The Earth Oven, umu.

Apart from grilling, all cooking was done in the earth oven, umu. In the settlements, the umu was in the rounded open end of the cooking house. A round shallow hole was page 53dug in the earth and, in some cases, the sides were lined with stones to prevent the earth falling in. The hole was not quite so deep as in the Maori umu.

The stones used for heating were the kind known as pohata maori as they do not crack or splinter. The stone called pohatu aoa was not used, as it splinters and flies when heated. In temporary ovens by the seaside or at the cultivations, if a pohatu aoa is put on the fire by the inexperienced, it is very quickly scraped off by the older people.