KOANGA O TE TAU PLANTING TIME He pitopito kōrero ēnei nāku o Te Whānau-a-Apanui mō ngā kai whakatiputipu o te tau, arā, mō te kūmara. He nui ō tāua tohungatanga ki ā tāua rā, ki ā tāua pō whakatō kūmara, ēngari ka raua mai anō e tāua ko te hinu mano whenua a te Pākehā, hai wai rākau mō te oneone, hai waiū hoki mō te kūmara. Ko Te Whānau-a-Apanui, ko tōna tohungatanga ki te whakatō i tēnei kai, i te kūmara, i tuku iho rānō i a Kaiaio, uri o Apanui. I noho tēnei tangata ki Hauruia, ki Wahaotiu, wāhi o Pāhāoa e tata ana ki Te Kaha-nui-a-Tiki. I tirohia e Kaiaio ki ēnei māra āna te whakatō o te kūmara; te whakapiringa o āna pō, ki ia pō o te marama me te āhua o te tai, ki ia āhuatanga o te marama, o ngā whetū. Ki te hiahiatia te kūmara hai roroi, ka whakahaerea anō i ngā pō e tika ana, kia nunui ai te kūmara, kua paraha—pai ana ki te waru. Te kao, hai ngā pō anō e tika ana, kia mata ririki ai te kūmara, ēngari kia roroa, kia pai ai hoki te rau mānuka ki te tahitahi i ngā peha o te kūmara. Kūmara tāpae ki te rua, kia kaua e pōtakataka, ēngari kia roroa, kia rarahi te kūmara. Kūmara tunutunu, kia tahuna pēnei me te Toro-mahoe, me te Mākakauri, kia māngaro tonu; mā te wai hoki o te kina e whakamākūkū. Enei āhua katoa o te kūmara, i tirohia katoatia e Kaiaio; ki te marama, ki te tai, ki ngā whetū, Kāore e hauhake noa i te kūmara kia paepae rānō a Whānui, kia āta pakari mārika ai te kūmara, kia kore ai hoki e pirau. Ki te pirau te kūmara ki te rua, kāore e kawa, ēngari ka tīhorehorengia te kiri o te kūmara, ka kopēngia te wai kia heke (ēngari he pai tonu hoki ki te unu), ka pakipakingia kia maroke, ka tāpuke ki rō pungarehu wera kia maoa, tētahi kai reka. Tuarua, he mahi; he These are some observations of mine on kumara culture among my tribe. Te Whanau-a-Apanui. We have a great deal of expert knowledge about the days and nights of the month that govern our planting of the kumara; but we are inclined to overlook the Pakeha method of manuring the land and giving nourishment both to the soil and to the kumara. Te Whanau-a-Apanui's expert knowledge of kumara culture has been handed down from generation to generation since the time of Kaiaio, a descendant of Apanui. Kaiaio lived beside his plantations, Hauruia and Wahaotiu, at Pahaoa near Te Kaha. He regularly inspected these gardens of his and kept a close watch on all aspects of kumara growing, noting and keeping in conjunction the phases of the moon and stars. If kumara were to be grown for roroi, that is, to be grated, they would be planted when the moon was at the correct phase for them to grow large. When the kumara were broken open they would be broad and flat and excellent for grating. Again, kumara to be grown for making kao (preserved kumara) would be planted at the correct phase of the moon for them to grow small, but long, so that their skins could easily be rubbed off with manuka leaves. Kumara to be stacked in storage pits should not be globular, but should be long and large. Tubers to be used for roasting, such as the Toroamahoe and the Makakauri should be floury; these were usually eaten with the liquid from sea-eggs to moisten them. All these aspects of kumara culture were carefully noted by Kaiaio; the moon, the tide and the stars. Kumara would never be harvested until Whanui (the star Vega) was visible, so that the tubers would be properly mature and not liable to rot. If kumara did begin to rot in a store-pit they would not be considered unpalatable, but would be peeled, the juice, which made a pleasant drink, squeezed out, then they would be patted dry and buried in hot ashes until they were cooked; this was regarded as a delicacy. The second kind of rot in kumara was known