Manu Patiki

There were two forms of kite known as manu patiki, one of a diamond shape, and the other oval or egg-shaped, and both of these had long tails (waero), which were made by tying feathers on to a cord. These kites were so named because they resembled the patiki fish (flounder) in form. The frame of the diamond form of kite was composed of four light manuka rods for the outsides, and another across the middle to act as a brace or tie. At the top was a projecting toetoe plume which served to steady the kite, in conjunction with the tail. At each of the two lateral corners were bunches of pigeon's feathers, which tended to keep the kite upright. Tail feathers of the pigeon were used for the kite tail and side bunches (puhipuhi), of which feathers the tuaka, or quills, had been removed, or rather the feathers (vanes) had been stripped from the quill or shaft in such a manner as to retain a portion of its epidermis. Thus, instead of the plumes being stiff, they were pliant, and thus looked much better when used singly or in bunches than they would if stiffened by their shafts. The covering material, of raupo or some other material, was tied on the framework across and at right angles to the central rod. As an additional bracing to the kite, two cords were tied across it, one between the lateral corners, and one from top to bottom; thus these two cords crossed each other in the centre of the kite, at which place also the flying cord was secured.

The egg-shaped, or balloon shaped kite was simply made by bending a small pliant rod of manuka into the desired form and then lashing straight pieces of rod across it. Across this framework the covering was laced on, and the projecting ends neatly trimmed off round the outside of the frame. The tail, with its bunches of feathers, steadied the kite, if not sufficiently so then small pieces of wood were fastened to the tail in order to render it heavier. The flying cord was secured to the crosspiece in the centre of the kite.

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In the Wai-rarapa district the general term for kites was pakau (a word denoting the wing of a bird), while such as had wings attached were described as pakau roharoha (expanded wings). Kakaho (culms of Arundo conspicua) were often used in making the framework, which was covered with leaves of raupo (Typha augusti-folia), kiekie (Freycinetia Banksii), or kuta (Eleocharis sphacelata), or with the prepared bark of the ante (Broussonetia papyrifera). Leaves of the kuta, or kutakuta, a species of rush, were split, scraped and dried as covering for the ordinary child's kite. The horewai was a common form of kite, the frame of which was covered with leaves of the raupo, a common bulrush. It lacked wings but often had bunches of feathers attached to its upper and lower ends; it was used by children. The manu aute was a frame work covered with the prepared bark above mentioned. This was a superior form made in different shapes, one of which, having a body of convex form in front, with head, legs, and long wings attached, was known as a pern. It is doubtful if the aute was cultivated in the Wairarapa district, but it is said to have been grown in the Napier district.

The adornment of kites was not confined to the attachment of feathers, the materials with which the light frames were covered were sometimes dyed certain colours. Hence a kite might be partly black and partly the natural colour of the covering material, or one with a red body might have light coloured wings, or black wings be provided for a light coloured body. Thus there was no uniformity and each owner readily recognised his own kite. Those of superior make were named after ancestors, or a living relative of the owner; even the flying cord might be given a special name.

Some kites were of a great size. When such large kites were to be flown, they were laid on a high scaffold, the top of which was composed of three horizontal bars so fixed that the kite lay in a slanting position at a considerable angle, where it was secured with a cord. When all was ready, then the cord securing the kite to the flying stage was released, and the kite was carried up by the wind as the two cord holders payed out the line. It is said that some of the larger forms of kites had two cords attached to them so that more control was retained over them than could be possible with a single cord. The cord holders in such cases were stationed a considerable distance apart, which arrangement enabled them to check the kite when it swooped.

Manu taratahi were sometimes made specially for purposes of divination. Should such ceremonial be connected with the death of a person, then the kite would be named after such person. Some four hundred years ago there was trouble at Turanga over the death of page 136two boys named Tara-ki-uta and Tara-ki-tai, who had been slain by a chief named Rakai-hikuroa. The mother of the missing lads, being unable to trace them, or detect the cause of their death, placed the matter in the hands of priestly experts. Those experts, constructed two taratahi kites, which were named after the missing lads, and flown with appropriate ceremonial as an act of divination, in order to discover the person who had been responsible for the disappearance of the boys. Tradition states that both kites persistently hovered over Te Upoko o Taraia, the fortified village of Rakai-hikuroa, situated on a hill near Repo-ngaere Lake, hence a force at once marched to attack that place. The fight ended in the discomfiture of the guilty chief, whose son Tupurupuru was slain.

