MUTTON-BIDIG

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 17 March 1937, Page 10

MUTTON-BIDIG

o ANCIENT INDUSTRY 9 u ' ISSUE OF PERMITS 0 0 0 ISLANDS APPORTIONED s ‘ r , This week a meeting was held in the Lands and Survey Office, Invercargill, y for the purpose of issuing permits to . Maoris to enable them to take part > in the 1937 mutton-birding season, which will begin in a few weeks, for this ancient industry has changed in S some respects, and is now under strict control. Not that it has not always been under control, for muttond birding rights go back into ancient r Maori history, and the islands where s the birds breed have always been jealously guarded. e Forty or fifty years ago the restrictions on mutton-birding were relaxed to such an extent that many Europeans claimed a share in the industry, but the collecting of birds •is now ex--5 clusively in the hands of the Natives. The methods of collecting and preserving the birds have altered little since ancient times. Where large canoes were used in pre-pakeha days t. to take the bird hunters to the islands, - small steamers make the circuit to i. deposit the Natives and collect their h catches at a later date. On the islands, to, the miserable temporary d whares formerly used by the birding parties have given place to comfortable European buildings, but apart ~ from that the procedure is practically 0 the same as ever. 3 ’ THE TITI ISLANDS l’ Permits have been issued to parties who will hunt the birds on seven is- [. lands. Each island has its own name, -1 but the group is known to the Maoris as the Titi Islands. Titi being the Maori name for mutton-bird. The s parent birds land on these islands and y burrow holes in the ground or refurbish old holes as nesting places. The eggs are hatched in the early e summer, and from then onwards the '< parent birds go out in their millions ’j, to catch fish with which to feed their f young. By the early autumn the young birds are well grown and iat, l’ and it is at this stage that the Maoris .’ have always claimed their share of !’ the season’s crop. The number taken is comparatively small when compared with the number reared, and has no adverse effect on the number p of birds in southern waters. ROBBING THE NESTS When the hunting parties first land i on the island they rob the nests by the simple process of locating them with a stick thrust into the burrows • so that an opening can be made above - the young birds. In many cases plugs > of earth are removed from year to ’ year. The young birds are killed by 5 being bitten at the back of the head, and when a large number has been 3 collected they are plucked and dress-; j ed, the body being split down the breast. At this stage there is an ad- ; dition to the ancient method, for the . birds are steeped in brine before be- . ing stored. I The receptacles used for storing the ; birds have not altered in any way. • ) Bags made by opening the wide ( . leaves of a form of kelp common on • the southern coast are prepared be-: ■ fore the season commences, and the , • birds are placed in these. Each bag is 1 tied with a strand of flax, and is • : then a perfectly air-tight container in j which the birds will keep in good ] condition for many months. As the j receptacles have to be shipped from • the islands and sent all over New Zealand, they are placed in flax baskets lined with strips of totara bark, the whole being bound around with strands of flax. CAUGHT ABOVE GROUND As the end of the season approaches many of the young birds come out of their nests to try their wings and a different method has to be adopted by the hunters. At night time these young birds are captured as they return to their nests and next day the [ process of curing them for the mar-1 ket occupies the successful hunters. | If transport is available a limited | number are sent to the mainland to be sold in their feathers and these fresh birds are regarded as a great delicacy. The preserved birds, too, | are greatly prized by many people, Maori and European alike, as they have a distinctive flavour that is de- 1 finitely pleasing to most people. 1 At one time the birds were cooked before being placed in the kelp bags ' but very few are treated in this way at the present time, the Maoris preferring the simpler method of salting. When the birds are cooked on the islands the oily fat is caught and is poured over the birds in the bags and this method provides a preservative J \ that will last indefinitely. I The principal objection to the j mutton-bird by Europeans is the oili-1 •< ness of its fat, but if the birds arc j J properly cooked this objection is re- | j moved. They should be boiled until j/j Lender and then grilled to remove the J v oil from the fat. However, this oil j n has a very penetrating smell and as it; a will cling to the cooking utensils for 1 many days many housewives refuse to cook the birds and the majority arc sold cooked by the fishmongers who y stock them. T ,