia te mara kumara, koia te mea tuatahi e hauhaketia; ma te tohunga e hauhake. Ka kawea nga kumara ki te tuahu tapuke ai hai whaka-here ki a Rongo maerae-roa.
Ko nga mea hai hauhake i te kumara he kaheru, he mea poto, he mea tarai ki te maire, ki te ake-rautangi ranei; ko tona kakau he mea tapuku. He mea ata kokomo ki raro o te puke, kua tae ki waenganui katahi ka whakaarahia, ara ka huripoki. Ka mutu mo tena tangata ko tena mahi anake. Na, ma nga tangata o muri e kohi i nga kai ki roto i te awa. Ko nga mea hai heri ki te rua ki tetahi o nga awa, ko nga korae, ara nga mea hai kai mo taua wa
Kaore te wahine e tukua ki te mahi hauhake. Kei te pakaritanga o te mara te tikanga mo te hauhake, kaore e ngaro, ka tawera te rau o te kumara, kua pakari. Na, ko te hauhake ka tukuna kia rewa rawa mai te ra ki runga, kia poutumaro te ra ka mutu. Ko te mahi o tena wa he kawe ki te taha o te rua tu ai, engari kua oti e te tohunga te karakia i taua rua i te ata puao o taua rangi ano. Ka tae nga kete ki reira, katahi ka noho nga tangata i whakaritea hai whakatakoto i te kumara ki roto ki te rua. E rua nga tangata, kotahi ki tetahi ki tetahi taha o te rua, kotahi ki tetahi taha. Kai te whakatakoto, kai te titiro tonu ki te kumara, me he mea kua pahore te kiri o te kumara, kua maru ranei, kua whati ranei, ka kapea tena ki waho hai kai ma nga tangata. Ko te take, koi takoto tetahi kumara pena ki roto ki te rua, ka pirau i a ia nga kumara o taua rua.
Kai te takoto tika te kaupapa o te whare, engari ko te taha ki te whatitoka nei ka maranga paku ake nei. Katahi ka ruia te kirikiri ki roto i te papa o te whare, puta noa ki te tuarongo; te matotoru kia kotahi inihi pea, he pona konui ki te karanga Maori, he kirikiri rere tona ingoa ki te Maori. Katahi ka meatia he puka ki runga i te kirikiri. (Na, ki etahi tangata, me he mea kaore he puka pera, ka tikina e ia etahi rakau, ka wahia, ka heria ki tetahi wahi onepu, ka tapuketia ki roto ki te oneone kirikiri kia pirau ai.) Ka mutu tena, katahi ka timata te whakatakoto i te kumara, kia penei te whakatakoto… Kauaka hoki e parea ko te remu o te kumara ki runga. Na, ka waiho nga tangata e kowae ana i nga kumara; ko nga mea hai kai ka wehea, ko nga mea hai purapura ka wehea. Na reira ka whakapapa tewhare kumara, ko nga mea tuatahi hai kai, ara ko nga mea hai kai ka whakapu tuatahi, kia tata ki te tatau o te rua, mo nga tangata tiki kai mai. Ka mutu tena, ka whakaturia te takitaki hai wehe i nga kai, hai wehe i nga purapura. Kia kapi te wahi i whakaritea mo nga kumara hai kai, katahi ka timata te whakatakoto i nga kumara hai purapura. Ko te takitaki ka mahia ki te manuka, he mea ta nga manuka ki runga ki te rakau ina maroke; kia horo atu nga rau katahi ka mahia. Ka oti nga purapura te whakatakoto, katahi ka whakatutukitia te pātū o te tăkŭwai.
E kore e tukuna nga wahine ki roto i te rua, he wehi mo te whakatahe te take, koi pirau nga kumara, na reira ma nga tane anake e tiki atu he kumara. Engari kia mutu te whanau tama a te wahine, katahi ka tukuna ki roto ki te rua kumara; kua maroke hoki, kua kore he toto.
Kia takoto rawa nga kumara ki roto ki te rua, katahi ka tu te hakari. Ka rangona te kupu—Ko te kumara a Mea kua heuea,—na, kua mohiotia kua takoto te hakari. kua mutu.