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Kōrero: Northland region

Sorting kūmara

Image
Sorting kūmara

Growing kūmara (sweet potato) was a traditional activity that some northern Māori turned into a trade, selling the vegetable to European settlers who had not yet established their own crops. Here, two women of Awanui, Ngāwini Hetaraka (left) and Ngāhuia Hetaraka, sort the crop and pack it into kete (flax kits).

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-111795; F

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

Claudia Orange, Northland region – Māori society: 1840–1900, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/7601/sorting-kumara (accessed 14 July 2026).

He kōrero nā Claudia Orange, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.