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Kōrero: Rural language

Travelling on a mōkihi

Image
Travelling on a mōkihi

The mōkihi (known to Europeans as a moki or moggy) was a raft made of bundles of flax or raupō (bulrush) stalks. It was invented and used by Māori, but some Europeans also used the craft when exploring their new country. This sketch by missionary Richard Taylor shows a Māori crossing a river on a raupō mōkihi, probably in the 1840s.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: E-296-q-165-1

by Richard Taylor

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Dianne Bardsley, Rural language – Māori influences, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/artwork/18587/travelling-on-a-mokihi (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Dianne Bardsley, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009.