Ia tau ka heke ngā tuna ki te moana whakawhānau ai. He nui ngā tuna ka mahia e te Māori i tēnei wā.
Te heke i Te Wairarapa
Ka rere ngā tuna o te rohe o Te Wairarapa mā te roto o Te Wairarapa, kuhu atu ai mā te roto o Ōnoke, rere ai mā te awaawa kōhatuhatu, kia puta ki te moana.
Nō te tau 1965 ka kōrero te kaumātua rā a Tame Saunders mō ngā momo tuna heke, rere kotahi katoa ai tēnā momo tuna, tēnā momo tuna, tēnā momo tuna: tuatahi ko ngā hao (30 henemita te roa), whai muri ko ngā riko (he kākāriki te tuarā, kotahi mita te roa), ngā paranui (he pango te tae, he kiri mātotoru), kātahi ngā tuna kōkopu (tae ki te 1.8 mita te roa, hāwhe koma-mano te taumaha).
Ngā kupenga me ngā hīnaki
I te wā o te heke tuna ka kati te putanga i Ōnoke ki te moana. I reira ka takoto ngā kupenga me ngā hīnaki, kia haere ngā tuna mā tētahi ara kotahi, tē puta. Ka whakatakoto ngā hīnaki i te pō, hei te ata hīkina ake ai.
Te kōumu
Ka whakamārama a Tame Saunders mō te hopu tuna ki Te Wairarapa mā te kōumu:
Ko tētahi anō tikanga hopu tuna ko te keri rua i te one e 10 iāri atu i te pito o te roto. Kātahi ka keria he awaawa mai i te roto ki te rua. Ka kī ana te rua i te wai ka rere ngā tuna ki roto. Ka kī te rua i te tuna, ka pāpuni te taha o te roto, ka pau te wai, ka mau ngā tuna. 1
Karakia
He maha ngā karakia e pā ana ki te mahi tuna – tae atu ki ngā karakia mō te ika tuatahi rawa. He karakia tōmina tuna ki roto i te hīnaki:
Tēnā te puna kei Hawaiki,
Te pū kei Hawaiki,
Te puna kei Rangiriri.
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Te huaki i ngā roto
I mua o te Pākehā, ka waipuke te roto o Te Wairarapa ina kati ana te ngutu o te roto o Ōnoke. Ko te hiahia o ngā tāngata whai me ngā kaiahuwhenua kia noho tuwhera te pūaha kia kore ai e waipuke te whenua. Ka mautohe te Māori i tēnei āhuatanga kei kore ngā tuna. I te tau 1896 ka tukuna ngā roto e ngā iwi o Te Wairarapa ki te Karauna. Whāia, ka keria te pūaha o Ōnoke kia noho tuwhera ki te moana i ngā wā katoa.
Ngā heke tuna ki Te Wai Pounamu
Te Waihora
Mahia ai ngā tuna ki Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) mā te tikanga kōumu. Keria ai ngā awaawa roa i te ngutu kirikiri kei waenganui i te roto me te moana; kotahi mita te whānui, e 60 mita te roa. Ka rere mai te wai, ka rere mai hoki ngā tuna. Kātahi ka pākatia te putanga o te awaawa ki te kōhatu ki ngā kupenga rānei kīia ai he kōhau.
Wairewa
Hei te ngahuru ka whakawhiti ngā tuna i te roto o Wairewa (Lake Forsyth) mā te tāhuna kirikiri kīia ai ko Birdling’s Flat. Ka hopukina ka raparapa ēnei tuna hei kai ā te wā. He tikanga mahi kai tawhito tēnei, e mahia tonutia ana i ēnei rā tonu.
