Publicly accessible
URL: http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/collections.html
copyright 2006, by Victoria University of Wellington
All unambiguous end-of-line hyphens have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line.
Some keywords in the header are a local Electronic Text Collection scheme to aid in establishing analytical groupings.
This study of the culture of Manihiki and Rakahanga represents part of the material gathered on the Cook Islands Expedition of Bernice P. Bishop Museum in 1929.
I landed in Manihiki on May 31 on the schooner Tiare Taporo under Captain Viggo. While I was in Rakahanga, Judge
The time spent in the two atolls was all too short to do justice even to the abridged field information available. This study can only hope to record some of the main points in the culture of the people. Details as to spread of the coconut and the ownership of land await the further investigator of land claims, when more information is available.
Meanwhile, the Huru-awatea waves its fronds in the shade of Arai-awa— “Tera pa te Huru-awatea te tahirihiri mai ra i te maru o Arai-awa.”
Manihiki and Rakahanga, atolls 25 miles apart, are occupied by a people sprung from one family of settlers. The whole population once lived on one atoll at a time and moved back and forth from one atoll to the other when forced to do so by depletions of the coconut and puraka (species of taro) supplies. Manihiki and Rakahanga are so low that one atoll cannot be seen from the other, but from a point halfway between them both are visible. The people, in going from one atoll to the other, used the Magellan clouds (Na Mahu) as guides. The voyages were made in fleets of double sailing canoes, and the Whakaheo ariki (p. 52), because he was believed to control the weather conditions that insured a successful voyage, took command. Now and again the voyagers were unexpectedly overtaken by storms, but such disasters did not deter the people from making their inter-atoll voyages, for they were impelled by an important need, the urge for food. The occasional loss of life was regarded merely as the natural toll of the sea which the ancestors had paid from time immemorial. It remained for outside influence, in 1852, to use the loss of life as a means of dividing the population into permanent settlements on each atoll. Thus, though Manihiki and Rakahanga are two atolls, the culture is one. References in this text to the culture of either atoll may be taken to apply to the culture of both areas.
Manihiki and Rakahanga are atolls now politically included in Cook Islands, but, together with Tongareva (Penrhyn), Pukupuka, Nassau, Suvarov (Suwarrow), and Palmerston, they are not geographically part of Cook Islands. References in the text to Cook Islands apply to the geographical division unless it is otherwise stated. Manihiki lies 650 miles north of Rarotonga. Rakahanga is 25 miles north northwest of Manihiki. The two atolls are south of latitude 10° S. and west of longitude 160° W. (See fig. 1.)
Manihiki is the larger of the two atolls and contains about 1,250 acres of land. It has a fine lagoon abounding in pearl shell and Tridacna, but there are no large natural passages through the reef. The boat passages opposite the two villages are short and boats or canoes must be run up onto the reef, from which they are dragged to the deeper water on the inner side of the reef flat. Shallow passages through which the tide reaches the central lagoon separate the islands. (See fig. 2.)
Many of the islands shown in figure 2 are named in pairs with the qualifying terms rahi (large) and iti (small), as in Hohahake rahi and Hohahake iti. Some receive the name motu (island) with a qualifying term, as in Motu-roa (Long Island), Motu Fara (Pandanus Island), and Motu-o-poia (Poia's Island). The large island, Porea, has a fishpond in its interior.
Brigham (3, p. 106) Numbers in parentheses refer to Literature Cited, page 232.
Rakahanga, with an area of 1,000 acres, is smaller than Manihiki. It is written “Rakaanga” on the maps, from a failure to appreciate the presence of the h sound. Gill, who did not visit the atoll, makes the curious statement that there is no lagoon (11, p. 12). Brigham (3, p. 35) has evidently copied the erroneous statement. Rakahanga is an atoll, and the inclosed lagoon is a characteristic feature. (See fig. 3.)
The small island, Te Kainga, in the southwest, was the original home of the people, but the site of the single village was changed to Rakahanga across the inter-island channel to the south. Opposite Te Kainga is the shallow boat passage. The reef has no deep passages. The presence of the place names Tongareva and Tua-i-Omoka on the south coast suggests some connection with the Tongarevan atoll, in which Omoka is the principal village. The historical connection is further supported by the name Tua i te Ara o Mahuta (the back of the path of Mahuta) on the northeast. Mahuta, the Tongarevan ancestor, is stated by both Tongarevan and Rakahangan traditions to have lived in Rakahanga prior to his voyage to Tongareva.
Bellinghausen, the Russian explorer, visited Rakahanga in 1820 and named it Grand Duke Alexander. In 1822 Captain Patrickson in the Good
Hope saw both atolls. He gave Rakahanga the name Reirson and called Manihiki Humphrey.
According to Gill (10, vol. 2, p. 266), the first person to tell the islanders of the “white man's God” was a Tahitian lad who ran away from a whaling ship that called at Manihiki to get a supply of coconuts. Some of the young men of Manihiki set out in a canoe expedition in the hope of getting to some of the islands of which they were told. “In this and other enterprises of kindred character,” writes Gill, “many of them lost their lives, and on one occasion some were taken to the distant islands of Samoa.”
The first actual contact with Western culture was brought about by an accident which befell a party sailing from Manihiki to Rakahanga in 1849. A canoe was blown out of its course and was picked up by a whaling ship 80 miles from land. The whaler picked up the crew of five men and four women. Gill (10, vol. 2, p. 268) states that the captain intended to land the Manihikians at Aitutaki or Rarotonga, but that, not being able to make either island, he landed them at Manuae, where an American salesman was living, collecting coconuts, and feeding swine for the Tahitian market. The missionary ship John Williams eventually called at Manuae and took the Manihikians to Aitutaki, which had come under Christian influence in 1821. After a fortnight on Aitutaki they were returned to Manihiki on the mission ship, accompanied by two native teachers named Aporo and Tahiri. The people allowed the teachers to land, and the London Missionary Society thus established itself on Manihiki.
The teachings of the missionaries were accepted; in less than twelve months after the missionaries landed, most of the material representations of the native gods were destroyed. Churches and schools were established, and the foundations of Western culture were laid by the native teachers. Gill, on a voyage to Sydney in the mission ship, visited Manihiki in 1852. He remarks (10, vol. 2, p. 276) that in the space of three years all the inhabitants, with the exception of one hundred persons, were under Christian instruction. After the establishment of the teachers, twenty persons out of two hundred who were overtaken by a storm were drowned in a voyage to Rakahanga. As a result of missionary representations in 1852, the Christians in Sydney purchased a boat for the teachers, and the Aitutakians purchased another. With the introduction of European boats commenced the passing away of the old-time double sailing canoes in which the voyages between the two atolls had been made. Gill and the native teachers also used their influence in persuading the people to abandon the voyages between the two atolls. To prevent the necessity for the voyages, the population was divided, and each atoll was occupied permanently. The religious influence of the introduced culture resulted in the destruction of the maraes and of
ariki known as the Whainga-aitu and the Whakaheo (p. 48). Houses and clothing were affected by the introduction of new modes and materials. The abandonment of the inter-atoll voyages with permanent occupation of the two atolls by the divided people led to further changes in social organization in which the power of the high chiefs lessened as the influence of the missionaries increased. One of the Whakaheo even offered the succession of the title to the missionary teacher, Tahiri. Tahiri refused the title but later used his influence to have succession conferred on the female line, as his selected candidate was a deacon in the church (p. 54).
The missionary teachers, following the procedure adopted by the London Missionary Society in Aitutaki, Rarotonga, and Mangaia, formulated a number of moral laws, the infringing of many of which we would regard as “sins” to be dealt with by moral teaching or church discipline. The chiefs, however, who had become deacons of the church, could not let such offences go without inflicting material punishment. A list of fines to be paid in money and trade was instituted. Some elements of the Western culture of the early white missionaries were evidently adopted, for accused persons were put in the stocks to await trial, and women found guilty of sex offences were drummed through the village after they had been fined. If an offender was caught on a Saturday evening, he or she remained in the stocks all day Sunday, for the Sabbath could not be desecrated by the holding of a court on that day. The administration of the laws was in the hands of people termed Turimen who were elected annually by the heads of households. A Turiman held the double office of police and judge. In Manihiki, Turimen were divided into four vigilance committees which took alternate weeks of duty. An offender was reported by a Turiman to his committee, and the committee promptly exacted the fine laid down for the offence. There was no formal trial and the accused had no appeal. Half of the fines went to the ariki, and the other half was divided among the Turimen. The system led to espionage of sexual behavior in order that the amount of fines might be increased as much as possible, and a mean spirit foreign to Polynesian psychology was engendered. However, in the curious adjustment that took place was the retention of a Polynesian trait, inasmuch as the relatives of the offender shared his burden by assisting him to pay the fine in order to save the family name.
Moss (20, pp. 117, 118) sums up the situation as follows:
The laws are objectionable, and their modes of enforcing them, putting men and women in the public stocks or drumming them through the public street, are bad enough; but the methods of prevention and discovery which these Turimen adopt, are worse. If a Turiman suspects a man of having taken liquor, he will stop him at any time and order him to “blow” so that he may discover if his breath has lost its normal sweetness.
The notorious Captain Bully Hayes in the brig Rona foundered at sea near Manihiki, according to Moss (20, p. 86). Captain Hayes was kindly treated by the Manihikians, who helped him to build another small craft. The vessel completed, he started with a party of Manihikians for a marriage feast at Rakahanga. He purposely missed Rakahanga, however, and made Samoa. He induced the Manihikians to work on one of the plantations and charged their employer a good round sum for bringing laborers to Samoa.
In marked contrast to scoundrels of the Hayes type were men of the stamp of Henry Greig and
A certain amount of friction existed at one time between the supporters of the native missionary and a faction opposed to him. The French at Tahiti were invited to annex the atolls, but when the French warship appeared for this purpose the native missionary hauled up the British flag and dared anyone to lower it. The crisis passed, and French annexation did not materialize.
In the copra and pearl shell trade which developed, trading firms established touch with Manihiki and Rakahanga from Rarotonga. Thus for both religious and commercial purposes the atolls were connected with Rarotonga. As the result of a petition in 1900 by the ariki of the Cook Islands, Manihiki and Rakahanga were included in the boundaries of New Zealand by an Imperial Order in Council in 1901. The atolls are governed by New Zealand through the Resident Commissioner at Rarotonga.
The population given in the last five government censuses is as follows:
Although during the 20 years from 1906 to 1926 the total population of the administrative territory of the Cook Islands has shown an increase, the population of Manihiki has decreased by 115 and that of Rakahanga by 25. Part of the decrease has been due to emigration to Rarotonga, where the better opportunities of obtaining employment have attracted settlers. This emigration has resulted in a Manihikian colony in Rarotonga.
The language is a pleasing dialect and has closer affinities with Maori than with the dialects of Tongareva, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands. The dialect differs from Tongarevan in using h instead of s and wh instead of h, from Tahitian in retaining k and ng and using wh instead of f, and from Cook Islands dialects in the presence of wh and a more definitely sounded h. All these differences are shared by the Maori dialect. Also, a number of words that are not shared by the Rarotongan and Tahitian dialects are common to the Maori and the Manihiki-Rakahangan dialects.
The native pastors, educated by the London Missionary Society in Rarotonga, have introduced the alphabet adopted for Rarotonga. This alphabet is without the letter h, and v is used instead of w. Thus both the h and wh sounds which are present in the dialect have no letters to represent them. No organized effort has been made by the church or the state to remedy the deficiencies. As in others of the Cook Islands, the local dialect is being assimilated rapidly by the Rarotongan dialect. The Bible, which is printed in Rarotongan, exercises a great influence in standardizing Rarotongan as the accepted dialect.
The alphabet in use contains the vowels a, e, i, o, and u, and the consonants k, m, n, ng, p, r, t, and v.
The consonants not represented are h and wh, and the v should be w. w should have been adopted for the Rarotongan dialect instead of v. This applies with even more force to Manihikian. At the same time, there may be some such words as vero (stern piece of a canoe) that are pronounced with a v sound. The older people pronounce the words with a w and write them with a v. With the modern method of teaching by v sound as taught to them. Europeans have recorded the h sound in Manihiki on official maps and have omitted the equally obvious h sound in Rakahanga by printing it “Rakaanga.” The people pronounce the name of their atoll “Manihiki” and write it “Maniiki” because the schools do not include the h when teaching the alphabet. An extra emission of the breath gives h the sound hi before the regular vowel, and it has become usage to say “hi,” as in “Hiuku,” for Huku, a word variously written as “Iku,” “Hiku,” and “Huku.” Smith, in editing Gill's account of the origin of Manihiki (13, p. 140), states that the name should be spelled “Hiku”; but though this represents the name as it would appear in other dialects, the local pronunciation is “Hiuku.” The people, not having been provided with the letter h by the teachers of the Rarotongan alphabet, usually spelled it “Uku,” or even “Iuku.” It is, perhaps, more convenient to spell it “Huku,” but the correct pronunciation must be borne in mind (see page 14). This usage resembles that of the Rarawa tribe of the Maoris of northern Auckland, who have a tendency to use he, as in “Heone” for Hone, a pronunciation used by older people but not followed by the younger generation of Maoris.
The wh sound has been recorded for New Zealand and the Chatham Islands by the double letter wh. Of this consonant Williams says (31, p. 568):
Wh represents the voiceless consonant corresponding with w, and is produced by emitting the breath sharply between the lips. It is a mistake to assimilate the sound to that of f in English, though it has become fashionable in recent years with some of the younger Maoris. In some words wh and h are interchangeable, as kohatu, kowhatu; mahiti, mawhiti. In a few words there is confusion between wh and w, but this may be due to the fact that in early works printed in Maori no distinction was made between the two, both being printed as w. Wh is never found in Maori followed by o or u.
It was evident to both natives and Europeans that an extra sound not provided for by the Rarotongan alphabet was present. The mistake of assimilating the sound to that of f in English was committed by Europeans, and the few natives who write have followed suit. Thus we have the word for hala (Pandanus) written as “fara” and it appears in figure 2 as Motu Fara (Pandanus Island). A certain amount of influence may have come from Tahiti, where the sound exists as an actual f, and the word is pronounced “fara.” Knowing this, I was prepared to accept the sound as f until I heard the words pronounced in the atolls. While I was recording pedigrees in the Land Court at Rakahanga it became evident to me that the sound was not the English or Tahitian f but resembled the Maori wh. However, lest my own Maori background might have influenced me, I asked wh and not f.
The remarks of Williams (31) about the confusion between the Maori wh and w apply with still more force to the Manihikian wh and v. The v is wrong in the first place, but it was the only letter that could be used to represent both the w and wh sounds, until a few people began to use f.
The interchange in some Maori words between wh and h, noted by Williams, applies also to inter-dialectical variations. Although the distinction between wh and f is marked as regards sound and the position of the lips and teeth, the fashionable interchange in recent years by the younger Maoris has evidently followed a general Polynesian tendency. K. P. Emory of Bernice P. Bishop Museum informs me that the Tahitian f sound prevails over most of the Tuamotuan archipelago, but that at Reao in the east the wh sound is used. This was checked by Mr. Emory and F. J. Stimson, both of whom were accustomed to the Tahitian f. Interchanges have thus occurred between h, wh, and f. A good test word is the widespread Polynesian name for house, which consists of one of the three interchangeable consonants followed by are or ale, according to the dialectical selection between r and l. The main dialects interchange as follows:
Although wh occupies the intermediate position between h and f, a direct interchange between h and f is seen in the eastern Polynesian word aroha and the western word alofa. It is tempting to think of h as the simplest, oldest form, retained in the northern remote area, Hawaii, and surviving in Tongareva and Cook Islands; of the wh as an old form retained in the southern remote area of New Zealand and Chatham Islands, the remote eastern area of Reao, and surviving in Manihiki; and of the f as coming in as a later intrusive element from the west, establishing itself in the Society Islands, when it spread through the Tuamotus and Marquesas, displacing the wh but failing to extinguish it in the far east at Reao.
Some inconsistency in the spelling of native words will be observed in this study. In quotations from manuscripts or printed works the original spelling has been kept, but in my own observations the h and wh have been used in words in which they were sounded. As in Tongareva, a study of the dialect and local vocabulary awaits the linguist.
