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Story: Eating

Meal time in a Māori village

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Meal time in a Māori village

This idealised but charming painting by Gottfried Lindauer, 'The time of kai [food]' (1907), shows a traditional Māori community eating a meal together. Shellfish, corn and potatoes are being eaten by hand from woven flax baskets. Women and children are clustered around a hāngī (earth oven) in the foreground.

Using this item

Auckland Art Gallery – Toi o Tāmaki

Reference: 1915/2/48

by Gottfried Lindauer

Permission of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Kerryn Pollock, Eating – Meals, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/38597/meal-time-in-a-maori-village (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Kerryn Pollock, published 20 November 2012.