MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 August 1940, Page 8

MAORI MEMORIES

FLESH AND FISH. (Recorded by J.H.S., of Palmerston North for the “Times-Age.”)

In the absence of ordinary flesh foods and limited means of bird cap-, litre. Maori instinct naturally called for the little blue rat (kiore) which haunted the raupo huts for shelter. Being vegetarians, this flesh was tender and juicy. Steamed in the earth oven, they were even enjoyed by Pakeha visitors who did not realise that the body had not been opened. Seals <kekeno) occasionally came ashore and made an appetising meal. Fishermen were experts with nets and lines. The fish hooks were made of paua shell, its gleaming irridescent colour forming the bait. Hapuku, a species of cod, was their ideal catch, ranging from 20 to 501bs. Patiki (flounders and flatfish) to be obtained in abundance were, of course, favourites, and were easily 'speared in clear river waters and netted at sea. Trumpeter (moki) and sehnapper (patiki) were among the main supplies. A rare treat was the para (frost fish) never caught by hook or net. It came ashore on frosty mornings in a comatose condition. Its habits and history are little known as it is a deep sea dweller. It was usually about three feet in length and six inches round the body. Tuna (eels) were plentiful in rivers and sea, forming a staple diet. One common method of catching them apparently overlooked by our school boy and amateur fishers is to light a bright fire at night near a still river corner on a sandy shore. They will come to the light in dozens and lay with their heads on the sand, when a crack from a hard stick will break their necks. Of course the hinaki (eel net) was the Maori method of trapping them.