The traditional story of the discovery of Rakahanga and Manihiki is a blend of historical narrative and myth. The human discoverer, Huku (see p. 19), is stated to have sailed from Rarotonga on a fishing expedition. When he came to a part of the ocean referred to as “te tukuanga i Whaka-hotu” he noticed an upgrowth of rock or land (tapua whenua) projecting from the sea bottom but not rising above the water, an image evidently culled from the experience of an atoll-dwelling people to whom coral upgrowths on an encircling reef were familiar. Huku, on seeing the coral upgrowth, recited these words (pehe), which are always recited by native historians: “Titiro iho Huku, tapua e—” (Huku gazed down, [and saw] an upgrowth.) From this incident Huku named his canoe Tapua. Gill's informant (13, p. 140) gave the canoe name as Tapuaua, which is really Tapua-hua and means “an upgrowth only.” Huku returned to his home with the idea that the upgrowth would eventually reach the surface and become land.
Pure myth is introduced by interpolating the island-fishing exploits of the well-known Polynesian hero, Maui. The myth states that Tangaroa-tuhi-mata, with his wife, Hina-mata-porari, dwelt in Hawaiki-ki-raro, which was under the earth's surface. Their son, Tongoi-whare, dwelt with his wife, Makuwai-whare, in Hawaiki-ki-runga, which was on the earth's surface. Tongoi-whare, had three sons, Maui-mua, Maui-roto, and Maui-muri, and a daughter named Hina-mai-raro-te-takere. The three brothers planned a fishing expedition and caught some flying fish (maroro) for bait. Maui-muri, unknown to his brothers, went to Hina-i-te-papa who dwelt at the bottom of the sea. He told her of the proposed expedition and asked her to put certain fish on the hooks according to the manner in which they were baited. On the first hook let down, baited with flying fish, she was to put a shark (mango), and on the second hook, also baited with flying fish, she was to put an urua. His own hook was to be baited with a small branch of the puka tree (tauru raupuka), dried coconut husk (puakoua), coconut flower stalk (puroro), and a dry, immature young coconut (aoa). When she saw it, she was to hook it into the rock bottom of the sea.
The next day the brothers set out in a canoe named Pipi-ma-hakohako. Tupou-rahi stated that the name of the canoe was Whakahotu and quoted the following chant as proof:
Tupou-rahi has evidently associated the name Whakahotu with the canoe, whereas it is really associated with the fishing ground. The historic spot in the ocean visited by Huku was termed “Te tukunga i Whakahotu.” The construction of the chant shows that the tukunga (fishing ground) was owned by Whakahotu. Although Whakahotu does not appear elsewhere in Rakahangan tradition, in neighboring Tongareva (29) the name appears as Hakahotu. Hakahotu was the wife of Atea, and the two were the primary parents whose progeny were the gods Tangaroa, Tane, Rongo, and others. It may be that Rakahanga had some legend of Whakahotu similar to the Tongarevan story, and that the details have been lost.
Arrived at the fishing ground, Maui-mua (Maui-the-first-born) let down his hook baited with flying fish. When a fish took the hook, he began to chant a question (tautopa):
Maui-roto remained silent but Maui-muri, relying on his compact with Hina-i-te-papa, replied:
A shark was duly hauled up. Tupou-rahi said that the fish was an albacore (kakahi). Maui-roto let down his hook baited with flying fish, and when he hooked a fish he also chanted a question. Maui-muri named an urua, which was duly hauled in. Maui-muri then baited his hook with the leaves and husk according to plan. Hina-i-te-papa, on seeing the hook so baited, stuck it into the papa or rock at the bottom of the sea. From what follows, it is to be inferred that the rock was the upgrowth seen by Huku. When Maui-muri felt the hook take hold, he called (uru) a question to his elder brothers, who named a shark and an urua. Maui-muri thereupon hauled on his line. As the fish rose, the sea began to boil and foam (kua wheta te moana), and land appeared (kua haha te whenua). The rising land lifted the canoe on its steep edge. Maui-mua and Maui-roto were in the bow and Maui-muri in the stern. The canoe broke in the middle. The bow part with the two elder brothers fell into the seething water, and they were swept away. The stern part remained on the land, and Maui-muri stepped ashore. He then recited a chant (amu):
In the chant recorded by Gill (13, p. 141) the words “Motu Manihiki, motu Rakahanga” (Manihiki is severed, Rakahanga is severed) are added, but they are not severed from each other until the later reappearance of Huku. Maui-muri, having lost his brothers and his canoe, explored the new land. A curious reference is made to his seeing a house of sand (whare one). Gill (13, p. 148) states that the house contained eighty spirits. Tupou-rahi stated that Maui saw an opening in the sand and dug down. The hole contained ugly fish from the bottom of the sea (ko te au ika kikino anake i raro i te moana). Such details were evidently intended to embellish the tale and perhaps to emphasize the fact that there were no human occupants on the land discovered. Maui-mua remained on the land.
The story goes back to Huku, who, in his sleep (turamoe), had a dream (rikamoe) that the upgrowth he had seen had reached the surface. His dream was expressed in the chant:
Tupou-rahi states that Huku did not think out the name Rakahanga, but that the name came to him in a dream.
Huku sailed back to the site of the upgrowth and saw that the land had risen above the surface. He landed at Waiawa and commenced to explore. He met Maui-muri and immediately attacked him to expel him from the land which he considered to be his. In the struggle a portion of the land broke off. It floated away (rewa atu) and became Manihiki. Maui fled successively to the places on the atoll named Tumu-whenua, Kaeru, Tumukau, and Paaki. As Huku pursued Maui to Paaki, the rain fell (kuru te ua), the lightning flashed (rapa te uira), the thunder rolled (tuki te whatitiri), and Maui fled away to the heavens (kua rere Maui ki te rangi).
After his victory, Huku, returning along the coast, saw a drift coconut (ponga) cast ashore. After his return to Nukuangaanga he planted the nut at a spot which he named Te-maru-o-araiawa. He named the nut, or the plant which was to grow from it, Te-huru-awatea. In Gill's account (13, p. 148) no mention is made of a drift coconut. Gill states that Huku returned to Rarotonga because the land was desert (ha) and no coconuts had yet been planted. The coconut named Te-huru-awatea he includes with seven others that were subsequently brought. The story of the drift coconut as given by Tupou-rahi fits in better with the subsequent narrative.
According to Tupou-rahi's version, Huku, after planting Te-huru-awatea, returned to Rarotonga. He then made a third voyage in a canoe named
hoe waka) named Ruia and Papera. Seven nuts named Tiro-hanga, Turuki-wairaro, Papuka, Kai-akuaku, Tumata-whare, and Nuku-angi-angi were planted at Te-maru-o-araiawa. Gill (13, p. 148) gives names which differ slightly, but includes Te-huru-awatea, the name given by Tupou-rahi to the drift nut of a previous voyage. Te-maru-o-araiawa, where the nuts were planted, is situated on the island of Te Kainga in the atoll of Raka-hanga. The two paddlers both died and were buried on Te Kainga. Tupou-rahi quoted this pehe as proof of his tale:
Some of the Rakahangans were inclined to think that the inclusion of the paddlers in the tale was an elaboration, as ruia and papera are names given to two species of shark.
Huku returned to Rarotonga. Sitting one evening in front of his house, he began to wonder whether the first nut he had planted on Rakahanga had grown into a stately palm. His thoughts found expression in the following chant (haka):
The literal translation of the haka conveys merely the thought, but to the descendants of Huku there is music and sentiment in the native words. They take pride in quoting them over and over again. During my stay in Rakahanga the words were called out to me from houses along the village street, for they formed a bond of our mutual interest in the past. When I called them out to my history teachers, their gratification was apparent.
Huku had kept his discovery of a new land secret. A man named Wheatu heard Huku and conjectured that the chant referred to some other land. He embarked in a canoe named Paparinga-tahi, eventually came to Manihihi, and landed at Tarakite. From there he set out and came to Rakahanga, where he saw the palm named Te-huru-awatea waving in the breeze at Te-maru-o-araiawa. He landed at Omoka and dragged his canoe ashore, naming the place Te-amonga-waka (the carrying of the canoe). He went on to a place on the reef called Awanui. There he commenced to cut a channel through the reef to connect the lagoon with the sea and so to provide a passage for canoes. As he worked he sang the following chant, which Gill (13, p. 142) has recorded in full:
The words kurua, kurua, kurukurua of the refrain mean literally “to batter,” for Wheatu used a piece of coral boulder to hammer away at the reef and break pieces off in his attempt to cut out a channel. In view of the fact that the Cook Islands Administration has considered the advisability of cutting channels through the reef, the chant is interesting, showing that the problem exercised the minds of the early Polynesian settlers. The early voyager, Te Herui, is credited by tradition with having cut the passage called Te-rua-i-kakau through the reef at Aitutaki, but he had the advantage over Wheatu of having an adz. Another ancestor, Ruatapu, commenced a similar engineering task on the reef at Atiu, but as the food supplies of his employer fell short, he abandoned the work.
Meanwhile, Huku had a premonition that something was happening on the land he regarded as his. According to Tupou-rahi, Huku set sail in a canoe named Te Rawhiti and was accompanied by his sister, Tapairu, and her husband, Toa. According to Gill (13, p. 149), Huku came without them. In Rakahanga, Huku found Wheatu still battering away at the reef at Awanui. To Huku's fierce inquiry as to what he was doing on his land, Wheatu diplomatically replied, “I am battering this rock to make a canoe channel for you.” (E tuki ana au i te papa nei tei ara waka nohou.) According to one version, Wheatu was allowed to remain on condition that he did not go inland, as Huku was afraid he might pull up the coconuts that had been planted. The version adopted by the people in their historical dramas (see p. 198) is that Wheatu was driven off the island. A short, wide indentation on the inner side of the reef at Awanui is pointed out as the scene of Wheatu's labor, and the opinion is held that he would have completed the channel had he not been driven away. The name of Wheatu does not appear in the local genealogies.
Huku subsequently departed for Rarotonga, leaving the land in charge of his sister and her husband. Gill (13, p. 149) states that Huku sent his sister and her husband to Rakahanga after his return to Rarotonga, and that the canoe in which they came was named Reiapata. Huku here disappears from history, and the peopling of the atoll commences with Toa and his wife.
Huku is generally believed by the people of Rakahanga and Manihiki to have come from Rarotonga. Tupou-rahi stated that he belonged to the land division of Tukuvaine, that Ikurangi was his chiefly mountain (maunga ariki), and that his god, Mokoroa-i-taupo, was located at Maungatea. Tukuvaine, Ikurangi, and Maungatea are all well-known localities close to the main village, Avarua, in Rarotonga. So much communication, however, has existed between the atolls and Rarotonga since the advent of Christianity that the possibility of elaboration between the two peoples cannot be disregarded. Mr. Savage told me that Huku appears as “Iku” in the Rarotongan genealogies, but careful checking up is required before the two can be accepted as identical. The number of voyages Huku is reputed to have made between Rarotonga and Rakahanga is probably exaggerated.
The interpolation of the Maui myth is interesting in view of the dialectical affinity between the atolls and New Zealand. Both areas have the story of Maui fishing up the land with a hook and line. The New Zealand story differs in that it presents five Maui brothers instead of three. In both areas the hero of the adventure is the youngest son, Maui-potiki in one, and Maui-muri in the other. Both potiki and muri refer to the last-born of a family. In the New Zealand story the hook entered a house at the bottom of the sea and caught on the back of the house, which suggests the Rakahangan incident in which Hina-i-te-papa hooked the line into the papa or rock where she dwelt at the bottom of the sea. In outline the two stories show an affinity, but they naturally differ in minor details.
Toa and Tapairu settled as permanent colonists on the island of Te Kainga in the atoll of Rakahanga. Tradition states that Tapairu was the sister of Huku and that it was through this blood kinship that Huku gave her the land. Pedigrees of the ancestry of both Tapairu and Toa are lacking. Some informants stated that Huku and Tapairu were the children of Hiro of Hawaiki, but Gill (13, p. 143) records that Tapairu was the daughter of a son of Hiro who came from Hawaiki, presumably, to Rarotonga. An interesting complication is due to the definite mention of a son of Hiro in Rarotongan history. Hiro, the celebrated explorer, was a contemporary of Tangiia, the great Rarotongan ancestor. Tangiia adopted Tai-te-ariki, a son of Hiro, and made him high chief over a section of his people. The Pa-ariki title of the Takitumu tribes of east and south
According to Gill (10, vol. 2, pp. 281, 282), Toa was a great warrior but was defeated in Rarotonga. Gill gives this defeat as the reason why Toa and his wife came to settle in the land discovered by Iku (Huku). He says further, “The Rarotongan chiefs confirm this testimony by relating the departure of ‘Toa’ from this island many generations ago. He was a great warrior of the Ngati-Tinomana tribe.” The tribe referred to inhabits the western part of Rarotonga. Gill also mentions the habit of saying something after sneezing, as though addressing a spirit. On Manihiki it was usual to say, “Alas! alas! Go to Rarotonga.” The evidence cited would appear to confirm Rarotonga as the original habitat of Toa and Tapairu.
Because traditional history in Rakahanga attributes the settlement of the atolls to one biological family, the head of that family a defeated warrior accompanied by no priests, the genealogical records of the two atolls thus peopled are poor in extent and detail. As in Tongareva (29, p. 16), the genealogical records cover three periods, settlement, exploratory or migratory, and mythical. The settlement period commenced with the historical settlement of the land and extends to the present time. The exploratory phase covered the period from the departure from an ancient homeland to the beginning of the present occupation. The mythical period dealt with the creation of the gods and the origin of human life. Even in the mythical period the order of creation and natural phenomena were personified and arranged in genealogical order. In the preservation of genealogies, an outstanding element of all Polynesian culture, native scholars have provided a chronological skeleton for traditional history. Whereas the Western historian refers to a calendar date of solar years, the Polynesian refers, then, to the number of generations of human beings (uki tangata) in dating past events. Because the genealogies covering the three periods are elaborate, their preservation and teaching were delegated to persons trained to feats of memory. These people, in Polynesia, formed the educated priesthood. It can
In Rakahanga the only voyages of the long migratory period recorded are those of Huku and Wheatu from Rarotonga. Beyond the statement that Huku and Tapairu were either the children or the grandchildren of Hiro, no pedigrees are recorded to extend over the migratory period from the mythical past. The widespread myth of Maui was evidently one of the few things remembered, and it was interpolated to link with the recent period of Huku. No definite mythical period is recorded, nor are primary parents, represented in some areas by Atea and Papa, remembered. Whakahotu appears in the name of the spot in the ocean whence Rakahanga emerged, but though there is an indication that Whakahotu was personified, she does not appear as a primary nature mother as she does in Tongarevan myth. The god Tangaroa appears as the father of Maui as he does in Rarotongan myth. No reference is made, however, to his brothers, Tane, Rongo, and others who occupy such a prominent position in the Polynesian pantheon. The gods worshiped were local gods not elsewhere known. Rakahanga has preserved even less of Polynesian myth than Tongareva (29, p. 85). The first settler, Toa, must be held responsible for what knowledge of outside history and institutions was brought into the country. Rakahangan chiefs and heads of families subsequently learned the family pedigrees covering the settlement period, for inheritance and succession were based on these, but much has been forgotten since the advent of Christianity.
The family pedigrees covering the settlement period were recorded for this study from evidence given by witnesses before the Native Land Court held in Rakahanga in June, 1929. All the witnesses were acquainted with the main facts concerning Toa's marriages, but only a few could trace a connected line from Toa to themselves. Most could trace pedigrees to ancestors through 6 to 12 generations but could not connect them with the main lines. The families of Toa's daughters were confused, and some ancestors were given different names and different parents.
Out of this confusion a lineage given by the pastor, Kairenga, is selected, as it gives his lineal descent from Toa (Table 1). Another connected line was given by Haumata-tua, but it includes a list of persons who held one of the ariki titles. In pedigrees which include lists of ariki, younger brothers
If the allowance of the Polynesian Society of 25 years to a generation is accepted, the 22 generations from Toa to Kairenga's adult nephew, Mata, would make a settlement period of 550 years. Toa would have landed in Rakahanga in about the middle of the fourteenth century. This date agrees with the date of the last migration to New Zealand and with the approximate date of settlement by Mahuta in Tongareva. Rarotonga was settled by Tangiia about a century earlier.
The first part of Table 1 ends with Kanohi in the 10th generation. Kanohi married Tautape, the last ariki to rule singly over the atolls. The period of the dual ariki commences with the 11th generation and consists of
A pedigree skeleton has now been provided to which collaterals may be linked as the story develops.