The occurrence described above opens up an interesting subject, and illustrates an extraordinary belief and practice of barbaric man, one that led to much injustice and undeserved suffering. It emphasises the irresponsible behaviour of persons saturated with supersition and swayed by strange beliefs, and reminds us of the days when we were slaying so-called witches with abominable tortures. On the death of a person it might be that black magic was suspected and so some puerile ceremony would be performed in order to ascertain who the wizard was. A party would then proceed to slay the hapless wizard, and probably others would lose their lives during the affray. All this trouble would be the result of something as trivial as a falling leaf, a puff of wind, or a sigh emitted by a dying person, combined with the qualities above mentioned. The scientist tells us that man has been on the face of the earth somewhere about 200,000 years, yet the ashes of those witch burning fires are scarcely cold. But let us return to our kites.

Young folks occasionally played a joke on their elders by flying a kite at night, and attaching to it a firebrand. They would then run, in great apparent excitement, to their elders and inform them that a fiery demon was darting about in the heavens.

The descendants of Porourangi tell us that, on the death of that ancestor at Whangara, a kite was flown in order to acquaint other places with the fact. Tahu, then living in the South Island, is said to have seen the kite, and so hastened northward!

In the Grey collection at the Auckland Public Library is a Ms. book written by Wi Marsh, a Rotorua native, in which some interesting items may be noted. The task of the writer was to explain obscure passages, etc., in the Maori songs published by Sir George Grey. In a dissertation on the old Maori kite the above writer gives the following information, which, by grace of the courtesy of the librarian of the above institute, we are allowed to make use of:—

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The Maori kite was called a manu or pakau (the former word means 'bird,' the latter 'wing,') and these were made for flying during the social meetings of the people, many such being used on those occasions. The names of the different forms of kites were as follows:—

Manu paitiiti.
Manu patiki.
Manu totoriwai.
Manu aute.
Manu whara.
Manu kaka.

These were the various kites made and flown by the Maori during their social gatherings. At such times many persons would bring kites, each person flying his own. Among a number, only a few, perhaps three, would fly in a perfect manner, quite upright and steady. Some would sag to one side, or be unsteady; while others became uncontrollable, darting violently to and fro until broken by such violent motions.

The writer here depicts in his Ms. a kite of the same form as the specimen in the Auckland Museum, and which was, in former times,, covered with prepared aute bark, and hence termed a manu aute. A cord is shown attached by its ends to the frame of the kite on either side of the neck or head, in the form of a loop, and to this the long flying cord was attached. The writer remarks that a cord for this type of kite was about three hundred yards in length,^* while that for the larger kites, such as the manu whara and manu kaahu might be 1,200 or even 2,000 yards in length. The Maori, however, has but a very crude idea of distance as expressed in English terms, and we cannot place much reliance on such statements. We are also told that from five to thirty men were employed in flying, or in raising, the kite known as a manu whara, though what thirty men could be needed for around even a large kite is not clear.

The head of the kite was adorned with feathers of the pigeon, and within the head were placed pipi (cockle) shells which made a rattling sound when the kite was agitated by the wind.

The writer speaks of the wings of kites flapping or moving in the wind, a peculiarity also noted by Tuta Nihoniho. The head of the manu whara was adorned with plumes and feathers of the albatross, and bunches of the soft feathers of that bird were attached to its ears.

The manu aute is said to have been the best form of kite to fly, presumably on account of the material it was covered with, but it was not flown to the distance that some others were.

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The manu whara was also a fine kite; the sticks of its frame, on which the raupo or other covering material was laced, projected upwards from the body of the kite. Should this form swoop down to earth, these projecting points, if they came in contact with a person, would pierce his body, hence such a movement on its part caused great alarm. On account of its being dangerous, many persons were employed in raising it for flight, for, when the wind caught it, it swooped about like a live hawk. Many persons were employed to hold its cord when flown, and the releasers of the kite moved away from the cord holders some one or two hundred yards, ere they let it go. Such a kite, when restrained, moved and darted about like a good dancer, and, when released, the rattling of the shells in its head resembled the noise made by a ship's anchor chain when the anchor is released. At such a time, it was remarked—"Ahaha! Me te kete kainga e riringi ana ki te pari" (like the sound of a basket of refuse shells being thrown down a cliff), an allusion to a mode of disposing of all refuse when occupying cliff perched forts.

An inferior kite, when released, ascended in a reluctant manner, and swooped back to earth, or shook violently. The shaking is, however, a minor evil, and one that may be remedied; it means that the tahuhu (cord) is too tight and needs slacking. But the kite that swoops about in an erratic manner is doomed to be broken.

The above information given by the native writer was written in explanation of a phrase in a Maori song in Sir G. Grey's published collection (page 113).

"Taku manu korero tiu ana ki te muri."

The widow composed a lament for Hihi, her dead husband, comparing him to a singing bird on account of his powers as an orator; and to a kite swooping down to earth as being emblematical of his death.

