Kōrero: South Canterbury region

Kōuka

Kōuka

Tī (cabbage tree) was an important food source for Māori. The kōata (part of the stem) was broken and cooked to form kōuka, a food similar to an artichoke heart. Māori planted the trees in groves to attract kererū (New Zealand pigeons), and caught the birds in snares made from the leaves.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Canterbury University Press
Reference: Philip Simpson, Dancing leaves: the story of New Zealand's cabbage tree, tī kōuka. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 2000, p.150.
Photograph by Philip Simpson

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

John Wilson, 'South Canterbury region - Māori in South Canterbury', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/photograph/11325/kouka (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā John Wilson, updated 1 Feb 2017