The human population is referred to in Rakahanga as the kura tangata, the line of descent as the katiri tangata, and the biological family as the puna. Toa and Tapairu and their four children are referred to historically as the puna mua (the first family). In New Zealand puna means a wife and puna rua, a second wife. In Hawaii punalua means the two wives of one husband or the two husbands of one wife. The two husbands of one wife may be regarded as a late development with a limited distribution. To the Polynesian in general the dominant reason for marriage was the procreation of children to perpetuate the line of descent. Though to the native mind the term puna may apply particularly to the offspring, the parents are not entirely disassociated. The very mention of the puna recalls the parents, and the puna cannot be described without mentioning the parents—“Te puna mua a Toa raua ko Tapairu, e wha tamahine: ko Kae, ko Poe, ko Naunau, e Nanamu.” (The first family of Toa and Tapairu consisted of four daughters: Kae, Poe, Naunau, and Nanamu.) The children of this marriage were all girls, and their names are given in order of birth. Some pedigrees give a different order, making Poe first and Naunau last. Gill (10, vol. 2, p. 281) gives their names as Vai, Navenave, Pae, and Nannau, but as every consonant must be followed by a vowel, Nannau at least has been spelled incorrectly. Throughout this early period considerable confusion exists in the pedigrees given by different families.
It is obvious that in the settlement of an uninhabited island by one biological family the perpetuation of the human stock must be continued through incestuous marriages. The members of Toa's first family were all females and he desired male issue (kua hinangaro ki te kapi tane). Had some of the first family been males, it is probable that brother and sister marriages would have been consummated to meet the problem. No sons having been born to Tapairu, Toa married his eldest daughter to obtain male issue (kapi tane) whereby the line of descent (katiri tangata) might be continued.
With a few exceptions, as in Tongareva, close marriages were favored by Polynesians. In the highly sophisticated cultures of Hawaii and Rarotonga brother and sister marriages took place for the purpose of perpetuating chiefly lines of high rank. The theory that peoples of lower cultures have an instinctive horror of incest is not substantiated in Polynesia; where prohibitions exist they may be attributed to a cultural development. Father-daughter marriages probably would not have occurred in Rakahanga, however, except that there was apparently no other solution to the difficulty. The eldest daughter, Kae, bore a female child, and the problem remained unsettled. The child was named Tupunoa, which carries the idea of “growth to no purpose” and bears witness to the disappointment that must have been engendered by the birth of a girl child. Any psychological inhibition against a father-daughter marriage having been once broken down, Toa married his second daughter in search of male issue. Again the child was a daughter. He married his third daughter, Naunau, and, according to some authorities, the issue was again a daughter. Other genealogists state that male issue was born. Toa then married his youngest daughter, Nanamu, in his determination to obtain male issue. Later, he even married his daughter-granddaughter, Tupunoa. The necessity of providing male issue to perpetuate the human species was the dominant consideration.
The people of Manihiki and Rakahanga do not express any repugnance at the action of their ancestors, for they say that had such marriages not been made there would have been no kura tangata. By both Nanamu and Tupunoa, Toa had male issue. The problem of the perpetuation of the stock having been settled, father and daughter marriages ceased and were not repeated from Toa's period to the present day.
Considerable contradiction exists regarding Toa's families by his daughters. Gill, who visited the atolls in 1852, recorded the following genealogy (10, vol. 2, p. 281):
Ikutau (Hukutahu) married his first cousin and had five children, whose sexes are not given. Attention has already been drawn to the incorrect spelling in this list. The Ikutau family given cannot be traced by the present generation.
From a manuscript written in the native language by Tairi, one of the two first Rarotongan missionaries who went to Rakahanga in 1849, Gill records the following genealogy (13, pp. 143, 144):
The parentage of Hoturangaranga and Tutonga is not given. They may have been among the retainers of Toa, if he had any retainers. After male issue had been produced by Toa, any restriction that may have existed against marrying with retainers' stock may have been relaxed.
Kairenga gave his own pedigree from Matangaro. He stated that Matangaro married his aunt, Poe, but Gill's pedigree showing that Matangaro married Poe's daughter is more likely to be correct. Kairenga gave Matangaro's family as consisting of two daughters, Paevaka and Horoeka, and a son, Rua-ariki.
Haumata-tua gave the pedigree in Table 2 before the Native Land Court.
Of the second families, those who became most important were the male children of the youngest daughter. Of these, Te-pori-o-kaivai evidently died young and without issue. The outstanding ancestors are the second and third sons, Matangaro and Hukutahu. On the evidence adduced, Table 3 probably represents more nearly what took place with the main characters in the second group of four families.
In the second generation, except for the marriage of Toa, incest was avoided, as first cousins were available for marriages. It is likely that other first cousin marriages took place, but the records are as confused. It may
Family pedigrees record the elements and mechanism of social structure, lineal descent, marriages, sex, seniority, and collaterals in each generation. The sex and order of birth in each generation were always recited, but collaterals were left for their own descendants to trace. The skilled genealogist, however, besides knowing his own lineal descent, memorized the descent of the leading families in the community and could, by acquaintance with the collaterals of each generation, show how all the families were linked together by common ancestors of more recent date and how they all descended from the original biological family. He could demonstrate how all the inhabitants of the atoll were linked together by a common blood tie.
Owing to the partial dislocation of native culture that followed the advent of Christianity in Manihiki and Rakahanga, however, many of the distant marriages in the pedigrees have been forgotten. One native, Kairenga, for example, was unable to give the marriages in his pedigree from the 4th to the 9th generation. He was doubtful about the 11th and 12th generations, but from the 13th generation onward he recited them as a matter of course. Some children who died young, or adults who had no issue, have been dropped out of the records in the course of time. It is the living descendants who perpetuate lineal descent.
The value of even the last part of Kairenga's pedigree in establishing his social position is illustrated in the following summary of the sexes and order of births in each generation. Kairenga's own ancestors are represented by capital letters under “order of birth,” and Kairenga is represented by the capital in the 21st generation.
Kairenga was senior to all descendants of the younger brothers and sisters of the five generations from the 12th to the 16th. In the 17th
The family, because the parts played by husband and wife in reproduction were fully recognized and the child regarded as flesh and blood of both parents, was bilateral and traced its descent through both parents. Other things being equal, more importance was attached to patrilineal descent. If, however, the mother came of a more important lineage than the father and more land and property were inherited from her, matrilineal descent assumed a correspondingly greater importance. A mother of high rank might form a break in a male line, but even so it was more important to be joined to an illustrious line by a female link than to be connected by a male link to an insignificant line. Patrilineal descent was, however, all-important in succession to rank and title. (See pp. 52, 54.) A female break in the ariki line was usually fatal to succession.
The enumeration of the names of individuals in pedigrees is sufficient record for the dead. For the living, who are in constant communication with each other, terms to indicate degrees of relationship are derived from the pedigrees.
As about five generations are all that are normally contemporary, it is for five generations that relationship terms have been provided. The terms denote the relationship of any member of the blood community to a person speaking or a person spoken to, and they give a key to social structure. An adult male of middle age may, in his lineal descent, have both parents and grandparents alive who have lineal pedigrees one and two generations respectively shorter than his. If he has children and grandchildren, their lines of descent are one and two generations respectively longer than his. The names of ancestors are checked off on the fingers as relationship is being determined. The person speaking or spoken to is placed in the middle stratum, regarded as o. His parents are on the — 1 and his grandparents
When two individuals wish to decide their collateral relationship, they count generations from a common ancestor. The two counts are compared and one subtracted, and as the difference is usually between −2 and +2,
The following correlative terms denote sex: tane (male or husband), wahine (adult female or wife); tuangane (brother of sister), tuahine (sister of brother); ure (son), and hika (daughter). Tane and wahine may be used as qualifying terms to distinguish sex in relationship terms of common gender.
The position on the horizontal levels of the following terms, which distinguish lineal and collateral descent in generations and terms of relationship by marriage and adoption, depends on their vertical count from the nearest common ancestor:
Tupuna. Includes the grandparents in lineal descent and their brothers and sisters. Also applies to all collaterals who count two generations less from a common ancestor or to all who fall in the −2 stratum. Sex is indicated by adding qualifying terms as in tupunatane (grandfather) and tupunawahine (grandmother). Tupuna also applies to all generations beyond that of grandparents and is used as a general term to denote ancestors. Great-grandparents, however, may be designated as tupuna-tuarua (second grandparents) and great-great-grandparents as tupuna-tuateru (third grandparents).
Metua (a dialectical form of matua). Applies to parents, uncles, aunts, second cousins, and other collaterals on the −1 stratum. In some regions matua applies particularly to the male sex, and the female sex may be indicated by a different word, such as whaea or whaene in New Zealand. In Rakahanga, however, metua is common gender and sex is indicated by adding tane or wahine.
Metua-Huangai. Applies to fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law. Here metua indicates the −1 stratum, for marriage puts the husband and wife on the same stratum as regards relationship with the parents of both contracting parties. The husband and wife still retain the relationship to each other indicated by their respective generation strata. The marriage relationship is indicated by huangai, which corresponds to the English “in-law”.
Metua-Whangai. An adoptive parent; metua shows the generation stratum and whangai (to feed) refers to the outstanding feature in adoption. Polynesians in speaking English often refer to their “feeding father” or “feeding mother,” which conveys the meaning of metua-whangai better from a Polynesian angle than “adoptive parent”.
Tama. Son.
Tamahine. Daughter, tama with the female suffix hine. Also used to denote female first cousins once removed, female second cousins once removed, and other more distant collaterals who are on the + 1 stratum.
Iramutu. A special term to denote nephews and nieces, fairly widespread. Applies to the sons and daughters of brothers and sisters, whether they are older or younger than the speaker.
Hunonga. Son-in-law or daughter-in-law, expresses both the generation level and the marriage relationship.
Tamaiti-Whangai. Literally, “feeding child”. Applies to an adopted son or daughter.
Tamaiti. Used in tamaiti-whangai to denote the generation level. Also denotes collaterals beyond the degree of consanguinity of nephews and nieces. May be used as the male correlative to tamahine, and thus includes first and second cousins once removed and other collaterals on the + 1 level.
Mokopuna. Denotes grandchildren in lineal descent and extends laterally to include grandnephews, grandnieces, first and second cousins twice removed, and all collaterals on the + 2 level. The term also applies to great-grandchildren and relatives on the + 3 level. It may extend further to great-great-grandchildren and relatives on the + 4 level. The general term may be qualified by a number to denote the degree or removal as follows: + 2. Grandchildren−mokopuna. + 3. Great-grandchildren−mokopuna-tuarua (second). + 4. Great-great-grandchildren− mokopuna-tuateru (third).
The method of deciding relationship terms which denote seniority within a family works horizontally instead of vertically. Though only two terms are used, they have a far-reaching application. Their first application is shown on the o stratum in Table 4. The seniority terms are:
Tuakana. Elder brother of a male; elder sister of a female; a relative of the same sex, who is an equal number of generations removed from a common ancestor but who is descended from an older brother or sister in the common ancestor's biological family.
Teina. Younger brother of a male; younger sister of a female; a relative of the same sex who is an equal number of generations removed from a common ancestor, but who is descended from a younger brother or sister of the common ancestor's own children.
Seniority terms are correlative as regards age within the same sex. They are not applied in ordinary speech to brother and sister, though they may be referred to theoretically to denote priority in date of birth of individuals of opposite sexes. Seniority was all-important in the old social structure in deciding rank and title and relative degrees of influence in family and community gatherings. Certain terms were applied to the first-born son of a family, but such terms were restricted to one person. Dates of birth could not be recorded, but as children were born the terms used automatically placed them in their order of seniority. Thus when the eldest son died seniority within his generation naturally passed to the next brother, who was tuakana to all the others.
The seniority inherited through order of birth was transmitted through the individual members of the family to their descendants. Seniority as
tuakana and teina terms was horizontal in one biological family but was traced vertically in collaterals back to the family of the common ancestor. Thus in Table 4 the terms have been arranged in senior and junior collateral columns on either side of the lineal column. The senior collaterals are tuakana to those in both the other columns and the junior collaterals are teina to the other two. The descendants of the senior collaterals will always be on the left of the lineal column in the senior position, and similarly the descendants of the junior collaterals will always be on the right in the junior position. As they pass down through the generation levels they receive the relationship term of the particular level, but their senior or junior relationship will always be recognized. Order of birth in each biological family places individuals and their families in senior or junior positions with regard to other individuals and families.
On the o level the truly collateral terms, tuakana and teina, are applied to brothers and sisters. The nearest of kin on this level are first cousins who are 2 generations removed from the common grandparents in both the lineal and collateral columns. Their relative position is merely an extension of the principle governing the individual members of one biological family. The children of the uncles and aunts who are older than the lineal father are classed as tuakana, and the children of the younger uncles and aunts are teina. The next nearest of kin are second cousins who are 3 generations removed from the common great-grandparents on both the lineal and collateral lines. They are divided into tuakana and teina according to whether their grandparents were senior or junior to the grandparents in the lineal line. In a similar way the classification extends to the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth cousins, and so on, as long as two lineal lines have the same number of generations. Theoretically, it could extend back to the first family of occupation, in which circumstance the seniority would be derived from the children of that family. What happens in practice, however, is that more recent marriages lead to a readjustment of relationship strata from a more convenient point of calculation. When members of a junior line marry into a senior line, it is natural for their descendants to trace descent through the senior line if they gain extra advantages by doing so. A person was often tuakana to a relative on one line of descent and teina to him on another. In some Polynesian areas, for example, New Zealand, a special term was used to designate such a double relationship, but no specific term seems to have been used in Rakahanga. Though the ariki title went by seniority, an ariki might have several tuakana in the community, owing to the marriages of his ancestors. His father might have married a younger sister, and thus all the children of his mother's older brothers and sisters would be tuakana to
tuakana to him, but again seniority through a female line would not affect him as regards his office. Thus the tuakana-teina relationship permeated the whole of society, and the respect and deference paid to seniority was indicated by its wide application not only to individuals on the same generation level but to families and groups. Its power, however, varied with the degree of consanguinity and its derivation through a male or female line.
Two terms which did not fit into the collateral system based on seniority were used to denote brother and sister, tuangane (brother of a sister or the male relaitve of a female, both an equal number of generations removed from a common ancestor), and tuahine (sister of a brother or the female relative of a male, both an equal number of generations removed from a common ancestor). These have not been included in the table of relationship terms. Personally, I feel that there is an implied sex superiority in the term tuangane and an implied inferiority in tuahine. These terms fill in the gap left by the restrictions applied to tuakana and teina, which are fundamentally correlatives to denote superiority of birth. The restriction of tuakana and teina to members of the same sex is to prevent their use between opposite sexes. A logical reason for this usage would be to prevent some danger. The danger, as I see it, was to the male succession to rank and title through seniority of birth. No danger could arise from the use of terms among sisters to denote their relative positions in the female sphere of activity. If, however, a sister were termed tuakana to a younger brother, her seniority to him in the family would be admitted, regardless of sex. A first-born female would be tuakana to the rest of the family, and her claims would be hard to combat. It seems plausible, therefore, that those who guided the evolution of social structure provided against such a contingency.
In most Polynesian dialects proper names as applied to the different sexes have been in use so long that masculine and feminine names have become differentiated by usage. Masculine names have, however, been given to females, and feminine names to males. In Rakahanga the naming of either sex by the same name is so prevalent that there are very few names which are not common to both sexes. Of the few which are not common, a male name is Atua, as in Te-atua-a-tupou, Te-atua-a-maheanga, and others. Though tane is used to distinguish the male sex in relationship terms, in proper names the male suffixes are matua and tangata. The term matua is a common term applying to the −1 generation, and when used as a relationship term it has to be qualified by tane or wahine to distinguish sex. In proper names, however, such as Temu-matua, it invariably indicates the male
tangata refers primarily to human beings as distinguished from other animals or the gods, but in proper names it is restricted to the male sex, as in Munokoa-tangata. In feminine names the general sex suffix is wahine, as in Temu-wahine, but the senior daughters of chiefly families have the special suffix tapairu, as in Haumata-tapairu and Takai-tapairu.
The word ure (boy) and hika (girl), formerly used to indicate the sex of children in pedigree recitations or conversation, indicate the male and female organs of generation. There was no diffidence in using them to denote sex until prurient ideas of Western culture had affected the natives. The people are now ashamed to use these terms.
