KAHUKURA AND THE ART OF NETTING.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 267, 8 November 1913, Page 9

KAHUKURA AND THE ART OF NETTING.

By. J. M. LEGATT. In Sir George Greys "Polynesian Mythology and Maori Legends," a book interesting but Trow comparatn-ely rare, is itrdd the s-tory of how the Maoris lcasmed -tite Art- of net-making; so useful to a primitive nice, aa an accessory to civilisation. Years ago, so runs the tale, there was in Maoriland a district named Rarcgia-owhia, near the territory of the tribe Te Rarawa. It lay to the far north, -and had a fine sea beach for fishing. A man named Kaihukura, who lived in a village to the south, was seized with a great desire to visit Rangiaow-hia. tn vain he sought to banish the thought of the place from his mind, and the w»h to see it from his heart; he simply had to go. So leaving home, he journeyed northward led by the impulse which so strangely moved ban. Travelling thus however, he was not insensible as befitted a good Maori brave of his surroundings; and passing along a stretch of sea shore, his quick eye observed indications of the recent presence of a fishing party on the beach. He could see that members of the party had been cleaning mackerel, as the entrails of such fish lay aibou-t: and there were innumerable footprints on the sand. Accordingly, his first, judgment was that the people of the neighbourhood must have been fishing thjre, either in the morning or the previous evening. But examining the tracks left more closely, by certain sure signs he was convinced that they -had been made not during the morning nor in any part of the day, but at night. This conclusion reached, he further and quickly decided; that it was no ordinary and human fishing party which thus left trace of itself upon the shore, but that the fairies or other denizens of the spirit-world must have been there. Not a trace of human equipment to .the expedition, whatever it had been, oould be seen; so the wary yet courageous Kahukura retired to where be had passed the previous night, ■greatly concerned in his mind but determined to inquire into the nratter. That he was on the. eve of a great discovery which might impart new and important .knowledge, he .was convinced; while hie heart inwardly glowed at the thought of the wonderful information he had to impart to hie friends such time as he might meet them again. Kalmkura sta.'ed at his resting place, until the night had fallen; then stealing to the beach, he was scarcely surprised to find a large band of the fairy people busily engaged fishing. It was very dark, yet their white skins shone through the blackness of the night, revealing their movements. He was a very fair Maori, so that in the darkness he could move about among them without much fear of discovery. They were not using lines or striving to spear fish, but employed a device whose virtues they extolled by shouting its name aloud, "The net: the net!" These fishing fairies were a most musical people, and continually encouraged each other at their work with singing. "Drop the net in the sea at Rangiaowhia, and haul it at Mamaku!" was the chief song they sang. A merry happy-hearted crowd, they divided themselves into two companies. One proceeded seaward with the net, the other stood on the shore to drag it in. The latter exhorted the former to be careful of the jagged rocks, which standing in the sandy beach were j-us-t covered by the waves. "See that the nets are not entangled in Tawatawania-a-Tewe±ewenia!" was their cry. Right in the heart of the shore party, Kahirkura pvdled away at the net ropes; and in the throng of them, through his fair skin, managed to remain unnoticed. With not a little dexterity and strength, the nets were dragged to land: the sea over them was rippled with struggling fish, as they were brought into the shallows. Just as the first faint glimmerings of dawn were appearing over the eastern horizon, proclaiming the coming day, the catch was landed. On the yellow sandy beach, far above the line of the encroaching tide the fish were spread But the light growing' as the day more fully awoke, the fairies hurried, dreading the sunrise. Their plan of disposing of the fish was not after the usual fashion. They did not divide them into heaps, containing so many fish for each member of the company; but, carrying twigs, they strung the fish through their gills upon these. This process, in view of approaching day, was not too expeditious; and so as they wrought at it they ran and shouted: '"Make haste, run here, all of you, and finish the work before the sun rises!" Meanwhile in the general excitement and hurry, Kahukura had managed to remain unknown and undiscovered. His great desire was to escape notice if possible, until the day broke more fully, that he might the better observe the wonderful people and their ways. When the fish-stringing commenced, he followed suit with the fairies. He had no twig, but on the end of a short string which he possessed, he fastened a slip-knot. On the string he proceeded to place, the fish after the manner of those, about him. When he had thus fixed on the string as many as it could contain, he raised them aloft, only to find that, the slip-knot giving way, the fish fell to the ground The fairies were apparently good and kind to each other, working, as it would seem, through a kind of community of interest. No sooner then, did this accident befall Kahukura than one of them ran to his assistance; and perceiving how the disaster, as he esteemed it to be, befell, he quickly tied on the end of the strimr a fairy-fixed knot, thinking thus to help him. But Kahukura thought otherwise. Hardly had the fairy gone from thus kindly serving him, than, untying the strange knot, he replaced it with another' slip-knot of his own. Again he proceeded to string fish, and again when strung he lifted them, to ,Jind ihe knot give way with the like result of the fish •being returned to the beach. Another fairy rushed to his assistance, and yet another and another, as the delaying process was repeated again and again. But at last there was sufficient lipbt for the face of a man to "be discernible, and Kahukura stnod revealed as mortal. To state that the fairies were surprised and affrighted at the sight of him among them but very inadequately describes bheir wild sense of confusion. Leaving the fish they had caught, their nets and all fishing appnrtenanc.es, they precipitately fled. Their canoes, made from stenH of flax, they relinquished in their flight. But these, interesting in themselves, were as nothing to Kahukura compared with the contrivances wherewith they drew such heaps of fishes from the deep. So with great wonder and admiration, he examined the nets of the fairy folk. They were made of rushes, meshed and curiously knitted together. Kahukura caw in them, and a, at a glance, a device far more efficient than poised spear or baited hook for winning spoil from the sea. This, then, was the meaning of , his heart's desire to visit the far north-

era Rangiaowhia, not to be resisted! It had proved an inspiration indeed, for the fulfilment of the strange desire had won him something new. Possessed of the fairy nets, he thus found out the art of nesting. Carefully he carried hi? treasures, so strangely yet assiduously won, home; where, having mastered tie art himself, he taught it to his children. With suoh samples before them and under the tuition of their father who had found .them, they could not well fail of attainment.

The children of Kahukura taught; others of their kin and race, and so in time net-making was generally known and practised among the Maoris. Thus the fishermen, not so deftly perhaps as with the spear, not so cunningly mayhap as with the hook, yet far more effectively, through a seemingly co-operation with each other, could secure a big haul, where the fishes shoaled together in rivers, or by the sea-shore. Still by those of his race, who have drawn the fish thus in multitude* from the water, is remembered and told the story of Kahukura and his journey t.i Rangiaowhia.