FOOD OF THE MAORI

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume 65, Issue 99, 17 December 1943, Page 3

FOOD OF THE MAORI

• The Place Of The Tuna METHODS OF CATCHING AND RITUAL (Exclusively written for the Ellesmere Guardian by W. A. Taylor) ".-"'' (VIII.) The place which the tuna (eel) occupied in the diet of the pre-pakeha Maori and the tradition and ritual \ which surrounded it, are described in this series of the Maori Associations of Lake Waihora, by Mr W. A. Taylor. Naturally Lake Ellesmere was and is a vast reservoir of supply and was for that reason of supreme importance to the Maoris. '..'.■

To mention having tuna (eel) for a meal never fails to cause a beam of delight to spread across the face of a Maori, though it must be admitted most of us pakehas despise it on our own bill of fare. What is the reason Europeans take this attitude? Is it on account of the squirming snake-like appearance of an eel; is it on account of having at £T_me time had a whiff of the odour proceeding from a drier on which ,a hundred or more eels have been hanging near the outlets of either Lake Forsyth or Lake Ellesmere (a smell that lingers with ane through a lifetime) or is it because the Maori knows the secret of the cooking and we pakehas do not '!

In pre-European times every Maori tribe had its own particular eeling grounds. These were further sub-divided among the sub-tribes or hapus. No hapu ever encroached on the territory of its*' neighbour without express permission. To trespass meant dire trouble, and generally bloodsned. As Lake Waihora and Lake Wairewa (Forsyth) abounded with eels over large areas, fighting seldom was necessary. The eeling

grounds were under the special guidance of a mauri or eel god which was placed also as a boundary mark. The eel god, named Tiki Tuna, is invariably carved to represent a man's head, but the body is that of an eel. Special karakia (prayer) was addressed to Tiki Tuna by the tohunga (priest) to ensure a good catch. As a reward for his services the tohunga received the first eel caught. The rest of the first eel catch was only allowed as food for men. Tiki Tuna originally dwelt in' Heaven, but the celestial domain was far too dry, and he came down to earth and selected the wet places. Lake Ellesmere and its surrounding swamps certainly met his needs. . Tuna is also the subject of .a legend which says the deity named Maui severed his (Tuna's) head from his body. The result was ttfat the head became the freshwater eel, and the body that of the sea specimen, known as the conger eel. Incidentally the eel takes the place of the serpent in the Maori account of Adam and Eve in the Gar-den-of Eden. The tail of an eel is called by the Maoris "tara puremu" which translated means "the cause of .adultery." The Maoris capture eels in several ways, just as pakehas do. The common method is to use the spear or "heru." Maoris are adepts at taking eels with the bob, and also from under the banks of small

creeks by means of the bare hands. Needless to say, a trout or two are captured by the last-mentioned method. On a big scale on large streams, converging weirs are constructed haying a space at the centre fitted with a trap door made of light twigs. The weirs are constructed of manuka stakes closely driven. The space where the trap door is placed is called "tuki" and the brushwood pegged down on the bottom of the stream to prevent scouring is named whakareinga. The containers for the eels are "hinaki" and "korotete." At the outlet of Lake Wairewa (Forsyth), instead of weirs, trenches are cut into the shingle bank, and the eels trapped within. At this place can be seen several stages for drying eels hundreds at a time. A stage is called "tirewa," and the fire* used for smoking the tuna is named "ahi rara tuna."

The names for eels are legion. Different tribes have different names, and even Maori individuals contribute to the diversity of naming. Some large eels found and known in certain places earn the reputa-

tion of being "tapu." A Maori friend of the .writer who passed on his way to "Reingi". quite recently, believed the misfortunes of ,a fishing party under his leadership were^ occasioned by capturing a "tapu" eel at the mouth of the Kaituna stream. Nothing went well that day, even the cart by which the spoils of the visit were being taken to Christchurch, collapsed on the way. i Eels may be classified broadly into two classes, tuna heke which are eels that travel to the sea; and tuna y toke, those which remain in the same locality. Tuna rere is the favoured eel of the former class and tuna pa and tuna puharakeke of" the latter class. Tuna hao is the favourite eel of South Canterbury. Heavy seas on April 2nd, 1888, carried away the shingle bank separating Lake Wairewa from the sea. The run out of* the waters was so great the lake bed was covered with stranded eels. The quantity was described as "enough ee!s as would fill a ship.." On October llth, 1931, a party of Kaiapoi Maoris obtained 6* sacks of eels from the Halswell river at Motukarara. When Lake Forsyth was let ©ut on September 15th, 1943, the Wairewa Maoris secured their greatest take for years. Tuna is evidently not going to disappear from the Maori menu for some time yet, as 600 tons can be taken without depleting the year's stock at Lake Ellesmere. Wairewa means "water lifted up."