It is reasonable to think that the terms tupuna, metua, tama, tamahitie, and mokopuna were originally used descriptively in lineal descent and that the collateral terms tuakana, teina, tuangane, and tuahine were confined to members of the same biological family. The collateral extension of the parent term metua to include uncles and aunts is natural, when the conditions under which the families developed are considered. The people lived in composite households or in households close together. The uncles and aunts extended to nephews and nieces the care and affection they gave to their own children. Uncle and nephew had mutual obligations toward each other, and the extension of the parent term toward the uncle stressed the closeness of relationship. As the child grew up he knew which of his matua was his actual father and he learned that other matua were brothers of his parents. The learning of degrees of consanguinity was part of the cultural education, knowledge that opened out gradually before the child with the learning of his pedigree. It evidently did not occur to the ancestors that there was a need for a descriptive term to distinguish between uncle and father to avoid confusion, for there was no confusion in their minds. Further extension of relationship terms to group all relatives on certain levels was a continuation of the principle of binding the people together through a common blood tie. The relationship terms were used to express blood obligations inherited through mutual ancestors. Social structure was based upon cooperation and support of institutions by as many of the blood-kinsmen as possible.
The derivation of relationship terms from pedigrees which stratify relatives in generation levels, called by ethnological writers a “classificatory” system in contrast with the European “descriptive” system, is typical of Polynesia. It is true that the classificatory system lacks the exactness of the descriptive system. The classificatory system contains a few terms which apply to many relatives, whereas the descriptive system contains more terms and brings out remoteness of relationships more carefully than does the classificatory system. The contention of Kroeber (17) that relationship
It is probably largely because of the nature of the Polynesian household that foreigners have been led to regard the Polynesian as overlooking the importance of the biological family as a unit of social structure. Western culture is individualistic, and from the Polynesian point of view, selfish. The European tendency is not to share dwellings, food, property, or children. Relatives are not encouraged to stay indefinitely with the European family, a procedure almost incomprehensible to the Polynesian. Europeans, except in families holding ancient titles or inherited social position, do not keep family pedigrees. Relationship terms are restricted to a few degrees, and collateral terms have no vital meaning. The idea of kinship obligation and coöperation has weakened. The unit of money has displaced community coöperation in supplying man power for tasks beyond the scope of the individual. Villages and towns are accumulations of individual family units, independent of each other and having no common blood tie to unite the whole community. When members of one family do establish their households in the same village or town, they become separate independent units. Although the separate households recognize close relationship and may coöperate more closely with one another than with unrelated households, they develop different occupations and interests, and one household cannot dictate the policy of another by right of kinship. In the course of time, when relationship becomes remote, the diluted blood tie assumes a merely historical interest. Migrations are frequent, and separation further weakens any influence that blood kinship might have exerted. Thus collateral relationship ceases to exercise an active influence in social structure.
The Polynesian household offers a marked contrast. Although the nucleus of the household is the puna, or single biological family, it is augmented in various ways. A son may elect to live with his parents after reaching adulthood. He marries and brings up his children in the same household, which thus comprises three generations. As the couple of the first generation grow old they relinquish the active management of the household to the couple of the second generation. The younger couple does the harder manual work in providing food and other necessities. The old people
The household residence consists of separate buildings devoted to cooking and sleeping. The cooking house is shared by all. The food supplies are pooled, cooked in one earthen oven, and shared among the members of the household. The sleeping house accommodates all.
The great desire of the single biological family (puna) was to have male issue (kapi tane). The intensity of this desire led to incestuous marriages in the beginning of the history of the atolls. The general Polynesian attitude toward children was that females, through marriage, were likely to be lost to the local group or subtribe, whereas males, owing to the prevalence of patrilocal residence, strengthened their own community. In prominent families the desire for male issue was increased by the law of male succession to rank and title. A young married couple occupied by love and appreciation of each other's physical perfections probably dwelt less on the idea of male issue, though the desire must have existed. To the parents of the couple, however, the desire for male issue was dominant. The romantic side of the marriage did not affect them. The chiefly parents of the husband looked forward to a grandson to carry on the line, to succeed to the title, and to inherit the estate. A granddaughter would merely be a wife for some other family. The feeling was naturally shared by the husband's family and
tuha whenua) in the 6th generation and of the dual ariki in the 11th generation.
When the news reached the parents of the newly married couple that the wife was pregnant, general satisfaction was expressed. Both mothers-in-law commenced to plait garments of split hala leaves (papa) for both the prospective mother and child. As the time of confinement arrived, the parents-in-law prepared to give a feast in celebration. If the child born was a male there was great rejoicing. The news was called (ka karangatia) throughout the village. A feast was the material expression of the general rejoicing. If the child was a girl, however, the disappointing news filtered out, but there was no public announcement. The food prepared was eaten, but there was no feast. It was stated by my informant that after the birth of a daughter the husband sometimes left his wife in disgust.
The accouchement was carried out in the squatting position. The patient sat on the floor reclining against a relative of experience. When labor pains came on the patient was pushed up into the squatting position, and she supported herself also by holding to a rope hanging down from a rafter. The support assisted her in bearing down. Older female relatives assisted her by massaging the back and lower limbs between pains. The child was received on a plaited mat held by an assistant.
The placenta was taken away and placed in a hole dug for it at some appropriate place. A little earth was filled in, and a coconut was planted above the placenta. Mr. Savage informs me that the coconut is always referred to as the weri of the afterbirth of the child. As the plant grew it was observed from time to time. Its manner of growth was supposed to indicate the nature of the growth of the child. If growth was vigorous the child would be healthy and strong, but if it was poor the child would be correspondingly weak and ailing.
When the umbilical cord was tied and cut, the short end which remained attached to the child was termed pito and when it dropped off the umbilicus was also termed pito. The short length of cord that dropped off in natural course of time was differently disposed of for the two sexes. The male
pito was taken to the ocean side of the island and cast into the sea. This action, Mr. Savage informs me, was referred to as “titiri ki te moana roa” (casting into the long ocean). It was a form of sympathetic magic to insure that the child would develop into an expert fisherman or find success if he made voyages on the long ocean. The female pito was taken to the lagoon side of the island and cast into the lagoon waters. This was termed “titiri ki te tai roto” (casting into the inland waters). Man's sphere was in the ocean waters outside the bounding reef, but woman's sphere was in the waters of the lagoon. The treatment applied to the female pito insured that when she grew up the girl would become an expert diver in procuring pahua (Tridacna) and would be able to remain under water for a long time.
In addition to the placental tree (weri), one or more coconut trees were planted by the parents or an elder of the family on family land to commemorate the birth of the child. Such trees were regarded as the special property of particular children, to whose exclusive use they were reserved. The custom and the trees, which were to provide a beverage for the children in years to come, were termed wai (water, coconut fluid).
Children, as they grew up, were instructed in the observances of life as they came under the influence of the elder members in the composite household. Grandparents, who had more time than the parents, told them tales and myths and probably gave more instruction than the parents. The children played with tops and darts on land. Within the calm waters of the lagoon they early learned to swim and to handle canoes, and so laid the foundation to future success as fishermen and seamen.
Mr. Savage writes me that girls of high rank were specially cared for from childhood. A female child was kept in a private house and attended by an elder woman of the family. During the period of childhood she was carefully fed, and her limbs were massaged with the coconut oil (romonga) prepared from mature nuts. She received careful attention in early childhood as regards the processes of excretion. After micturition or defaecation the parts were washed and gently patted during the washing. Such action is the natural care of children during babyhood, but its continuance with a selected attendant went with higher rank. The careful feeding and massaging was influenced not only by affection, but in order that the girl should become well-favored for some future marriage of note.
The care lavished on a female child of rank was increased as she reached puberty. At about the age of the first menses she was kept guarded in a house by the mother and female attendants. This seclusion was for two purposes, to keep her from exposure to the hot sun to render her skin fair, and
A third reason for the seclusion and night walks was to keep the form and beauty of the girl a secret from other families until she should make her public début. During the period of seclusion the best foods obtainable were contributed by the family and subtribe to make her well-nourished, for plumpness was one of the standards of beauty acquired and required by the upper classes. The greater the impression created at the official début of a girl of rank, the greater the credit and satisfaction to her family and subtribe. That a girl of high rank was being kept in seclusion was known throughout the village. All in the community, particularly the families of rank who had marriageable sons, were interested. Thus the whole population looked forward to the time when the girl would make her public appearance.
The public appearance of the girl took place at puberty. She had had her first menses and was considered fit for marriage. The ceremony of showing her to the people was termed whakahinga, according to Mr. Savage, and was associated with the father of the girl. Thus, if Mika was the father of the secluded girl, the approaching ceremony was promulgated through the village as “te whakahinga a Mika” (Mika's whakahinga). The event took place at a religious inclosure or marae at which the people gathered, after the announcement of time and place. The maid was dressed in a particular form of tipora garment, consisting of a sennit belt (tu kaha) supporting a small rectangular apron of plaited material (tautape) in front and a similar tautape behind. She was escorted to the gathering place by her family and on the marae was subjected to the scrutiny of the people, who appraised her physical beauty. It was stated that girls treated with seclusion and good feeding developed beautiful figures with skins of velvety softness. The brother of the girl's mother had the right to remove the maid's garment. He untied the tukaha belt and removed it, with the two tautape aprons. The girl thus stood entirely naked, but she folded her hands in front of her for concealment. The adults inspected her figure and shape. Viewed from the back, if her lower limbs were close together (piri) it was held that she had been virtuous. Her general demeanor was also observed. From the native point of view, no girl had any need to feel shame at the exposure of her naked form which custom allowed on such an occasion. If well formed,
During the ceremony on the marae the maid, from association with a religious structure, was tapu. During the period of seclusion she was also tapu, in the sense of being restricted from intercourse with outside people. After the inspection on the marae had been concluded, the maid was conducted through a complementary ceremony. Presumably her garments were restored to her, and she was taken to a place called Taipari. This excursion found expression in the words, “E ue haere ki to koutou whenua ko Taipari.” (Go to your land at Taipari.) There she was bathed, and a ceremony in which incantations and leaves were used was performed over her. No details were available, but I was informed that the ceremony made the girl noa (common), to enable her once more to mix with the public. I understood from my informants that the second ceremony was termed whakapu, but Mr. Savage seems to indicate that the word whakahinga used for the first part is an alternate term with whakapu. After the ceremony, though the girl moved about with fewer restrictions, she was still watched, as all the trouble taken was for the purpose not only of advertising the family but of making an advantageous marriage. A certain amount of restriction was enforced until the marriage was arranged and completed. The family and the social group had contributed food in order that she should be kept fair and virtuous for marriage. They had a share in her, and a worthy alliance was necessary to justify the interest and support they had given.
The whakahinga and whakapu ceremonies were observed in the few families of high rank, particularly for the high-born tapairu of the ariki families. Among the general mass of the people such restrictions were not imposed. Both sexes had early love affairs with sex experience. Sex restrictions were not actively imposed as a rule until after marriage.
I was informed that young men were also treated at puberty to seclusion and the subsequent public appearance on the marae. It was after or during the visit to Taipari that a father took his son to all the islands on which he owned property. He pointed out his shares of land and indicated the landmarks. The visit formed an instructional tour during which the boy committed the information to memory for future guidance. After this, the boy was qualified for marriage.
Among junior branches of families which had come to form the mass of the people, it is probable that matings took place without much ceremony. Young people who wished to prolong love affairs and to continue to live together probably did so without much ado. The cohabitation was soon noticed by their respective parents and perhaps ratified at a small feast by the two families. The couple might also obtain the consent of their parents beforehand, and the mutual consent of both families would ratify the marriage.
For children of senior and chiefly families, marriage arrangements were much more formal. Males in the line of succession to the titles of ariki, tukuwhare, and to leading positions in subtribes, and girls of chiefly family who had been subjected to the whakapu ceremony, were public characters in whom the greatest interest was taken by the families and social groups to which they belonged. Any loose alliance conducted in a common way was not conducive to the maintenance of family and group prestige. Marriages of those of high rank were thus of public concern.
Marriage alliances were discussed at meetings called for the purpose. When the parents or elders of the family came to a preliminary decision, they discussed the matter with the leaders of the families within the group or groups concerned. The decision was made at a public meeting, and carried the support of the group. Most decisions were quickly arrived at by those most intimately concerned, but the longer course of submitting matters to the group was necessary in order to give them a share in discussion and, by their public ratification, to obtain their hearty support in providing the food and property necessary to the marriage ceremony. Objections raised by parents to what they considered unsuitable marriages have, on occasion, led to romantic marriages in which the parental wrath was braved.
The marriage having been consented to by all concerned, the members of the two family groups set to work to plait garments and mats for a marriage dowry. The dowry is termed takahinga (takahi, to stand on), as the mats form the material on which either party will stand in the house of the other. The women prepare the garments and mats, and the men collect and prepare food to accompany the takahinga. The bride's tribe (matakeinanga) escorts the girl in procession to the house of the groom's father, carrying dowry and food, to the accompaniment of singing and dancing. The takahinga and the food is formally presented to the bridegroom's family. The bride's people then retire to their own part of the village to await the reciprocal part of the ceremony.
The bridegroom's tribe now escorts the bridegroom to the house of the bride's father. They, in turn, take a takahinga of garments and mats and
Later, the husband is escorted back to his father's house, where the parents of both parties weep loudly and even cut themselves as a sign of grief that their direct authority over their children has ceased. This public demonstration of removal of parental control indicates that the married couple can now set up a household.
Primogeniture, or seniority in the male line, governs succession to rank and title in the Cook Islands and in the Society Islands. In the Cook Islands matahiapo is a general term for “eldest son,” but in certain family groups the matahiapo is a title held in the senior family. The ariki (chief) is simply the senior matahiapo of a number of family groups which have branched out from the original family. The more numerous the family groups, the greater the seniority and power of the ariki. The leaders of the expeditions which settled the islands must have had rank originally to enjoy the position of leadership. No matter, however, what their rank may have been in their original homeland, they have assumed the ariki title in the new lands on which they settled. The early use of the ariki title in Rakahanga shows that the institution was known to Toa and Tapairu and was introduced by them from their island of origin. In the later development of the dual ariki titles and the tribal titles, the names used indicate a local development and that the people were not guided in the formation of nomenclature by any memory of past tradition. The Rakahangans instituted new offices based on Polynesian principles but had to coin new local terms.
The term ariki was regarded as a taohanga (title). Toa was a warrior, as his name implies, and as Gill (10, vol. 2, p. 281) records. Toa himself may have had no title, but his wife, from her name, Tapairu, was evidently of high rank. The establishment of the ariki title dates from Toa's second family. The title-holders are shown in capitals in Table 5.
Haumata-tua in Table 2 gives a different family of male children to Nanamu and derives Te-pori-o-kaivai and his brothers from Naunau, who is given as the youngest daughter. If correct, they were passed over for some reason and the title went to the sons of the youngest daughter. Of these, Te-pori-o-kaivai was the first-born, but he disappeared from the story and left no issue. Kairenga held that the title went first to the second son, Matangaro, and that his descendants were hui ariki (of the assembly of ariki) until the period of Kanohi, a female in the 10th generation. The title then passed to the Hukutahu line upon Kanohi's marriage to Tautape, a high chief of that line. The majority, however, state that the title went primarily to Huku-tahu, a younger brother of Matangaro. It is not clear why it should have passed to a junior. It was held that his grandmother, Tapairu, named him for the position. Tapairu's influence probably came from her supposed descent from Hiro and from the fact that she was a sister of the discoverer of the land. She was probably of higher rank than her husband, and the title may have been instituted from her side of the family. The phrase used to confirm Huku-tahu's appointment runs, “Te
ariki was with Huku-tahu, as he also had the symbol of office.)
The term pohatu (stone) was used to designate the symbol of office. Nothing is known of a stone symbol of office, but the term was at least used metaphorically. The ariki had priestly as well as chiefly duties.
In the 4th generation the title was held by Rua. Kairenga held that this was Rua-ariki, the son of Matangaro. The majority held that the second ariki was Rua-a-makoha, the elder son of Huku-tahu. He went on an expedition to Hawaiki and never returned. Some of the witnesses at the Land Court held that Hawaiki was New Zealand, but others referred to Rua as having gone to Tokelau. Rua left word that he would send back some sign if he arrived safely at Hawaiki. Some time after Rua's departure, a shoal of fish named marau-awa appeared, and the people, accepting them as the promised sign, refer to them as the excrement of Rua (Tutae-o-Rua).
