Under natural conditions forest foods available were roots, pith, shoots, and leaves of selected trees. Fruit and berries were also eaten in season. Most important of the root foods were the rhizomes of the bracken fern (Pteris aquilina). Special preserves of fern, some more highly esteemed than others, were carefully conserved by all tribes. Bundles of rhizomes were collected and thoroughly pounded with a wooden pounder (patu aruhe) on a stone base. The starchy material thus separated was made into cakes which were cooked in hot ashes. Fern rhizome was also cleaned and chewed raw by commoners and slaves. (See alsoPlants, Edible.)

Line fishing was the favourite method of taking fish; and a large number of hooks and even fishing lines have been preserved in museums. Dried dogfish (Mustelus and Squalus) were much esteemed as well as other small species of shark and skate. This led to a development of a variety of shark hooks which were remarkable in having plain incurved points, particularly suitable for these and similar fish. Such hooks were often made from human bones, but sometimes whale bone was used. Fisher (1935) records the use of lower jawbones of dogs in the Thames district.

Composite hooks were made in two pieces and varied greatly in form. The shank was made of wood, bone, or stone, the point being usually of bone. In many of these hooks the incurving is remarkable, provision being made for a bait string in order to secure the bait to the hook. Barracouta hooks (okooko) had straight wooden shanks with a bone point inserted at the base. These were used on the surface to take barracouta (Thyrsites atun) which was a surface fish. Using a small stout rod, the fisherman threshed the hook about on the surface of the water for the voracious barracouta to swallow. Most specialised of trolling hooks was the pa kahawai, consisting of a slightly curved wooden shank, on the inner surface of which was inlaid a section of the shell of the paua (Haliotis australis). A bone hook with an inner barb was attached below and incurved. When polished, the paua takes on a remarkable lustre which attracts surface fish. The line works on a reciprocal fashion, winding itself up to the limit and unwinding in regular fashion.

New Zealand rivers are remarkable for their large eels (Anguilla dieffenbachi and Anguilla australis). Smaller seasonal fishes were much esteemed as, for example, the whitebait (inanga) (Galaxias attenuatus) and grayling (upokororo) (Prototroctes oxyrhynchus). But eels were a main and never-failing source of food and were much in demand, being preserved by sun drying for future consumption.

In larger rivers lampreys (Geotria australis) were common, and special traps were set at weirs to take the lampreys when they ascended the rivers to spawn. Similarly, eels were taken as they migrated to the sea in the autumn. Traps for eels and lampreys, termed hinaki, were made from the slim stems of the mange-mange (Lygodium articulatum), a climbing plant. The main frame of the hinaki was constructed of supplejack (Rhipogonum scandens) split longitudinally. In front of the hinaki was a poha or lead. Eels were also taken by hand or speared at night.

The forest and its products were tapu to the god Tane. This tapu was rigorously imposed and applied not only to all forest trees but in particular to those reserved for fowling purposes. Forest birds were taken according to season and under the direction of a tohunga who conducted all operations. Most esteemed were large wood pigeons ((Hemephaga novaeseelandae) which in season were accustomed to feed on the berries of the miro (Podocarpus ferrugineus). As this induced thirst in the birds, snares were set around nearby streams, and wooden troughs (waka keruru) were placed in trees and filled with water. Additional snares were set around the margins of the troughs. Wooden snaring perches (mutu kaka) were used for taking the bush parrot (Nestor occidentalis). These perches were usually operated from platforms built in the tree itself and the parrots were attracted to the spot by means of a live decoy. Bird spears furnished with barbed points, made usually from bone, were used to take bush birds. Some of these used in tall trees were as long as 30 ft.

To assist in the general operations, it was often customary for all to take annual tribal expeditions to the forest or its neighbourhood. The work was well organised. Experts attended to the snares while others kept troughs supplied with water. Birds were collected, plucked, and deboned after which they were cooked before a fire (ahi matiti), the prepared birds being spitted on straight rods. A wooden trough received the fat from the cooking birds. Cooked birds were preserved in their own fat, usually in gourd containers (taha huahua) and these were stored in the village pataka.

Three main ground birds were the weka, the kiwi, and the kakapo. Woodhens were caught by a fowler using a simple noose at the end of a stick, the birds being attracted by means of a peculiar call and the use of a lure. Kiwi and kakapo were hunted at night with dogs. Many other species of forest birds were utilised as food.

