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The Pa Maori

Description of Otumatua Pa, Taranaki District

Description of Otumatua Pa, Taranaki District

The following notes on an old time pa of the Taranaki district were written by Mr. W. H. Skinner, and published in vol. 20 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society:—

page 190

"It is now proposed to describe in detail, so far as we are able, a typical ancient fort, and for this purpose have selected the Otumatua pa, a stronghold of the fighting Ngati-Tama tribe of Northern Taranaki. This pa, a plan of which accompanies this article (see Fig. 49, p. 191), is situated on the sea coast about one mile south of Puke-aruhe. … The summit of this pa commanded the most comprehensive view of the coast line of any of the numerous pa along the coastal belt….

"The pa of Otumatua is situated on an isolated hill or dyke, rising from the sea cliffs which here drop sheer into deep water, to a height of about 220 feet above sea level, and eighty to one hundred feet above the general level of the surrounding country, from which it is separated by a shallow valley. The hill has been scarped out as usual, with terraces on which were built the houses, the principal chief and his family occupying the summit (tihi or toi), and which was the stronghold or keep of the pa. It is possible that on the flat summit, which measures about fifty yards by twenty yards, was also situated the marae or open plaza of the town, where meetings of the tribe were held to discuss important questions: where guests were received, and returning war parties were welcomed; and all important functions held.

"Each terrace was protected by wooden palisades made of the stems of trees of a considerable size firmly secured together by cross beams by means of lashings made of the aka vines of the forest, with here and there larger posts, named tumu, prepared with more care, and which projected above the line of palisades, being carved with conventionalised human figures of the ordinary kind, hideous in appearance.

"In the outside line of palisades there were gateways here and there, called waharoa* which could be closed at will, and were so arranged that no direct attack could be made on them, for they were defended by short, outside, semi-detached lines of palisading directly in front of the gateway, obliging anyone entering to approach the gate from right or left, and this exposing them to the spear thrusts of those inside the main palisading. The main gateway and entrance to Otumatua was at its north east angle, and at the lowest point of the outworks of the pa, and close to the edge of the sea cliff near to the spot marked '100 feet above sea' on plan, the approach being between the curved outlying double bank and trench (palisaded), as shown on sketch. It will be seen at once that the site selected for the main gateway was well chosen as being most difficult for an

* The waharoa was a narrow passage that extended from the gateway to the interior of the pa. The gateway was called kuwaha.—E.B.

page 191 Fig. 49—Plan of Otumatua Pa, Taranaki. After Skinner assaulting party to gain an entrance from here to the tihi or citadel, and as lending itself for defence at many points along the line or passage way up to the tihi. This passage way skirted along the bottom of the northern face of the pa, a very steep, almost perpendicular hillside, forty to fifty feet high, and the edges of the sheer sea cliff. Projecting over and commanding this passage way from above would be the taumaihi, or fighting stages, well stored with stones of various sizes for hurling down upon the heads of enemies, should they succeed in gaining an entrance through the main gateway. These taumaihi were also built at suitable angles and projections of the outworks of the pa, and were a special feature of the fighting pa of the mid-Taranaki tribes.

"The inner palisades were provided with openings for passage, which were barred with a low line of palisades, pua kainga, over which the inhabitants passed by means of short notched logs placed on the slant like ladders.

page 192

"In nearly all pa the water supply was usually a matter of difficulty, and it was the first aim of the besiegers to cut off this supply, and thus reduce the besieged pa to terms. Many a tale is told of the extremities to which forts have been reduced on this account.

"In the case of Otumatua, however, the people luckily possessed a never failing spring of water running out of the seaward slope of the hill within the pa. The water was led into, and collected in basins hewn out of the hard sandstone rock upon which the pa rests.

"The terraces on the top of which the palisades were erected, are of varying heights, ranging from about fifteen to twenty feet in the main walls, to from six to ten feet in those of minor importance lying within the greater outworks, and were originally almost perpendicular. Outside the principal lines of palisades, at the base of the scarps, deep ditches were dug, which added immensely to the strength of the defences. In some well known pa these fosses are of enormous size, causing wonder at the amount of work executed by aid of the old wooden ko, or spade, often in a soil so hard that Europeans would be obliged to use pickaxes in excavating them. The palisades themselves were sometimes erected on a bank a few feet high, running along the top of the terraces.