Rua left no issue, so the title passed to the son of his younger brother, Kakahi. The ariki of the 5th generation had two names, Huku-tahu-rourou-a-whara and Tapu-mahanga. He had two wives. By the first wife he had a son named Kaitapu and by the second wife a son named Huku-potiki. The title passed to Kaitapu, who had the pohatu, but the powerful family of the second wife brought such influence to bear that Huku-potiki was given the office of attending to the distribution of land among the families. The office was termed tuha-whenua (land distributor), and Huku-potiki received special grants of land to go with his office, Paerangi in Rakahanga and Haroi in Manihiki. Huku-potiki was also entitled to the mata kairau, a contribution of food from the people in recognition of his rank. Thus the first division of authority is said to come from the two puna (families) of Huku-tahu-rourou-a-whara. This was the period in which the Hukutahu group was dividing into two subgroups which formed the bases of two tribes.
From the period of Kaitapu in the 6th generation there follows a list of four ariki, Nikai-patu, Touiho, Te Renga, and Tautape. According to Gill (13, p. 144) the name of Ruare-tapu comes before Tautape. These names are placed in brackets in the lineal line because it is not certain whether or not they are father and son. As the column on the right gives Niho-tapu as Tautape's father, the ariki who immediately preceded Tautape, whether it was Te Renga or Ruare-tapu, could not have been his father. This raises the problem of how Tautape became ariki when his male line of descent is evidently derived from the junior line of Huku-potiki in the 6th generation. It may have been that Tautape's mother belonged to the senior line in which male issue failed after Ruare-tapu. It will be noted that in the middle column of Table 5, if the doubtful Ruare-tapu is left out, Tautape coincides with the 10th generation, which is the same as that of his two wives,
Tautape is also known as Rahui-ariki, and some genealogists confuse him with Temu. The middle and right columns in Table 5 show the descent from the two families of Huku-tahu-rourou-a-whara, among whom the power was divided. The senior line of Matangaro, in the left column, joins the Huku-tahu-rourou-a-whara line through the two daughters by different wives of Poupou-whenua. Both daughters married Tautape. As a result of this double marriage a further rearrangement was made in social structure. Tautape was the last of the ariki to rule singly over the people. If Ruare-tapu is counted, there were nine ariki who held the single pohatu from Haku-tahu to Tautape. The number of generations, if taken on the shorter side, indicates that the period of the single ariki occupied from 250 to 300 years, roughly.
By the time of Tautape the population had increased (kua tupu te kura tangata) and aggregations of one blood (kura toto) had begun to develop into separate family groups. The individual households within the same group had, in turn, built their houses around the group nucleus within the common village. When a group moved out to secure more room for expansion, all the individual members linked together by a more recent blood tie (kura toto) moved and built their homes in proximity to each other. This expansion with the establishment of extra households is referred to in the phrase, “Kua tere te tangata me tona nani.” (People moved with their households.) Here nani is the equivalent of kainga (household) in other dialects. All the elements were present for a quarrel between the descendants of Matangaro and those of Huku-tahu, unless some arrangement was arrived at whereby the increased descendants of Matangaro could be pacified and given an active share in the government.
The head of the Matangaro stock at this period appears to have been Poupou-whenua, who is shown in the ninth generation in the Matangaro line in Table 5. Poupou-whenua had two wives, by each of whom he had a family of three children. A daughter from each family was united in marriage to the ariki Tautape, and in this way the two divisions descended from Matangaro and Huku-tahu came together. What subsequently transpired is as follows:
The descent of the two wives of Poupou-whenua could not be traced, but it seems probable from what transpired that the mother of Heitutae came of Matangaro stock and the mother of Kanohi of Huku-tahu stock. The reason for this statement is that in quarrels over succession to a title it is usually the families of the respective mothers of two heirs who create the trouble which ensues. Heitutae had a first-born son, Temu-matua, and Kanohi had a first-born son, Tianewa-matua. Under normal circumstances the son of the first wife should have succeeded to the title. On the death of Tautape, however, complications came up as to the succession. Though both Temu-matua and Tianewa-matua were descended from Matangaro through the maternal grandfather, Poupou-whenua, a single title would have left the power with the Huku-tahu stock through their father, Tautape. It is evident that the Matangaro stock wanted direct representation through Temu-matua, which makes me think that his mother, Heitutae, was of Matangaro stock on her mother's side as well as on her father's. The other claimant to succession, Tianewa-matua, was associated with the Huku-tahu stock which had become divided into the two groupings known as Nu-matua and Tia-ngaro-tonga. If Kanohi, mother of Tianewa-matua, was of Huku-tahu descent on her mother's side, all the elements were present for the factional division of the Matangaro and Huku-tahu people, each faction demanding the succession of its respective close blood kinsman. It must have required strong expression of divided opinion to bring about the change in social organization which occurred. The opposing factions were pacified by a compromise, for the native historians state that in the period of Temu-matua and Tianewa-matua the authority (pohatu) was divided (I to raua tuatau i ngaha te pohatu). The compromise was the creation of a dual arikiship. Temu-matua was made an ariki and was the first to hold the Whainga-aitu title. Tianewa-matua was made an ariki and was the first to hold the Whakaheo title.
The people also divided into four tribes, and two tribes supported each title. The old tribes, Numatua and Tia-ngaro-tonga, upheld the Whakaheo title. Two newly-created tribes, Heahiro and Mokopuwai, banded together under the leadership of the Whainga-aitu. The native historians state, “Ko Heitutae e Poupou-whenua, ko te tumu ia o Mokopuwai.” (Heitutae and
Whainga-aitu, and the descendants of Hukutahu supported the continuation of the old single title under the new Whakaheo. The lands in both Rakahanga and Manihiki became divided among the tribes. The dual ariki ruled over their respective tribes, with evidently no serious friction, as there are no traditional records of local wars. The ariki were supported by their hui rangatira (assembly of chiefs), which included the special officers dealing with land and food, and the heads of subtribes. There was some differentiation in the powers of the two ariki. (See p. 210.) The dual arikiship existed down to the advent of Christianity, when the offices gradually fell into abeyance owing to changed conditions affecting the social structure of the people.
Lists of the successive holders of the two titles were obtained. Of the Whakaheo, eleven title-holders are listed from the time of Tianewa-matua to the last holder, Iese, who was alive in 1898. Of the Whainga-aitu, fourteen held office from the inauguration of the title to Tupou-aporo, the last holder. It is not clear whether the earlier names in the list are direct successions of fathers and sons, but the pedigrees of later members of both titles will be referred to to throw light on the question of succession. It may be said, however, that the period of the dual titles extended over more than 200 years.
The Whainga-aitu title was a full ariki title, but the special term must have been developed locally, for it does not appear, so far as I know, in any other part of Polynesia. The term is said to be derived from the words whai (to follow), nga (the), and aitu (gods). The title thus stresses the priestly functions of the office, for the Whainga-aitu was the principal medium between his people and the gods. The word whai has been translated “to follow,” but it seems to carry the additional meaning conveyed by the Tongarevan word “hai” which means to recite in the religious inclosures ritual whereby the gods are placated and success is assured. Thus the phrase, “kua whai i to ratou atua,” does not mean so much “to follow,” as that “they had conducted the regular ritual to their god.” Of the powers of the Whainga-aitu it was stated, “Te Whainga-aitu nona te papa.” (The Whainga-aitu, his was the lower stratum.) The papa is here translated as the lower stratum because it includes the sea as well as the land. The Whainga-aitu had powers over things terrestrial, as opposed to things celestial. He was supposed to concern himself with the welfare of the land and the
whakamaru. The Whainga-aitu was the spiritual head and could command the assistance of the supernormal powers that commanded the productivity of land and sea. The whakamaru were the executives who superintended economic details.
The list of Whainga-aitu from Temu-matua is given in Table 6.
The list shows 15 title-holders, but Mr. Savage, in a table compiled for me, omits Munokoa, Utua, and Putuhonu and makes the next holder of the title Maraerau, a son of the first ariki, Temu-matua, by a wife named Teraro-puka. In evidence given before the Court, Haumata-tua gave Munokoa and Utua as sons of Temu-matua and title-holders. The relationship of Putuhonu was not given. From Putuhonu to Whaitika the names follow
The 9th holder, Whaitika, had three children. The first-born was a female, so succession went to the senior male child, Whairoa-enemea. The 10th holder, Whairoa-enemea, had four children, but as the first two were females, the title went to the third child, Whaireka. Whaireka, the 11th holder, had two families, but as his younger brother, Whaipoto, appears on the list as the 12th title-holder, Whaireka must have died before his children were old enough to hold office. Whaipoto would thus have succeeded as a regent until the heir of the senior line was old enough to assume office. The title went to the family of Whaireki's first wife, of which the first two were females. The third child, a son named Tupou-ma-te-tika, succeeded as the 13th holder. He had three wives. The first wife had one daughter, and the second wife had five daughters. Neither had a son. The succession therefore passed to the family of the third wife, Makirau, who had a son named Tupou-aporo. Before Tupou-aporo was old enough to assume office, his father died. The privilege of maintaining the position was thereupon assumed by Whaireka's second family, and Ieremia acted as regent for ten years. Tupou-aporo and Ieremia really acted together, and at the end of ten years Tupou-aporo, having reached man's estate, took over full control of the office. Ieremia objected, but as he was not supported by the families concerned, he left the island.
A story in connection with the first Whainga-aitu, Temu-matua, illustrates the connection between the temporal and religious sides of the office. Temu-matua was a weakly child, so his maternal uncle, Rikiriki, was sent for. Rikiriki was the male representative of the Matangaro stock, which again shows how the Matangaro division had concentrated attention on Temumatua as their particular representative in the ariki families of his father, Tautape. Rikiriki took the child before the god Hikahara. The child recovered health. Some time afterwards, Rikiriki built a voyaging canoe (kua tuki pahi) with the object of visiting foreign lands (heaheake). He selected his party (tere), which included his nephew, Temu-matua, and went through the appropriate ritual before the god Hikahara to insure success (kua hakairo ia ratou i mua i taua atua). On the date of departure from Tauhunu in Manihiki they sang a song (pehe) in the channel or lagoon at Awanui. The tribe then realized that Rikiriki was taking the boy away with him on his travels, so the people begged him to allow the boy ashore that they might press noses (hohongi) with him in farewell.
This story has a significant bearing on the creation of the Whainga
aitu title. The Polynesian historians have a habit, at times, of telling a straight narrative of a historical incident instead of discussing the details of the origin of an institution. Rikiriki was the eldest brother of Hei-tutae and the eldest son of Poupou-whenua's first wife. (See p. 47.) He was therefore head of the strong Matangaro group, and he cured his nephew Temu-matua. That he had prepared to go on a voyage to other lands and take his nephew with him shows that the dual
At this time the two Matangaro tribes, Heahiro and Mokopuwai, were affected by a serious sickness (uiha). No one had been able to relieve (tunoko) them. The tribes, as shown by the story, were living on Tauhunu. Temu-matua then devised a plan for alleviating their distress. He went to the island of Te Puka and sought out a coconut that grew singly on one flower stalk. This nut (tautahi) he took, with some puraka, to Tukou as an offering to the god Hikahara. The disease thereupon cleared up (moki). This incident established the custom of traveling from Tauhunu to Tukou via Te Puka. The marked success of Temu-matua proved that he had power with the god and confirmed his authority. He became kana or tutara to the gods, or in other words, he became priest as well as ariki.
Table 7 gives the pedigree of the three families of Tupou-ma-te-tika in full to show the manner in which succession passes over female issue.
The term Whakaheo is said to be derived from waka (canoe) and heo (to surround). In the voyages made by the whole population between the two atolls, the ariki holding the title surrounded the canoes with his priestly and supernormal powers and thus insured safe transport. The ariki was therefore termed originally the “waka-heo.” In the course of time waka (canoe) became changed to whaka (the causative prefix), but the title of whakaheo has not changed materially in meaning. It now means “to cause to surround with priestly influence,” and its original application to the voyaging canoes is understood. Of the powers of the position it is said, “Te Whaka-heo, nona te tira.” (The Whaka-heo, his is the tira.) The tira is in contradistinction to the papa of the Whainga-aitu. Just as the papa refers to things terrestrial, so the tira refers to things celestial. The Whakaheo had power over the phenomena of nature. He could demonstrate his power by causing the lightning to flash, the thunder to sound, and the rain to fall. He thus controlled the winds and storms, and it was through this power that he was able to surround the voyaging canoes with his priestly protection and insure a safe passage between the atolls.
The Whakaheo trace their descent through Tianewa-matua, the first of the dual ariki who represented the Huku-tahu division of the people. Under his arikiship were the two tribes, Nu-matua and Tia-ngaro-tonga. Patrilineal descent and seniority decided succession to the title, and women could not succeed to it. The list of title-holders is given in Table 8.
Table 8 is only a list, for the exact pedigrees from Tapaha-matua (2) to Takai-whakaheo (9) could not be obtained. It was assumed that sons followed fathers throughout, but this is not certain. A detailed pedigree from Takai-whakaheo which throws further light on the complications that sometimes arise with regard to succession was obtained. (See Table 9.) Christianity entered the atolls in 1849, and in this year Takai-whakeheo (9) was holding the title. lete was alive in 1898.
Takai-whakaheo (9) had a family of eight, the first child a daughter. Three sons followed. The senior son, Whakaheo-tama, went to Malden Island. During his absence his father died, and the next son in seniority,
ariki in place of his younger brother. Tuteru-utua, having had to relinquish office, left the country and went to Tonga. Later, he returned and settled down. Both Tuteru-utua and the younger brother, Tarau, died before Whakaheo-tama, the title-holder. Whakaheo-tama had no children of his own, but he adopted Takai-taupe, the eldest son of his younger brother, Tuteru-utua. Whakaheo-tama is stated to have wished to confer his title on Tairi-orometua, the native missionary who came from Raro-tonga to spread the gospel in 1849. Tairi rightly refused the honor. On the death of Whakaheo-tama, however, Tairi used the strong missionary influence that existed, and the title passed to Iete (12), the son of Whakaheo-tama's elder sister. Had either Tuteru-utua or his younger brother, Tarau, survived, the title would undoubtedly have gone to them. Under the circumstances the rightful heir according to the laws of succession was Takai-taupe, the son of Tuteru-utua, who had been adopted by Whakaheo-tama. Probably Iete was an elder of the church, but certain it is that missionary influence interfered, and succession took place through an elder sister's line. The title ended with lete. Had the title continued, it would have been interesting to learn whether it would have continued down the Iete line or returned to the Tuteru-utua line.
It was held that each ariki had his hui rangatira (assembly of chiefs). The term hui rangatira is a Rarotongan one which includes the heads of families who are closely related to the ruling ariki. It is probable that the term was adopted from Rarotonga but that the principle involved was in force. Thus, the younger brothers and paternal uncles of the ariki were of high rank and would be closely associated with the official head of the family who held the title. Associated with the ariki were certain chiefs who had to deal with the economic details within the tribes. We have seen that the special office of tuha whenua was given to Huku-potiki in the 6th generation. When the spread of population resulted in family groups or tribes, the heads of the tribes functioned as tuha whenua, but the special title, whakamaru, was evolved. The tuha-whenua title that was instituted in the 6th generation became merged in one of the whakamaru titles that were evolved about the 11th generation.
Whakamaru was the local taohanga (title) given to the heads of tribes. It corresponds to the Rarotongan title, mata(h)iapo, which was not known in the atolls until after the introduction of Christianity. Whakamaru (to give shelter or shade) is thus an expressive term, as the head of the tribe
whakamaru under each of the dual ariki, thus making one representative for each of the four tribes. Others seemed to think that the heads of subtribes were also whakamaru. Some of the subtribes must have been fairly small in number, and it is hardly likely that the term would have been applied to the heads of many subtribes. It was stated that on the death of a whakamaru, his relatives (huanga) elected (mono) his successor. Others held that the whakamaru was elected by the subtribes, as he had power over their lands. It is unfortunate that no tribe was able to give a list of its whakamaru. No check data are available for pedigrees to indicate on what principles the whakamaru was really appointed. It is to be presumed, however, that the whakamaru was appointed by succession in the male line from the leading family in each group. Relatives and heads of subtribes probably met to discuss the pedigree and ratify the election of the person who was entitled by birth to succeed.
