BACK TO NATURE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 184, 24 November 1941, Page 5

BACK TO NATURE

MAORIS ANNUAL VISIT TO - WHALE ISLAND ? MUTTON BIRD SEASON COMMENCES The past lew (lays have found Whakatane invaded by large numbers ol' the Maori race hailing' from all parts of tjie Bay, the reason for this being that on Friday the mutton bird season commenced its short life, and for the next week, Whale Island, usually uninhabited, Avill be a scene of great activity and industry. Perhaps it is not generally known that each year between three and four thousand birds are captured by the Maoris on the Island, and that the financial yield is one of importance to the native community, which in happy, carefree style shift camp to the Island and make a'-p+ea-sant week a profitable pastime. Transported by launch across the eight miles of the Bay to the Whale families, part families and individuals of ages varying and of wide range spend the season living as their forefathers did before the coming of the pakeha. Their life reverts close to nature and the Whale provides for them those natural foods so dear tOs the Native palate. Life goes along on communal lines and the week marks one of the happiest periods of the year for those who take part. Protected' For Maoris The mutton bird is protected until the season opens and then only members of the Maori race may enjoy the pleasure and profits of the hunting. The method of capture is a unique one and peculiar the genius of the race, while the allocation of hunting rights is novel and similai to the method adopted in the old 'days of gold rushes in ether countries. Having settled on the island, the women cooking and doing the chores in the camps set utp by the men, while the latter prepare for then thrilling sport, at a given time all hunters congregate. A signal is given and then a rush is made for plots which each has before selected as his objective and the lucky first arrival "stakes his claim." Capture af Birds The old system of "first come, first served" prevails, and perhaps, wiiile the weight of years handicaps some against the speed and agility ot other younger hunters, often it is found that the -wisdom of the older head bears them in good stead in their choice. Then the fun commences, the burrows being probetL with manuka sticks or some similar implement ; and the helpless nestling drawn forth, its vigorous protests being swelled by the shrill squawking of the parent birds circling overhead. To the pakeha the method of capture and despatch may appeal as cruel, but to the Maori it marks an age old custom of the coastal tribes and a means which in days, gone by provided them Avith one of their stable foods. Many Other Delicacies Coinciding with the readiness of the mutton birds for hunting, the season for other foods beloved by the Maoris is also at hand, and bath-1 ing in the blue bays of the island pleasure is again turned to profit, ' a dive and search in rocky ledges frequently resulting in a swimmer regaining the surface bearing one \ and even two struggling crayfish. The Maori is an adept at thisi art and, when espying a cray, loses no time in grasping it firmly behind its pincers and taking it on the first stage of its journey to the hangis where the wahines and maidens await to prepare the tastv foods. The cray abounds in the rocky underwater ledges as also do crowds r of sea eggs, which rapidly diminish in numbers as the divers go to work, The appetising menu also frequently includes the tasty pawas S which find the rocky pools ideal, until they find their wiles outdone by ® those of the expert diver. Around the Camp Fire p The day's work over, the feast ent _ joyed, the members of the tempors ary community' of the Whale may be found sitting around a camp fire at rest, with songs, stories and other s musical items providing a relaxaa tion before an early rest is sought that the morrow will find all fresh and ready for the hunt. Ranks Diminished In past years the visitors to the 11 island have numbered well over the hundred mark, but this year may 1_ find the ranks diminished and many l '~ familiar faces missing, the call to * arms being responsible for the absence of hitherto prominent hunters.