"On the upper terrace would be the council house, used also as a guest's house, besides the houses of the principal families of the pa. … The closely related families lived together, usually within a sub-enclosure within the pa, in which were frequently several houses. Near each families' quarters were the underground rua, or pits, in which the kumara and other stores were preserved. These pits are a prominent feature in all Taranaki pa. They were usually six to eight feet deep, and eight to ten feet wide at the bottom, but narrowing upwards to the entrance, which was about two feet square, lined with slabs of the fibrous matter cut from the wheki tree fern, which would certainly last over one hundred years. It was only the square upper part of the pit that was so lined to a depth of eighteen inches or two feet. The pit mouth was covered with slabs of the same tree fern. Sometimes the storehouses were sunk in the ground three or four feet, and the whole covered with a image of inverted v shape shaped roof made of slabs, and outside them a covering of earth. Again, there would be other kinds of storehouses (pataka) built on piles, sometimes on tree trunks twenty feet in the air, frequently very handsomely carved and painted red with kokowai, or oxide of iron. In these were stored arms, utensils, fishing nets, and other valuable property. The people of the Taranaki coast, however, did not excel in house carving, like the tribes of the East Coast.

page 193

"On the lower terraces of the pa, near the sea, would be seen long lines of stages or racks, whata mango, on which were dried the sharks to serve as winter provisions. It is somewhat difficult to estimate what the population of a pa of this size would be. If we say from five to seven hundred it would probably be about the mark. This number would, of course, be greatly increased in time of war, when all those who lived at their distant cultivations would be gathered into the fort.

"All signs of houses, palisading, or other woodwork having disappeared from Otumatua, it is impossible now to give the sites of certain particular parts of a pa, such as obtained in all of them; but we give below a description of a few features that were common to all pa formerly.

"The main gateway of a pa was in the outer line of palisades,* and was usually handsomely carved. From it a main street, or way, often very narrow, led through the pa, and this was called the riuroa. There were narrow cross ways leading from the riuroa, to give access to other parts, which were called riuroa mataiti, and from these access to the different divisions of the pa, where the family groups lived, was secured through the sub-palisading by stiles, called pua kainga, with steps cut in inclined logs. The double palisading often found, especially in modern times, on the outside defences, was called aparua, and the outside and lowest of all the lines of palisading was called pekerangi; the inside one in the double line was the kiritangata. The wall was called parepare (maioro in the older form of pa), and the narrow space between the kiritangata and parepare was the taitai. The usual slope or glacis outside the pekerangi was called tahitahi. In modern fortifications, where the double line of palisades was used, the latter were pierced for firing through, and these apertures were called whakarua-kotare. The top of the parepare, or bank, on which the two lines of palisades stood, was called the huka. The gateways were supported by huge posts, carved and painted, called tukuaru, and the tall posts projecting above the palisades, and generally carved with grotesque heads, were called tumu….

"Near the residence of the tohunga, or priest, was a small enclosure fenced around with high posts, in which was an erection called Te Pou tapu, in the form of a canoe, and fixed in the ground. This was the sacred place of the pa, the tuahu tapatai, sacred altar; into this enclosure only the priest entered, except when for any purpose some one of the people desired the aid of the priest; under such circumstances he was allowed within whilst the incantations or ceremonies

* Not always so.-E.B.

page 194were going on. … It was from this sacred enclosure that the priest addressed the people when the will of the gods required to be made known.

"There was also a latrine provided in a pa, usually called the paepae whakariro, or paepae hamuti, also paepae o Whaitiri, etc., with which were concerned some important ceremonies of initiation. A tree projecting out over an out of the way corner of the fortification, or over the edge of the cliff on which the fort stood, was often selected or used as the latrine.

"In many pa, particularly those situated in more or less flat country, there was a high tower of wood erected near the main entrance, called a taumaihi, from which the watchman could observe the approach of anyone. These towers had two or three, sometimes more, stories floored with poles, and large quantities of stones were stored on them to cast down on an enemy.

"The cooking houses were kept separate from the living houses, for all food was considered contaminating, and a defilement to the tapu of the dwelling. These cooking houses were called kauta, and were roofed sheds with open sides, but, as the firewood was stored along the open parts, it formed rough walls when the place was fully stocked with wood."

In his account of the storming of the Rewarewa pa near New Plymouth, Mr. Skinner speaks of the gateway having been closed by a heavy piece of wood that was slid into position.

Mr. Grace speaks of the entrance to a pa at the gateway as being four feet square and two or three feet from the ground, made so that an intruder could be easily knocked on the head as he entered in a stooping posture.