The duties of the whakamaru were to act as public custodian over tribal lands, to settle disputes, and to prevent outside interference from another tribe. He had to do with directing the planting of food crops and the protection of the coconut plantations and puraka swamps from theft. He had power also over the redistribution of tribal lands which had to be adjusted to the ebb and flow of population. His decision was final, and not even his ariki could interfere with him in matters that concerned the interior economy of the tribe. His status was as high or even higher than that of the ariki in local matters. When it came to questions which concerned the intervention of the tribal gods, however, the ariki was superior, owing to his special priestly functions. From a modern point of view, the whakamaru in his own tribal district was judge of the native land court, Crown ranger, and director of agriculture. He also had a priestly function. When the whole population crossed from one atoll to the other the whakamaru from the tribes went first to the marae to conduct the appropriate ritual to the god (ka whai i to ratou atua). It was also stated that certain lesser tribal gods were in the keeping of the whakamaru.
The moa was a speaker or messenger between the whakamaru and the ariki. He was a whakamaru appointed by whakamaru. In discussions among the whakamaru he assumed seniority, and his decision was final. The title-holder seemed to be associated particularly with the Whainga-aitu.
The tira was an honorific title applied to the Whakaheo on account of his supernormal powers in dealing with natural phenomena. He was the astronomer who studied the heavens with regard to star signs of the seasons and the advent of winds.
The papa was a special title held by one Tuteru-te-tahua. He dealt with economic matters with which the ariki, by virtue of his priestly position, was not allowed to concern himself. He thus controlled land and food supplies. He had power with the Whainga-aitu division through his father and power with the Whakaheo division through his mother. He could thus conduct the religious ritual at the Poutu marae at Tauhunu and at the Akaroa marae at Tukou. He probably was a super whakamaru who by birth and ability carried influence with the whakamaru of the four tribes.
It has been pointed out that a woman could not succeed to an ariki title even when she was the first-born child of an ariki by his first wife. This rule held in the Cook Islands, but was broken after the advent of Christianity. In Manihiki and Rakahanga it was observed until the extinction of the titles. The first-born females of the ariki lines, however, had a high status. They received personal names which became established as set names for those born in that line. The eldest daughters of the Whainga-aitu were named Haumata, and the eldest daughters of the Whakaheo were named Takai. Toa's wife was named Tapairu-taki-hetu. The first part of the name, Tapairu, means, in the Cook Islands, a first-born female. This meaning of the word was evidently carried on in the memory of Tapairu's descendants, for the special title, whaka-tapairu, was given to the first-born daughters of the ariki. By receiving special titles of dignity, the first-born daughters were effectively eliminated from any possibility of succeeding to the male ariki title, “Kare te wahine i te taohanga ariki, ka noho ratou i te taohanga whaka-tapairu.” (Women could not occupy the ariki title, they remained with the title of whakatapairu.) The first-born daughter of the Whainga-aitu was thus named Haumata-whakatapairu and that of the Whakaheo, Takai-whaka-tapairu. The prefix whaka is causative and carries the idea that the bearers of the titles had been made tapairu or first-born.
The whakatapairu had certain privileges and performed certain functions connected with the title. Thus, after the whakamaru chiefs had visited the marae on landing at one of the atolls, they returned to the canoes. The whakatapairu then visited the marae in turn to perform their duties, and only after that could the people leave the beach and explore the land. The details of what they did on the marae are not clear.
The Takai-whakatapairu had special powers to calm the sea. If the sea was rough during a bad season when food was low, the whakatapairu went out to the reef and beat upon the waters of the lagoon and the reef channel with a coconut leaf. At the same time she recited a chant (pehe). Her action caused the seas to subside and enabled the men to go fishing. Her power (mana) was derived from her position as direct representative of the Whakaheo who possessed the tira, or power over natural phenomena.
Rakahanga affords the unique example of the development of an insular population from one biological family. Its isolation and sea-girt bounds presumably prevented the intrusion of foreign elements. The blood tie was apparently realized to such a degree that no internecine wars broke out. The people developed for about nine or ten generations in one village on one island in peace and harmony.
The absence of descriptive words in the relationship terminology must not be regarded as an indication that degrees of remoteness in kinship were not recognized. When crowding of population took place, some households moved away to obtain more space. The households that were close of kin accompanied them to the new center instead of remaining in proximity with people remote in blood. Thus the very feeling of close consanguinity that led family groups to establish themselves close together, by removal from the vicinity of other families gave expression also to the recognition of remote degrees of blood relationship. Upon this principle family groups have been segregated, have developed into tribes, and have later automatically divided into subtribes.
The budding off of the families (puna) took place on the one small island, Te Kainga. Kainga means “home,” or the place where people dwell. In the course of time the original household developed into a village, but the village was automatically divided into separate groupings that claimed common blood kinship from more recent ancestors. The island of Te Kainga became established as the island of occupation, whereas all the other islands were reserved for the production of food. The regular passages back and forth to Manihiki were later established, though food considerations and the establishment of two villages in Manihiki were the result of the still later development of tribes and a dual arikiship.
Tradition shows that the families in the first few generations arranged themselves into two groupings according to their descent from the two brothers, Matangaro and Hukutahu. This dual grouping was rendered the more conscious because the ariki title descended in the Hukutahu family. The Matangaro families built their habitations on the sea side of the island, and the Hukutahu families took the inland lagoon side. In each generation families of close consanguinity naturally built their dwellings in proximity to each other. Occupation of particular localities led to the establishment of the rights of ownership to the particular portion of land on which the dwellings were built, and the theoretical division into two groups according to pedigree was thus carried into practice in the grouping of habitations. The
The automatic grouping took place in each of the two divisions. In each generation, while new families were created with their respective degrees of closeness, the existing degrees of remoteness were rendered another step more remote. Thus, if the Hukutahu families had been examined in the 5th generation, it would have been found that the families at one end of the territory allotted to them were of closer kin to each other than they were to the families at the other end. Somewhere between them there was a potential line of cleavage which became intensified with each succeeding generation. In the 5th generation the ariki Hukutahu-rourou-a-whara married two wives. The tendency to split is exemplified by the division of power between the eldest sons of the two wives. Kaitapu, the son of the first wife, retained the ariki title. All the families connected by close kinship to his mother formed a closer group around Kaitapu. Huku-potiki, the son of the second wife, became the land distributor, and all the families closely related to his mother formed another group around Huku-potiki. This secondary grouping within the Hukutahu group was simple, because evidently both mothers were from within the Hukutahu group. The automatic grouping or arrangement within a recognized larger group is unconscious until growth of population or the ambition of families makes the secondary grouping so conscious that it leads to a definite cleavage of the main group. Thus the establishment of two titles or offices led to the commencement of conscious grouping within the Hukutahu group. By the time the 10th generation was reached, the cleavage had become so definite that the original Hukutahu group had split into two groups which received the specific names, Nu-matua and Tia-ngaro-tonga. The formation of two definite groups with distinctive names led to the abandonment of the Hukutahu classification, but it was known that these two organized groups had descended from Hukutahu. The two groups continued to dwell on the lagoon side of the village that had grown up, and, owing to the method of budding off, each group occupied its own definite area.
A similar process had taken place in the Matangaro group, but the Matangaro people had no special titles or offices which might serve to accentuate a conscious cleavage in the earlier stages of growth. In the 11th generation, however, the tendency to segregate was brought to a head through the two families of the ariki Tautape. The native historians state that the
ariki line, which came from within themselves. The Matangaro group, however, became attached to Temu-matua, the son of Tautape's other wife. Spurred to action by the fear of losing Temu-matua through the proposed voyage with his maternal uncle, Rikiriki, they kept him by making him head over their group. As the historians say, the Matangaro people formed the new groups (mata-keinanga) of Heahiro and Mokopuwai to support Temu-matua. This created a dual arikiship with two groups supporting each ariki. From the statement regarding new tribes, it would appear that the two Hukutahu groups had been named some time before but that the circumstances surrounding the creation of the second ariki led to the definite naming of the two groups into which the Matangaro people divided.
The scattered habitations had by this time fused into a large village on Te Kainga, in which the population lived close together (piri te tangata). The division between the four groups was maintained in the arrangement within the village. A boundary stone (tuakoi; Rarotongan, kena) had been erected in the middle of the village to mark the boundary between the two original groups. It still remains in its original position and consists of a wide coral slab standing about 4 feet above ground. The two groups on either side of the boundary had automatically erected their dwellings in group clusters. The native phrase “ka tere te tangata e tona nani” (the individual went with his household) indicates the process already described. In the more complicated arrangement of a closely settled village, the leaders of the groups set up boundaries between the four groups and later between the subgroups which subsequently developed.
In the 11th generation, therefore, the population had organized into four named groups (matakeinanga) which for the purposes of this study may be regarded as tribes.
The term “tribe” is usually applied to a fairly large number of people who occupy a territory defined by boundaries, speak a common language or dialect, are governed by one head, and share a common culture. This definition would cover all the inhabitants of Rakahanga and Manihiki. The four matakeinanga speak a common dialect of the Polynesian language. They originally had one common ariki, but the creation of a dual arikiship broke this unity. The general culture is identical, but there are differences with regard to leadership and the worship of gods. Furthermore, the land in the two atolls was definitely divided among the four matakeinanga.
The term matakeinanga, in Mangaia, means a group of kinsmen, but evidently it was not in use as a tribal term. In Rakahanga the basic meaning of the term was similar to that in Mangaia, but when the four groups of kinsmen were distinguished by individual names these named groups were definitely referred to as four matakeinanga (e ha matakeinanga).
Each matakeinanga elected its head independently of the others. The special term whakamaru was coined to distinguish him. His powers have been defined. For practical purposes, the matakeinanga was a small tribe, independent of the others as regards local government, but uniting with another matakeinanga under the two priestly ariki for religious purposes. All four matakeinanga federated for voyages back and forth between Mani-hiki and Rakahanga. The matakeinanga might have been regarded as sub-tribes were it not that each of them split into named subdivisions to which the term subtribe is better applied.
The naming of the tribes creates a problem. In Tongareva, owing to the spread of secondary centers of habitation, the groups which grew up were designated by the territorial name of the island they occupied. In Rakahanga, as the whole population lived on one island and not in territories, the territorial designation of groups was not applicable. Under such circumstances, a group designation conveying descent from a common ancestor might be expected. In New Zealand and other areas, tribes are commonly designated by the application of a plural prefix to the name of an eponymous ancestor. Latent in the four Rakahangan tribal names, Numatua, Tia-ngarotonga, Heahiro, and Mokopuwai, is a possibility of derivation from ancestral names, but the people themselves were unable to settle the difficulty by locating the eponymous ancestors, if such they were, on their family pedigrees. Nu-matua looks like a personal name but does not appear in the pedigrees. Ngarotonga appears in the 5th generation (p. 26) as a grandson of Matangaro, but the Tia-ngarotonga is a Hukutahu tribe. Haumata-tua stated that Heitutae and Poupou-whenua were the stock through which the Mokopu-ngarotonga descended, and that Poupou-whenua, the father of Heitutae, was of Matangaro stock. This will bring in the name Ngarotonga as an eponymous ancestor, but when I pointed out that the Tia-ngarotonga tribe was not of Matangaro descent, the reply was given that Mokopu-ngarotonga did not refer to the Tia-ngarotonga but to the Mokopuwai, which is of Matangaro stock. No explanation was offered as to the Heahiro tribe. It is probable that the tribal names are derived from ancestors who lived between the 5th and 9th generations, but the imperfect transmission of the pedigrees prevents illustration of this.
After the 11th generation, when the four tribes were established in name, a further subdivision took place within each of the tribes. These smaller groups were termed tukuwhare, which is again a local term coined to meet the local development. In the term tukuwhare, whare means a house, and the idea is conveyed of the kinsmen of the one inatakeinanga being grouped together in separate houses. The two Whainga-aitu tribes were divided into seven and four subtribes respectively (Table 10).
The origin of five of the seven subtribes of the Heahiro were demonstrated by Haumatatua (Table 11).
Temu-matua and Tianewa are the first two dual ariki. The Heahiro and Mokopuwai tribes clustered around the family of Heitutae. By her, Tautape had five sons. The eldest son, Temu-matua, was raised by the two tribes to the position of ariki, and he became the first Whainga-aitu. Haumata-tua stated that the other sons were made heads of tukuwhare. Thus it is evident that minor subdivisions had already been following a natural process, but the five sons were made heads of five subdivisions in the Heahiro tribe. Succession to leading rank in those subtribes would subsequently be traced through the brothers. The group associated with
ariki) because the ariki title would descend in it from Temu-matua. The group associated with the second son, Pa-honu, was named after him and became Kai-wai-pa-honu, in which kai-wai, for some reason not explained, was prefixed to the ancestral name. Similarly, the Po-te-noa took its name from the third son by the prefix Po before the personal name of Te-noa. The Mau-kino subtribe took the name of the fourth son without any prefix. The fifth subtribe took the fifth son, Te-patiti, as their head but adopted the term of Te-whare-nui (the big house) for a reason not explained. Unfortunately, no clear pedigrees were furnished from these original heads of subtribes except the one from Te-patiti, shown in Table 12.
The line is short. Pukerua in the 17th generation is still alive. As Te Patiti in the 11th generation was a fifth brother, the line may be expected to be shorter than those from senior sources. The line shows three females in it, and I do not know the status of the last issue in the subtribe.
The sixth subtribe of Whatiakau, according to Tupou-rahi, comes from an important ancestor named Whatiakau, from whom Tupou-rahi gave his descent (Table 13).
Tupou-rahi could not link up the beginning of his pedigree with the main lines of descent from Toa. However, in the 14th generation Pupuke-papake married Te-atua-a-Tupou, who traced back to Tautape, the last of the single ariki. This places Te-papa-i-wairaro in the 7th generation. According to Tupou-rahi, Te-papa-i-wairaro was a very important man. He had four sons to whom he distributed land and authority. To the eldest son he gave the authority over his lands (tuku te whenua kia Whatiakau), to the second son he delegated authority over his group of people (whaka-tere te matakeinanga kia Tangihoro), to the third son he gave the care of the family gods (te whare urunga kia Ura), and to the fourth son he gave the position of herald (te horohoro kia Ngaropuruhi). If this is correct, Te-papa-i-wairaro must have belonged to the Matangaro group, for the Hukutahu group had already divided the authority over the people and the land between Kaitapu and Huku-potiki in the 6th generation. That the Whatiakau subtribe belongs to one of the Whainga-aitu tribes is a further substantiation. It will be noted that at this period there were evidently group gods which are referred to as the “whare-urunga.” Evidently Ura
whakamaru who had charge of the tribal gods and kept them in a house. No details were obtained of the functions of the herald (horohoro) beyond that he was the official messenger between the chiefs and the people, calling people together or promulgating decisions arrived at concerning group policy and action. Tangihoro was stated to have made voyages to foreign lands and to have come back among the people. Such voyages may have been made to the neighboring atoll of Manihiki and thus paved the way for the planting of that atoll and the subsequent regular visits to alternate the food supplies. Tupou-rahi in the 17th generation is an old man, and two generations may be added to the line to bring it to about 1900. A line of 19 generations makes it coincide in length with the Wharenui line in Table 12. In Tupou-rahi's descent, his male line from Te-atua-a-Tupou (14th generation) comes from the Whare-ariki subtribe through Temu-matua (11th generation), but he claims Whatiakau descent through the female line of Pupuke-papake (14th generation). He attaches great importance to her, as she was the first-born of her family. The leading line in the subtribe should come down through one of the elder brothers of Te-atua-maheanga in the 12th generation. It will be noted that the name of the mother of Temu-matua (11th generation) is given as Kanohi, whereas in Table 6 it is given as Hei-tutae. This is another instance of the confusion that exists.
The seventh subtribe, Te-ure-roto, completes the Heahiro tribe. I am unable to give the circumstances which led to the adoption of the name.
Of the four Mokopuwai subtribes, Tupou-rahi gave a descent to himself which placed Tutonga in the 11th generation. Tutonga was thus an ancestor who lived at the period when the subtribes were formed, and his name was adopted for one of them. Of the others, Nga-whare-ririki means “the small houses” and was probably so named from the linking of a number of small families to form a subtribe. The remaining two, Hihahuke and Taupo, sound like proper names but do not occur in the pedigrees submitted to the Land Court.
The two Whakaheo tribes have seven subtribes (Table 14).
No details of definite pedigrees of these subtribes were obtained. It will be noted that some, such as Tuteru-matua, Tianewa-matua, and Tihauma, are definitely the names of ancestors. The Tia-ngaro-tonga tribe resembles the Mokopuwai tribe in having a subtribe called Nga-whare-ririki (the small houses). The Nu-matua tribe has a subtribe called Te-pu-tauhunu, in which tauhunu is a plant and pu, a bush. Another subtribe name, Nga-hoe-e-wha, means “the four paddles.” It is thus evident that some subtribes were named after ancestors and others from incidents or things that are not clear to the present generation.