An interesting paper on Maori kites, by Archdeacon Walsh, published in Vol. 45 of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, is based on the above manuscript. It is, however, doubtful if manu aute was ever used in a general sense, or applied to kites made of any other material. Also there is apparently some error in a remark made at page 378 concerning a kite "made of the stems of the kakaho (Arundo conspicua) lashed on to the flowering panicles of the same, no other material being used." The Archdeacon refers to the song or charm repeated by kite flyers as a turu manu. One such in the White Mss. is termed a turu, another is styled a karakia tuku manu pakaukau, a winged-kite flying charm. The transcription of these presents difficulties, hence they are not inserted herein.

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The Archdeacon draws attention to a very curious custom, or at least occasional occurrence of former times, in which a flying kite was released and followed, and the land on which it descended claimed and occupied by the kite flyers; he gives several instances of this singular act. The final anecdote in the above paper, that concerning the marooned woman is probably somewhat confused. As told by Te Awanui, of Omarumutu, to the writer, it appears more probable. The woman was marooned on a small island by her jealous husband. She conceived the idea of sending a token to her friends per medium of a kite. Having constructed the kite, she waited until a wind was blowing from the island in the direction of her home, where her own folk lived. She then attached an ornamental pendant she wore to the kite, and allowed the kite to mount to a considerable height ere releasing it. The kite eventually descended in the district occupied by her own people, who recognised the attached pendant and its purport. They eventually found and rescued the maroon, and all ended happily. The adventure is said by Bay of Plenty natives to have been a local one, but may, like many other Maori tales, have been introduced from Polynesia and localised here.

The kite preserved in the Auckland Museum is not an old one, as it is said to have been made in the 'sixties' of last century. It is interesting as preserving the form, or one of the forms, in which the Maori kite was made. It is shown in Fig. 32 (p. 139). Its breadth across the wings is about twelve feet, the wings being widest in the middle of the kite, where they measure 12 in. or 14 in., but only about 5 in. at their extremities. The framework of these wings is composed of twelve small, light wooden rods arranged lengthwise, page 140 the two outer ones being the largest. Across these, at right angles, are lashed short, light wands or twigs, arranged in series of six each, with a space of two inches or so between each two series. The body framework is made in the same manner, and is about seven inches wide near the wings, increasing in width downwards to about fourteen inches at the base.

The frame is covered with leaves of the raupo, or bulrush, arranged longitudinally and each leaf tied on to the frame. Some European cloth has also been used in places.

The diminutive legs terminate each in four claws. The head is not flat, but has prominent features, brow, nose and lips, and feathers are fastened on it on the upper part. There is no cord attached to the kite.

With regard to the bird shaped kite formerly used, Tuta Nihoniho states that, on the East Coast, the head of the kite was made to resemble that of a man. It was a piece of thin, light wood, flat behind, but had human features carved on it in front, and pieces of Haliotis shell inserted as eyes. Its upper part was covered with dog's hair and ornamented with feathers, such hair being also used as a beard. The wings were not rigid, but were so constructed as to move when the kite was flown, hence it somewhat resembled a bird flying. The wings were of considerable length, and came to a point at the ends. Two legs were formed below, and the flying cord was secured to the middle of the kite.

A kite made by an old native of the Bay of Islands district shows a rectangular form with two short wings or projections of similar form. The frame is composed of rush stems about one line in thickness and the covering is composed of dried flattened leaves of upoko-tangata, a sedge. The specimen is merely a small kite, such as were used by children, but is interesting because such items have not been deemed worthy of collection in past decades, though useful as illustrations of old time Maori life. This kite is shown as Fig. 33 (p. 141).

The strongest part of the frame is the middle, where four rush stems are placed together, two on either side of the thin sedge leaf covering material. Near the outer edges of the body of the kite are two such ribs, each formed of two rush stems, one on either side of the leaves. These opposing ribs are, in each case, bound to each other by a running lacing of fine Phormium twine, passed round the two, or four opposing stems between each two leaves. These flattened leaves are from ⅝ to ¾ of an inch in width. In the centre of the spaces on either side of the midrib a lacing of fine twine serves to keep the leaves in position. The wings are stiffened and the body braced page 141 by two series of three rush stems each, across the ends of which are tied short pieces of rush stem, one on each side of the leaves.

This little kite is fourteen inches deep in the body, and eleven inches wide, the wings projecting out three inches on either side. The structure is extremely light, and this item is but a child's toy, a diminutive specimen, but it is probably the only one of an upoko-tangata kite in existence.

