This extract from the lullaby ‘Pō, pō’, performed by the Waihirere Māori Club, tells how the kūmara (sweet potato) – a vital source of food for the ancient Māori – was brought to New Zealand. Various tribes provide different accounts of who was responsible for bringing it: Tūranganui-a-Kiwa people believe that the ancestor Hine Hakirirangi carried kūmara from Hawaiki in a sacred basket.
Using this item
Sound Archives / Ngā Taonga Kōrero
Reference: N. Z. Polynesian Festival 1986 - Waihirere Gisborne/MPT 1390
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