Our stay on Rakahanga was too short for us to gather all the fragments of information that might throw more light on the details of subtribal evolution. It was clear to the Native Land Court that the witnesses were hazy about linking up their pedigrees with leading lines that would connect with descent from Toa. Most started with ancestors from 6 to 8 generations back who formed independent units and were left floating in the air. Certain families supplied the leaders for the subtribes, but no connected list of tribal or subtribal leaders could be conjured up out of the mass of family pedigrees adduced before the Court. It is probable that when the Court goes into the question of land ownership on the various islands, subtribes will be associated with definite islands, and the present family pedigrees may then be more clearly arranged to show the structure of subtribes.
The growing needs of the increasing population led to the planting of Manihiki with coconuts and puraka. When food supplies ran short on
ariki and his two tribes.
The islands were distributed among the tribes and subtribes and they planted them with coconuts. Certain parts were also excavated for the growth of the puraka (species of taro) in the brackish subsoil water. When the mature tubers were dug up, the tops were replanted. The tribes continued in occupation until the puraka and coconut supplies were depleted. They then returned to the other atoll, on which the food supplies had matured during their absence.
The distribution of land had come about by a gradual process of evolution with the growth of population. When Toa, the first settler, established his family at Te Kainga, the problem of land distribution did not obtrude itself. In the 6th generation, however, the need of defining spheres of influence had evidently become necessary, and the office of land distributor (tuha whenua) was given to Huku-potiki, whose elder half-brother, Kaitapu, retained the rank of ariki. Power over the land thus became early disassociated from the office of ariki. It must be assumed that successive families under their respective heads had planted in the near-by islands that they considered suitable. There was room for all and no cause for trouble, as there were no previous settlers. The creation of a specific land officer led to organized disposal of the available lands. The land distributor, taking into account the planting that had already been done, associated certain families with particular localities. Probably the heads of families threshed out their arguments in public meetings. The official land distributor had the final word, and what was decided upon by him became established. As the families developed into larger groups, which subsequently became tribes, the tribal boundaries simply included the lands of the families comprising the tribes. With the increasing complexity of social structure to meet the growth of population, the power over tribal lands passed from one individual into the hands of the tribal heads, or whakamaru.
The functions of the whakamaru with regard to land have already been defined (p. 55). He acted as public custodian over tribal lands, settled disputes within the tribe, and prevented outside interference from other tribes.
Within the tribe itself, secondary groupings that resulted in subtribes also naturally led to the defining of subtribal lands within the tribal area. These subtribal problems were settled by the heads or leading families within the subtribe acting with the whakamaru. Within the subtribe, every individual had a right to a share of land, but the individual shares were grouped together in family holdings. The location of family shares was guided in later years by the inheritance of the areas planted by ancestors. In the beginning, however, the families were probably well-spaced in the lands that were being planted for the first time. In that period there were evidently no exact boundaries defined by equivalents of survey pegs or boundary stones. The boundaries between neighboring families were, to a certain extent, created by the spreading and meeting of the coconut trees that had been planted by successive generations. The self-planted trees that grew up naturally from the nuts that fell in an outward direction from marginal trees were claimed by the owners of the trees from which the nuts had fallen. The boundaries between neighboring family properties are thus often irregular. The evolution of irregular family boundaries is exemplified by a case that came up before Judge Ayson during our stay on Rakahanga. Two families desired a survey to define the boundary between their respective properties. As defined by the coconut trees claimed by each party, the boundary was marked by curves and projections of which the government surveyor, who naturally desired straight lines between angles, despaired. Each party claimed coconut trees that had encroached beyond the natural line. Neither would give way. A compromise was eventually made on the advice of the Court by the exchange, or even sale of trees, in order to get a satisfactory survey boundary. The fairness of the survey line with regard to the land was admitted by both, but the coconut trees were the bone of contention.
The influence of the ownership of coconut trees in establishing a right to land is shown by the case cited above. The rights to the immovable property combined in the coconut and the land on which it grows is further exemplified by the pakewa custom. As defined by Mr. Savage in correspondence, it is a custom under which a person with no rights to land is given
… the right to the use of a certain tree or trees, that he may pick the fruit thereof and use same as refreshment in his passing over the land. This custom gave only the right to use the tree but no right whatever to the land.
The value of the pakewa custom will be fully appreciated by those who have experienced the heat of a tropical sun while walking over atoll islands. Out of the dual feelings of kindness of heart combined, doubtless, with the
pakewa custom allocated a certain tree or trees to the use of the outsider. The tree was vested in the individual by name and could be used by him and his family. The use was enjoyed by his descendants, who traced their rights to the original agreement. The recognition of the equity of the custom has survived, but it has caused complications, owing to the increasing commercialism engendered by Western culture. Where self-grown trees have sprung up around the pakewa tree, these have been claimed by persons entitled to use the nuts. The need of the nuts for drinking while passing over the land may be rare, yet the mature nuts are gathered for the modern commercial purpose of making copra for sale to the traders. Some tree-owners accuse the landowners of having, in their turn, gathered the mature nuts for making copra. The situation is extreme when the owners of the pakewa trees deny that the trees were given by the pakewa custom and claim the land because their ownership of the trees is admitted.
An interesting modification of the custom occurs. Visitors are sometimes asked to plant a coconut so that the tree may serve as a memorial of their visit. An old lady persuaded me to plant a nut in front of her house at Rakahanga and referred to it as my tree. Should it grow and bear nuts, I should on a subsequent visit probably be given drinking nuts from it to quench my thirst while there, but my courtesy rights would end at that.
Property rights in land and coconut trees were definitely recognized. The loose attribution of commercial rights over property and land to Polynesian communities cannot be upheld. When within the subtribal areas, the land was distributed (tuha) among families. Each individual had a right to a share in the land, but the individuals were grouped in families of which the heads were the administrators. The members of each family lived together, worked together, and shared the produce of the land allocated to them. The things made by the individual were private property that he could dispose of as he deemed fit. Land and coconut trees, however, were family properties that descended by inheritance and were transmitted by inheritance. An individual had no right to dispose of land to outsiders without the consent of the family. He or the family had no right to dissipate the inheritance of posterity.
Although the boundaries between tribal lands became more or less fixed, the boundaries between family holdings were not fixed immutably for all time. The shares allocated to families within the larger family groups comprising subtribes were subject to change in each generation, in accordance with the ebb and flow of population. Just as the small family group interested in a family holding was constantly changing from generation to
whakamaru to see that these redistributions and readjustments were conducted with equity.
Owing to the recognition of bilateral descent, children could inherit a mother's share in her paternal estate, and families came eventually to have holdings of land in more than one district. How far this system of multiple holdings extended can only be fully decided when the Land Court investigates the land titles of the atolls. It is likely that the islands nearer to the villages were planted first, when the population was small. As the population increased, other islands were planted successively, and it is extremely probable that the descendants of the first planters have had a share in the planting of these islands. If so, it is extremely likely that the different tribes may have shares in a number of islands instead of having their shares consolidated in separate and adjacent islands, as they would had the families moved off and settled upon the lands they cultivated. This would further increase the number of holdings to which a family is entitled. The subject is one for further investigation.
In the Cook Islands the dominant ariki, when they established themselves, took care to reserve definite areas of land for themselves. Such lands went with the ariki title and were inherited by the successor to the title. I am not sure whether or not specific lands went with the Whainga-aitu and Whakaheo titles. It was definitely stated, however, that when the office of land distributor was conferred upon Huku-potiki, he was given the special grants of Paerangi in Rakahanga and Haroi in Manihiki to go with his office. It is probable, therefore, that special grants of land were made to the holders of the two ariki titles.
The houses now in use in Manihiki and Rakahanga follow the architectural principle of the rectangular house used in the Cook Islands. These houses are characterized by long upright posts erected at the middle of each end to support directly the main ridgepole. It was held that this type was introduced, together with houses built of lime, by the Rarotongan missionaries, Aporo and Tairi. The original type of house, which was made in both atolls until comparatively recently, has been gradually displaced, but fortunately a single example survives in Rakahanga, characterized by the absence of end posts supporting the ridgepole and of wall posts supporting the wall plates.
The framework of the original type of house is composed of paired opposite side posts supporting two longitudinal beams, which in turn support a number of crossbeams. The crossbeams support the wall plates on their ends. The principal rafters rest on the wall plates, and their crossed upper ends support the ridgepole without the assistance of king-posts. The architectural principle followed resembles that of the Samoan long house, except that the Samoans use king-posts to support the ridgepole and cross the principal rafters above the ridgepole instead of below it (28, p. 20). The ground foundation upon which the Rakahangan house is erected is termed tango.
The framework technique, described from the surviving original type house in Rakahanga, is as follows:
Skeletal framework (figs. 4-6). The longitudinal beams, crossbeams, and wall plates are lashed together on the ground before the supporting posts.are erected (fig. 4). During the lashing each beam is supported by two short temporary posts slightly hollowed on the upper end to keep the round beams from rolling off. The temporary posts serve to raise the beams sufficiently high to allow the lashing patterns to be developed on the under surface. The two longitudinal beams and the crossbeams are of hala (Pandanus) trunks in the round. Nine crossbeams are used; of these, two are lashed close to the ends of the longitudinal beams and the remaining seven are evenly spaced to fill up the intervening space. Each crossbeam is securely lashed to each longitudinal beam with sennit braid. The somewhat thin wall plates are made of split hala wood. The two wall plates are laid over the ends of the crossbeams and lashed to each crossbeam with sennit braid. Three-ply braid (kaha) of a thicker size than that used on other parts of the framework is used for the beam and wall plate lashings (fig. 5). The turns of the braid are arranged to form decorative patterns on
ua, and the phrase used for tightening up such turns is uahia kia whakaketa.
Four supporting posts (pou) (fig. 6) made of coconut trunks are spaced on the house site in the same manner as the temporary supporting posts, so as to coincide with the lashed frame of beams and wall plates, and arranged in two side pairs, the distance between the posts of one side being 19 feet and between opposite sides, 12.5 feet. The posts when fixed in the ground are 6 feet high. The upper ends are notched to take the longitudinal beams, which are thus kept in position without any subsequent lashing. In extra long houses, two posts instead of one are used at either end of the longitudinal beam, and the longitudinal beam (fig. 6) is formed of coconut trunk instead of hala wood. When the posts are in position the whole beam frame (fig. 4) is lifted and the longitudinal beams are fitted into the notches of the posts.
Roof framework (figs. 7, 8). A scaffolding (turanga, standing place) is erected to facilitate the erection of the roof framework. This scaffolding takes the form of a roof framework with two end uprights supporting a beam in the manner of a ridgepole. Poles resembling rafters are placed in a slanting position from the ground to the ridgepole on either side, and lashed. Horizontal poles are lashed like purlins to
The principal rafters (oka) are natural hala poles in the round. The two end pairs of rafters and six intermediate pairs are evenly spaced. The top ends of each pair are cut to fit against each other, and lashed. An end pair of rafters is 17 feet 6 inches long and 5.3 inches in diameter at the lower thicker ends. Toward the lower ends, the rafters are notched to fit against the wall plate (kaupapa) and lashed, having a projection below the wall plate of 4 feet 3 inches. (See fig. 7.) The pairs of end rafters are lashed in position, and a sennit line is stretched between their apices. The intermediate pairs are spaced, and after their upper ends are lashed they are raised to touch the stretched line. The parts touching the wall plate are then marked and notched on the inner side to fit against the wall plate, to which they are lashed. The intermediate pairs are not cut to exactly the same length as the end pairs, but their extra length simply projects beyond the wall plate. They are, however, graduated, for the pairs next the end pairs are 4 inches longer, the next two pairs from either end are 5 inches longer, and the two middle pairs are 8 inches longer. These projections thus give the line of the lower ends a slight convex curve from end to end. The main ridgepole (tauhuhu) is laid in the forks formed by the crossed upper ends of the principal rafters, and lashed to them. It is made of split hala wood 3 inches wide by 1 inch thick. The purlins (tarawa) consist of five on either side. The material and dimensions are the same as the main ridgepole. The purlins are laid horizontally over the principal
ua lashing consists of two curved turns from either side, or four altogether. The purlins are composed of two pieces overlapped and lashed together with transverse turns. Diagonal struts (toko) made of split hala 4 inches wide and 1 inch thick are used to steady the rafters on each side of the roof. On one side the strut is lashed above to the main ridgepole on the inner side of the second pair of rafters from one end. Thence the strut extends diagonally downward to meet the wall plate, to which it is lashed between the second and third rafters from the other end. It thus crosses four intermediate rafters, to each of which it is lashed. The strut on the opposite side of the roof is also lashed above to the ridgepole on the inner side of the second rafter from one end, and its lower end is lashed to the fourth rafter from the other end just above the wall plate, which it does not meet. This strut thus crosses and is lashed to three rafters. The lashings to ridgepole and rafters are by means of oblique turns passed around both elements in one direction only, and finished off with circumferential turns passing around the previous lashing turns and between the two wooden elements. There are 18 rafters (whakakaho or tokotoko), made of split hala wood 1 inch wide by 1 inch thick, on either side. One rafter is outside of the end walls on either side at either end. The rafters are then spaced about 1 foot 7 inches apart. The upper ends are crossed above the main ridgepole and lashed together at the crossing. The braid, after each lashing, is brought down and takes a complete turn around the main ridgepole. From there it passes down to the uppermost purlin and is used to lash the thatch rafter to the purlin with three or four curved turns in the ua pattern. By this means the thatch rafters are securely anchored down to the framework. The thatch rafters are all lashed to each purlin with the same ua lashing in three or four curved turns. For the thatch-rafter lashing, two-ply twisted sennit cord (whauhoto) is used instead of three-ply braid. The upper ridgepole (tauhuhu iti or takiri kaho), a long slender rod of split hala, is laid in the forks formed by the crossed thatch rafters, and lashed to them. The braid, after each lashing, is brought around the main ridgepole to anchor the upper ridgepole securely in position. The upper ridgepole is also called tokotoko, as it is of the same size as the thatch rafters. The eaves rod (turuturu iti), of the same material and size as the thatch rafters, is lashed to the lower ends of the thatch rafters on
tua). The wooden elements composing the tua are shown in figure 8.
End framework (fig. 9). The framework which closes in the ends (tara) of the house is composed of horizontal purlins and vertical rods which supply the thatch rafters, to which the thatching is attached. Wooden chocks (pono) are used to push out the lower end of the framework. Four horizontal purlins are stretched across the space between the end pair of rafters with the ends resting on the ends of the side purlins, to which they are lashed. The lowest purlin in the actual house is level with the end crossbeam, but in figure 9, a, it is a little too high. A mesial, rather thick rod is attached above to the crossing of the end rafters and lashed to the outer side of the four purlins. Its lower end projects a short distance below the lowest purlin. Two other vertical thin rods of thatch rafter material and size are spaced on the left and four others on the right. These lie outside of the four purlins and are lashed to them at the crossings. Above, they meet the end rafters, to which they are lashed. Below, they project slightly beyond the upper level of the lowest side purlins. Two additional purlins are next attached to the vertical rods on either side of the mesial rod, and their outer ends to the end rafters. The lowest purlins are on the upper level of the lowest side purlins. The cutting short of the mesial vertical rod leaves a space for the end entrance. The purlins are pliable, and chocks (pono) are placed between the end crossbeam and the fourth purlin to push the framework out a little from the perpendicular (fig. 9, b). The chocks, pieces of hala wood 4 inches by 2 inches, are three in number. The longest chock (fig. 9, b, 13) is 11 inches long and is placed immediately behind the mesial rod. Two others, 9 inches long, are placed also between the end crossbeam and fourth end purlin but directly behind the vertical rods on either side of the mesial rod. The fourth purlin gives a little extra length, and any adjustment of the lashing at the ends can be dealt with after the chocks are placed in position. Thus the lower end of the framework is not only pushed out slightly from the vertical, but by means of the graduated chocks the fourth end purlin has a slight outward, convex curve.
Dimensions of completed framework: total length in middle line, 26 feet 2 inches; width between eaves rods, 23 feet 11 inches; height from floor to main ridgepole, 16 feet 5 inches; height from crossbeams to main ridgepole, 10 feet; height of eaves rods from ground, 3 feet.
The roof and ends were thatched with sheets of lauhala (rau whara; Pandanus leaves) in which the leaves were bent over strips of aërial hala rootlets. The rootlets (kawhara, not kai whara, or rootlets with lower ends still in the air) which had reached the ground were used. The prepared strips (kaho, pronounced “kaheo”) measured 4 finger spans (anga honu, finger span), or about 3 feet.