The above described kite was made by an old native of the Taiamai district, and was obtained by Mr Neilsen of Ohaeawai. He remarks that additional pieces of rush should be inserted in the wings. The cord was secured near the middle of the kite, and the place to attach it so that the kite would balance well was found by experimenting. If it flew in a lopsided manner, then the cord would be moved a little, until the fabric balanced well in flight.

In his story of the life of the Maori chief Nuku-pewapewa, Mr. Downes gives some account of a curious use of a kite made in the Wairarapa district about eight generations ago. It appears that Nuku was trying to take a fortified village known as Maunga-rake, which, however, defied all his efforts at first. He then conceived the brilliant idea of lowering a man from an adjacent cliff or hillside by means of a kite, under cover of night; so that he might open up the gateway of the pa to admit the besiegers; the garrison keeping no watch apparently. The story goes:—"He built a huge raupo kite, something in the shape of a bird with great extended wings, and during the darkness of night he fastened one of his men to this kite and floated him over the cliff by means of a cord into the pa below. The man quietly opened up the entrance, and when all was ready, at a given signal, Nuku lowered his men, four and five together by means of a forest vine, and before morning the pa was taken." Such is the legend. We are not told why it was necessary to lower page 142men down cliffs when the entrance to the place was open, such discrepancies frequently occur in Maori narratives.

The name kopekope was applied by a native to a kite furnished with a round head that had features marked on both sides of it. Presumably the word applied to the covering material of the kite frame.

According to the Rev. R. Taylor, toetoe nati pakau is the name of a grass used in making kites. It is probably another name for Mariscus ustulatus. The word nati describes the lacing process by means of which the Maori fastened things together side by side, as in the covering of a kite frame with leaves.

We have now seen that the native kites were of several different forms, bird shaped, triangular, oval, lozenge shaped, and the peculiar cross-like Ngapuhi form. Another style, of triangular form, formerly made by the Tuhoe folk, was not uniform in outline, but irregular, showing two short projections on either side. (See Fig. 31, p. 134). Some of these kites were used without any form of tail, or balancing attachment of a trailing form, others were, apparently, provided with such attachments.

No information is available as to kite flying as an amusement at Fiji, but the war kite mentioned by Thomson is explained by Wilkes:—"A town, when besieged, has also its signal of pride. This consists of a sort of kite of a circular shape, made of palm leaves, and decorated with ribands of white and coloured tapa. When an enemy approaches the town, if the wind be favourable, the kite is raised by means of a very long cord. The cord is passed through a hole made near the top of a pole thirty or forty feet in height, which is erected in a conspicuous part of the town. The cord is then drawn backwards and forwards through the hole, in such a manner as to be kept floating as a signal of defiance immediately over the approaching enemy."

Ellis gives uo as the Tahitian name for a kite, and remarks:— "The Tahitian kite was different in shape from the kites of the English boys. It was made of light native cloth, instead of paper, and formed in shape according to the fancy of its owner." A native of Tahiti informed the writer that pauma is the general term for kites, and that pauma uo is a name applied to one kind, which is covered with uo, a kind of bark cloth.

In his Myths and Songs from the South Pacific, the Rev. W. Gill gives illustrations of three different forms of kites used by the Cook Islanders. The ua-moa (hua moa=hen's egg) is an oval kite resembling a Maori form noted above. See Fig. 34 (p. 143). The perue has wing extensions, and the taiaro is a diamond form. In each case a bunch page 143 of feathers is attached to the lower extremity of the kite, and each is provided with a tail composed of a string having bunches of yellow ti leaves tied on at intervals, and a bunch of feathers at the lower extremity. The taiaro has six of the yellow bunches attached to its tail, and these are said to represent the six stars of the Pleiades. The perue has three such bunches, to correspond with Tautoru (the three bright stars in Orion's Belt). The ua-moa has four bunches, to correspond with the Twins and their parents.

In Fig. 35 we have a peculiar form of kite from the New Hebrides, while Fig. 36 shows another from the Banks Group.

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In the Hawaiian Isles kites appear to have been termed lupe (Maori rupe), a name applied to the dove and wood pigeon. In shape it was long and narrow, like the kites of the Gilbert Islands and made of pandanus leaves, or of bark cloth.

In the Solomon Group kites were used by fishermen, who attached their lines to the cord of the kite, which was flown from a canoe. One of these palm leaf fishing kites is in the British Museum and is shown in Fig. 37, as taken from the Edge-Partington Album, first series. This kite is 32 inches by 12 inches.

The late Professor Tylor has told us that kites were introduced into Europe about three centuries ago from Asia where kite flying was patronised by persons of all ages. Kites have been known in China from very early times and probably originated in South Eastern Asia. This writer believed that kites spread from Malaysia to the Pacific Isles.