The last great phase resulting in the introduction of new culture elements were the adventurous voyages southward of groups of Polynesians from the central Pacific, in or about A.D. 1350. This settlement ushered in the Classic period of Maori culture. Well-known canoes associated with this period were Te Arawa, Tainui, Mataatua, Kurahaupo, Tokomaru, Takitimu, Aotea, and Horouta. It is evident that virile strains of Polynesians appeared on the scene from this time. The pa or hill fort became well established and new weapons of war were evolved. Agriculture gradually developed as well as religious conceptions and cultural activities.

It is likely that the coming of the “Fleet” ushered in a new era by the introduction of food plants. These were the kumara (Ipomoea batatas), the taro (Colocasia antiquorum), the uhi or yam (Dioscorea sp.), and the hue or gourd (Laginaria vulgaris). Most esteemed was the kumara which once grew as far south as Kaiapoi in the South Island. Cultivated foods came under the rulership of the god Rongo whose emblem was placed in fields with the growing crops, all work being undertaken under the direction of a tohunga (priest). Digging sticks (ko), spades (kaheru), and weeders (ketu) were the main tools used in cultivating the ground.

Adzes of the Classic Maori period are remarkable in being polished over the whole surface and having no grip or tang. The section is quadrangular. This is the usual position; but a small number are oval in section, while greenstone or stone adze types used as chisels are often circular in section. Greenstone ornaments of varying types also appeared. Ornamental combs were used in the hair and new types of fish hooks were developed.

Maori material culture has evolved over two main periods of Polynesian settlement. The first is known as the Archaic or Moa Hunter period during which the Polynesians made their first contact with the moa, a large struthious bird which supplied them with abundant food. Actually, some of the species were relatively small. These Polynesians utilised the moa for food while from its bones they manufactured ornaments, fish hooks, bird spear points, and other items. Moas were killed by spears and traps. The Moa Hunters also appear to have eaten out the tuatara (Sphenodon) on the mainland, as evidenced by the number of lower jaws, mingled with moa remains, found in middens, at Purakanui, Otago, and elsewhere.

The earliest C.14 carbon dating for the settlement of man in New Zealand is approximately 1,000 years ago; but it is likely that future archaeological research will indicate earlier settlements. The first requirements of a primitive people landing in a new country are comparatively simple and in this order: food, clothing, and shelter. In New Zealand food would be immediately available and abundant, but the manufacture of warm garments and adequate means of obtaining shelter and warmth at night were problems which could be solved only over a period of time.

From evidence it would appear that as the first abundance of moa gradually declined in given places, the settlers then entered upon a more varied programme of fishing, fowling, and the collection of molluscs, etc. Gradually permanent or semi-permanent villages were established, giving a pattern of settlements around the coasts, often in the neighbourhood of inlets and on the banks of rivers. This pattern of settlement persisted with variations until European times. Various canoes arrived at intervals dating from the first arrivals; but Andrew Sharp (1957) believes that any landfall made in New Zealand would be a rare occurrence and would involve only small groups of Polynesians.

The Moa Hunter people were the great adze makers of New Zealand and nowhere else has such efficiency and perfection in adze making been achieved. The work of Duff (1956) has shed much new light on adzes and adze classification. Adzes were required primarily for the manufacture of canoes for transport by sea and along rivers.

Following East Polynesian models, Duff divides Moa Hunter adzes into six classes based on cross section. Classes “one” and “two” are quadrangular in cross section, the first being tanged or reduced above, while the second has only an incipient grip above. Classes “three” and “four” are triangular in section, class three being hafted with the apex of the triangle to the haft and four with the base of the triangle to the haft. “Five” is laterally hafted and “six” is circular sectioned and includes many chisel-type adzes.

The Moa Hunter people wore necklaces and pendants of drilled shark teeth, Carcharinus and Carcharodon, reels of ivory, shell, or stone, tubes of bird bone, sperm whale teeth, and porpoise teeth. A large sperm whale tooth or stone copy was used as a central pendant. In addition to these, Duff has found cloak pins, needles with case, tattooing chisel, stone fish-hook shanks as well as bone with points often drilled for attachment. Golson (1959) reviews other Moa Hunter or Archaic material including barbed points of composite fish hooks, lure hooks with stone and bone shanks, and the chevroned amulet and a patu. This period of material culture is remarkable for its lack of weapons.

