USES OF THE KORARI OR STALK

Te Ao Hou, Spring 1952, Page 43

USES OF THE KORARI OR STALK During the old days there were various uses for the stalks. At present there appears to be no use made of them, except of course to make toys such as aeroplanes and windmills. Looking back over my own young days I can still picture clearly roaming about the swamps, with gangs of four to six, seeking out the dry flax stalks from which to make our toy monoplanes. On such occasions we would sometimes wage war against another gang, using as weapons the flax stalks as substitutes for spears, and these were so light that they did not hurt you. Another common weapon for these sham battles was the rito harakeke, the very young shoot found generally in the heart of the flax bush. The midrib of the rito was pulled off to about four inches from the cut end, and this piece was held in the left hand. To fire the weapon the piece in the left hand was very quickly pulled right off with the right hand, thus causing the rito to shoot through the air and strike, with luck, some unsuspecting ‘baddy’ in the eye! It was a very effective dart. In the days of yore the korari was regarded as a rakau (stick) of much importance. It was clothed with a mysterious mana, for it was said the Patupaiarehe (or fairy folk) made their canoes of it. This might have been due to the Maoris' poetic way of explaining something he could not understand, like the buoyancy of the korari when floating in the rippling water of the lagoons. So light was it that it floated like a cork, and consequently responded to the least disturbance in the water; thus the association, in all probability, with the strange fairy folk. The uses of the korari were these: Elementary taiaha drill At a young age all boys were put through an elementary course of taiaha drill by the experts. Dry flax stalks were used, being light and easily manipulated by the boys. Each boy was given a stalk which was slightly longer than his own height, and with it practised taiaha parries and thrusts, the mastery of which was important and vital if he wished to remain alive in his manhood. Rama or torch The stalks were cut into equal lengths and bundled. Each bundle was smeared with oil or fat, and then lit. Such torches were used on very dark nights when eeling. Rafts Bundles of stalks were attached together to make rafts for crossing a river. Rough boats, called moihi, were also built of these.