Pātaka (storehouses) were used to keep preserved food – fish, birds, kao (a kūmara preparation) – or seed safe from kiore (Pacific rats) in winter. Pātaka were entered through a trapdoor in the floor; the small opening at the front was a window.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
PUBL-0014-30
Lithograph by George French Angas
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.
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