Since 1930 Maori studies, which include Maori history, arts, music, games, and other elements of Maori culture, have been growing in importance as an essential part of the curriculum in several subjects both for Maori and for European pupils. The Maori language itself is being taught today in nearly all Maori district high schools and in some State and private secondary schools; tuition is also available from the Correspondence School as far as staffing allows.

Maori is accepted as a subject for School Certificate and University Entrance, and Maori Studies (Stage I and II) is accepted as a subject for an arts degree in two universities. A 1965 estimate implies that over 2,000 pupils were being taught Maori. It would appear that since English is the language of the community at large, it is essential for the Maori primary pupils to master English as a basic subject. Maori can at best be but a second language for the vast majority.

by Ihakara Porutu Puketapu, B.A., Administration Officer, Department of Maori Affairs, Wellington.

• A Grammar and Vocabulary of the Language of New Zealand, Kendall, T., and Lee, S. (1820)
• Grammar of the New Zealand Language, Maunsell, R. (1894)
• Complete Manual of Maori Grammar and Conversation, Ngata, A. T. (1948)
• Te Reo Maori – a Guide to the Study of the Maori Language, Smyth, P. (1943)
• The Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, Tregear, E. (1891)
• A Dictionary of the Maori Language, Williams, H. W. (1957)
• First Lessons in Maori, Williams, H. W. (ed.) (1940)
• Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 64 (1955), “The Compound Possessives in Maori”, Biggs, B.

Reference has already been made to the increasing amount of transliteration in the Maori language and the replacing of genuine Maori sounds. This is a disturbing trend: for example, the use of the word whara for fellow instead of tangata (man), or manna (mother) instead of whaea. In personal names also can be found the use of Maori words that are actually transliteration:

• George = Hori

• John = Hoani or Hone

• Samuel = Hamiora

• Edward = Eruera

Another disturbing feature from the point of view of the purist is the varying degrees of originality of language among the tribes. This state of affairs has been in part due to the proximity of tribes to European urban areas; for example, the South Island, Wellington, and the Wairarapa were mainly European majority areas. Tribes such as Ngati Porou and Tuhoe are far superior as far as purity of the spoken language is concerned. In these areas also there is less usage of English words and mannerisms in speaking.

It is difficult to estimate the number who now speak fluent Maori, perhaps 70 per cent of the 170,000 Maori people. But the most disturbing feature is the fact that probably only 60 per cent of the young Maori population (probably less) under 20 years of age can and do speak Maori.

Many interrelated factors, particularly the isolated location of certain groups and the general hostility that prevailed among many tribes, allowed for the development of dialectal differences during the centuries that followed the original settlement period. Generally there are two main dialects of contemporary Maori in New Zealand, namely, the western and eastern dialects. For historical reasons the Waikato-Ngapuhi dialect complex has come to be regarded as standard Maori. Briefly, some examples of dialectal differences in word usage are:

• kaika = home (South Island)

• kainga = home (most other tribes)

• tangata = man (most tribes)

• tanata = man (among Tuhoe)

• kei te pai = good (most tribes)

• kai te pai = good (among Tuhoe)

• karekau = in the negative (East Coast, Tuhoe)

• kao = in the negative (Taranaki)

In song the poetical genius of the Maori in language becomes evident. In modern times the language is regular and phrases are frequently broken up like an infant walking. In former times, especially in pre-European society, a wealth of meaning was clothed within a word or two as delectable as a proverb in its poetical form and in its musical sound. In ancient songs, particularly in karakia, there are a number of words which it is now quite impossible to elucidate. It must be supposed that these words were formerly current in the language.

To the modern mind there is a need for explanations of phrases, names, and archaic words. It has been found that there are some sacerdotal words in the songs, and some references to ancient Maori mythology. Many classical songs have been recorded in a number of books, with variations in the words from one book to another. This was inevitable, because they would go from lip to lip among the people throughout the land; on reaching some tribes a word or a name would be varied; and, because of the long period during which the circulation went on, some words were dropped or some were added. With a European as recorder, or a Maori not sufficiently literate, some of the words were wrongly spelt.

Today the number who sing the ancient Maori songs is gradually declining. Thus a new generation is growing up which, as a general rule, does not appreciate or value these ancestral treasures.

Most Maori traditional narrative includes some whakapapa or genealogical record of a connection between the various characters in the story. The web of the tale is often so entwined as to require the explanation afforded by the whakapapa.