A roof sheet needle (tuiau) made of ngangie wood was used to sew the leaves together over the kaho strip. (See fig. 10; pl. 1.) The needle was exactly similar in shape to that of Tongareva. The butt ends of the lauhala were doubled over the kaho strip in the same way as in Tongareva and the Cook Islands (27, p. 15). When the leaves were pierced transversely with the needle, dry coconut leaf midribs (tunikau) or thin strips of aerial hala rootlets were passed through the holes made and kept the leaves together. The sheet was made the full width of the kaho strip (3 feet) and when completed was also termed a kaho. The full supply of sheets was made and the thatching (ato) commenced. The technique is as follows:
Thatching (ato) commences from below and works upward. The first sheet of lauhala is laid across the thatch rafters just above the eaves rod at one end of the tua frame. The part doubled over the hala rod is toward the top, and the doubled-over butt ends of the leaves are outside. The end of a piece of sennit braid is tied to the thatch rafter with a running noose. The braid is carried over the edge of the sheet to the right of the rafter. A hole is punctured through the sheet below the contained rod and to the left of the rafter. The braid is passed back through the hole from the outside and makes either a half-hitch or an overhand knot with its standing part and so fixes the stiff upper edge of the sheet to the thatch rafter. Subsequent sheets are added a little higher up the rafter than the one preceding, and a similar fastening is made with the continuous braid. The method is exactly similar to that used in the
ngangie wood is shown in figure 11. It resembles the roof thatch needle in its width, which exceeds that of similar implements from the Cook Islands (27, p. 19).
The thatcher works a width of one sheet until he reaches the ridgepole, when another strip of thatching is commenced with the adjacent edges of the new sheets slightly overlapping those already fixed. The completed upward width of one sheet is known as a marewa, and the length of the house is referred to in the number of marewa it takes to thatch one side of the roof. The thatcher works from the inside of the house, and as he works upward he ascends on the scaffolding within, which is allowed to remain until the thatching is completed. An assistant carries the roof sheets and places them in position from the outside. The thatcher within usually spaces the upper edge of the sheet from the one below by the number of fingerbreadths decided upon. The closer the sheets are together, the better the house, but close thatching takes more material in sheets and sennit and involves a corresponding increase in labor.
The assistant uses a lifting pole (tukutuku) made of whano wood (fig. 12) to place the sheets in position when the thatching rises beyond his reach. The point of the long pole is stuck into the outer surface of the sheet in the middle line just below the site of the transverse hala rod at the upper edge. The shoulder prevents the pole from going in too far. The assistant lifts up the sheet with the point and swings it into position above the last sheet tied. The thatcher within adjusts it accurately and then lashes it.
The roof ridging is attended to after both sides of the roof have been thatched. The lauhala sheets have been extended as high as the ridgepole. The first stage in the roof ridging consists of applying a double sheet of lauhala on either side with the upper edges meeting in an apex above the upper ridgepole. The two sheets of either side are then sewed together with two-ply twisted sennit cord. The two double sheets thus sewed together (uihau) extend from end to end of the ridge. The second stage consists of reversing two plaited coconut leaf mats (pora) (see p. 111) with the shiny upper surface of the leaflets on the outside. These are doubled over the uihau and kept in position by passing pointed wooden pins about 2 feet long through the mats from side to side, taking care that the pins pass through between the upper and main ridgepoles. The upper ridgepole prevents the pins from working upward and thus anchors the mats in position. The reason for reversing the two pora mats is that there may be one unsplit midrib edge on either side of the ridgepole to hold against the pins. The double mats are laid on with a slight overlap until the ridgepole is covered from end to end.
The ends of the house are also thatched with lauhala sheets, the sheets being tied to the vertical elements of the framework in the same way as in the roof thatching. Some adjustment is required in cutting some of the sheets to fit in with the changing width of the area covered. The ends of the lowest sheets on both the sides and the ends are cut off a little below the eaves rod in a straight line to form the eaves (turuturu). At the ends the eaves are 3 feet 2 inches above the ground, and on the sides, 3 feet.
A high platform (whata) was constructed in the old houses by laying longitudinal joists (tarawa), five on one side and four on the other to leave a space for an opening, over the crossbeams (vae), and then laying cross pieces or poles closely over the joists to form a floor (papa). (See fig. 13.)
Through the left side of the rectangular opening (ngutu whata, door of the platform) made in the middle of the floor by the use of shorter cross pieces on either side, the upper chamber formed by the platform was reached by means of a ladder (ara) placed in a slanting position. The ladder was formed of a stout piece of hala trunk with short cross pieces lashed on as steps. The upper story was also used as a dormitory and as a storage space, especially for the mature coconuts kept to form the takataka stage. In special houses set apart for the tribal gods, the bodies of dead chiefs were laid out on the high platform.
The house platform (paepae) now seen in dwelling houses of the Raro-tongan type, is an innovation which accompanied the houses introduced by the missionary, Aporo, from Rarotonga. The old type of house was built on the flat ground without any raised platform. Curbstones, such as mark some of the Tongarevan houses, were not used.
The ground floor was usually divided by a low fence (apaapa) into an inner rectangular sleeping part and an outer part contiguous to the sides and used as a dining room. The site of the fence was guided by the position of the supporting posts of the roof. The fence had middle gaps opposite the house doorways in all four sides to give admittance to the inner sleeping part. (See fig. 14.)
Wall screens (pataro whani) of plaited coconut leaves were used to form side or end walls when required, there being no permanent walls as in the Rarotongan type of house. The eaves of the house were fairly low, so that the depth of one screen was enough to reach the ground. Above, the screens were tied to a convenient part of the framework and simply hung down. The wall so formed was termed haihai. For the technique of the screen, see page 111, and for their appearance when hung, see plate 1.
Doorways (ngutupa.) The structure of the end framework to provide for end entrances has been shown in figure 9. The middles of the sides were also used as entrances, but here one had to stoop below the eaves to enter. The doorways were closed with pataro whani mats identical in structure with the wall screens.
A small portable house (whare taka) was constructed without supporting posts fixed in the ground. (See fig. 15.) Short supporting posts were lashed to either end of longitudinal beams (hapai) laid on the ground. Other longitudinal beams, also termed hapai, were lashed to the tops of the short posts. Two diagonal crossed braces used on each side to brace the two longitudinal beams and posts together were lashed at the corners and at the point of crossing. The two sides so formed were held upright, and cross pieces were laid across the upper longitudinal beams and lashed. The longitudinal wall plates were laid over the ends of the cross beams. The addition of principal rafters, purlins, thatch rafters, upper ridgepole, and eaves rod follows the method described on page 74.
A low house without supporting posts (whare tuku whakararo, house let down) was, as the name implies, let down to the ground by doing away with the supporting posts (pou), longitudinal beams (hapai), crossbeams (vae), and wall plate (kaupapa). Thus the principal rafters rested directly on the ground and formed a roof without walls. The house (fig. 16) was built for use in the hurricane season. As it had no side walls, the wind could not get under the roof to blow it away. The framework technique follows that already described.
Two variations of the Rrarotongan type of house introduced by the missionaries are shown in plate 1. The ridgepole is supported directly by end posts. Wall posts along the sides support a wall plate, also directly. The principal rafters extend between the ridgepole and wall plate, but their upper ends are crossed above the main ridgepole instead of below it. The upper ridgepole then rests in the forks formed by the principal rafters. The details of the Rarotongan form of framework have been described (27, p. 4).
One of the houses, used as an assembly place, has straight thatching at the ends and to almost the level of the side eaves. Below the thatching of the sides and ends the house is open. The other house is used for sleeping, and as a result of missionary influence, no doubt, the sides and ends are walled in. The walls receive the Rarotongan name, paruru, as they differ from the local haihai of movable screen sheets. The walls have also departed from the Rarotongan pattern in that the rods used to fill in the spaces between the wall posts are attached horizontally instead of vertically. The end thatching is also projected outward at its lower end to form a veranda. A raised platform of lime surrounds the house.
A third variation (fig. 17), which is popular in small dwelling houses, consists of carrying the outward projection of the tara (p1. 1, B, 1) to both ends and on the two sides. The small house is thus surrounded by a wide veranda on all four sides, and when set on a raised platform, the covered area looks more extensive than the space actually contained within the walls. The principle, however, of providing plenty of veranda space is a sound one for the tropics.
Seats (nohoanga). Though the people usually sat on mats on the ground, a wooden seat (fig. 18) was made of tou timber. The seat was rectangular with the slightest curve from side to side and was supported by four legs all cut out of the solid timber with the seat. It was maintained that these were made in Rakahanga in olden times.
The seats are much less curved than those of the Cook Islands (27, p. 43), and the lower ends of the legs are plain and without the heart-shaped feet characteristic of the islands to the south.
A round wooden box (puiha) 10 inches in diameter at the bottom, 8 inches at the top, and 9 inches high, was seen. It had ten short legs 0.25 inch high and 0.5 inch by 0.4 inch in cross section. The upper edge had an inner raised rim which fitted against an outer raised rim on the edge of a wooden lid, which was provided with a perforated knob in the center of its upper surface. A perforated lug at the opposite ends of a diameter had been cut out of the solid on the outer surface of the box. A cord passed through the lugs and the lid knob to fasten the lid in position. As turuma was an alternative name given to the box, I pointed out that the term tuluma and the details of the box construction existed in the Tokelau Islands. At first it was stoutly maintained that the box was native to Rakahanga, but later an old man conversant with its history was found who stated that it was brought from Tokelau by Tuteru-utua, who acquired it during his wanderings after being deposed from the position of Whakaheo. The wooden box, therefore, does not belong to the local culture, but the box and the incident are described here to clarify the position and prevent its being accepted when no further historical check may be available.
Brooms (ruruku tu nikau) were made of coconut leaflet midribs (tu nikau) which were bound together (ruruku). The midribs, as they were detached, were torn off with a jerk which brought away a thin strip of the main leaf midrib. Then the thin ends were plaited together in a three-ply braid until a sufficient quantity was thus provided. The braided end was then rolled to form the midribs into a bundle, which was bound below the braided ends. With such brooms the houses were swept clean. The same form of broom is common in the Cook Islands and other islands, and exists in Samoa.
In comparison with high islands, the low volcanic islands or atolls are greatly restricted as to natural variety in food. Manihiki and Rakahanga were not on the ancient sea routes followed by the voyaging canoes that sailed between Society Islands and Cook Islands, and this may in part account for the failure of many of the foods carried by the early Polynesians to reach these two atolls. The pig, the dog, and the domestic fowl were not known. A small rat, no doubt introduced accidentally, was not eaten, according to the inhabitants. For flesh foods, the people depended on the sea and the lagoon. Certain sea birds with their eggs also augmented the larder. Of vegetable foods, the introduction of the coconut was attributed to Huku, who, besides planting a ni ponga which floated ashore, brought others from his land of birth. Tradition does not connect Huku with the puraka (species of taro)
puraka is in accordance with the fact that the puraka was not grown on that island. If he brought other species of taro they perished, for the puraka seems to be the only species that thrives in Manihiki and Rakahanga. The presence of the puraka resulted in the use of wooden pounders which are not found on Tongareva, owing to the absence of that food plant, and of coral slabs for grating. Of the native plants, the hala (Pandanus) and the Morinda citrifolia were the only ones that could be utilized. If the hala was introduced, there is no historical narrative supporting its diffusion as there is in Tongareva. With the main vegetable supplies consisting of the coconut and the puraka, the people made the best of their limited resources by serving them in as many different forms as possible to add variety to their diet.
Variety of cooking utensils was also restricted by paucity of material. Much of the food was prepared in the kitchen, a separate establishment set at the back of the dwelling house to shelter the earth oven from the rain.
Fire was generated (hika) by means of a typical Polynesian fire plough. A groove was rubbed on a lower piece of dry wood (kauneti) by means of a pointed rubbing stick (kaurima) of hard wood. It was customary for an assistant to steady the far end of the kauneti by pressing it firmly on the ground with the foot. This process of pressing down (tomi; Maori, taomi) the under piece was regarded as necessary, as shown by quotations from fire myths. By the friction of the kaurima, particles of wood collected at the far end of the groove, smouldered, and ignited (kua tu te ahi). The ignited particles were blown upon gently to light up the wood dust and were then emptied onto a piece of dry coconut husk (puru), which, by gentle waving to and fro, was also ignited. From the flaming puru the fire was lit.
Firewood was a problem, as native forests were not extensive. Dry branches of trees were used, but the coconut, besides supplying food, also provided much of the firewood used. The dry flower sheath (taume) and the dry flower stalks (roro) were gathered for heating the oven. Empty coconut shells (ipu), thrown in heaps near the kitchen, were utilized for firewood as they are even to the present day.
The earth oven (umu) was used, but suitable stones which exist in abundance in high islands were absent on the coral atolls. Recourse was had, as in Tongareva, to coral and Tridacna shells. The coral, after one heating, became friable, and fresh material had to be collected for each oven. The lack of suitable large leaves in the local flora led to the plaiting of special sheets from coconut leaves to provide covers for the food while it was cooking, in order to retain the heat. Thus the people of the atolls of Rakahanga and Tongareva used plaited oven covers like their kinsmen in New Zealand, whereas those of Cook Islands and Society Islands used covers of breadfruit, banana, and other large leaves which their flora provided in abundance.
Tongs (pingohi) made by doubling pieces of coconut leaf midrib were used to lift heated stones from the oven in some of the culinary operations and in the making of coconut oil.
The widespread fire myth associated with the culture hero, Maui, is present in Rakahanga, but it differs somewhat from versions of other areas in that the fire was obtained from Tangaroa-tuhi-mata. According to a manuscript written by Tupou-rahi, Tangaroa-tuhi-mata was the paternal grandfather of Maui and dwelt in the underworld, Hawaiki-i-raro. The underground residence coincides with that of Mahuika in Maori myth and of Mafui'e in Samoan myth. The Rakahangan version has evidently mixed up the names of a widespread legend. Makuai-whare, unable to light her fire, sent her son Maui to his grandfather in the underworld to obtain a lighted piece of firewood (motumotu), instructing him not to go by the forbidden path (ara tapu) but by the common road (ara noa). Maui, true to the mischievous perversity with which he has been credited by all branches of the Polynesians, went by the forbidden path. Tangaroa, seeing a man approach by the path restricted to the gods, commenced to work magic. He raised his right hand, but Maui likewise raised his hand and continued to walk toward Tangaroa. Tangaroa raised his left hand and then both hands, but Maui raised both hands and kept moving. Tangaroa turned one side (koko), but Maui also turned, and approached sideways. Tangaroa turned his other side and Maui followed suit without slowing his progress. Tangaroa turned his back; Maui copied him and walked backwards toward Tangaroa. The various magical movements having failed to impede Maui's progress, Tangaroa desisted and asked Maui who he was and what he wanted. Maui informed his grandfather of their relationship and asked for a light to kindle his mother's fire. Tangaroa proceeded to generate fire while Maui held down (tomi) the lower fire stick. A piece of lighted husk was then given to Maui, who, when he was out of Tangaroa's sight, extinguished (pokia) the brand. Maui returned with the excuse that he had fallen down and accidentally put out the fire. Tangaroa told him to take the kauneti and generate the fire himself. Maui proceeded to do so, but as
hinga-hinga). Maui complained, and Tangaroa said, “Call those birds to fly hither to steady it.” (Uru atu ki na maimua, kia rere mai kia tomia.) Maui perceived two large sea birds (kakave), which, when Maui called, flew down and steadied the fire plough by standing on the far end. Maui, having successfully generated the fire, rewarded his assistants by striking them on the head with the hand stick (kaurima). One flew north and the other south, and to this day the kakave birds bear on their heads the marks (whakairo) of Maui's fire stick. After an interlude, Maui returned to his mother with the lighted husk.
A further mythical incident in the Maui exploits associates fire with the great exploit of snaring the sun. The Maoris, who were agriculturists, say that the reason for the snaring was to retard the speed of the too rapidly moving sun in order that man might have more time to cultivate food. The Rakahangan myth states that there was barely time in the course of the sun's journey across the sky to light one fire. Maui journeyed to the opening (rua) from which the sun emerged and twice snared him with ropes of sennit braid (kaha), but each time the sun broke away. The sun is referred to as “te tama nui a Hina ko te ra” (the great son of Hina was the sun). Hina was the caretaker of the opening through which the sun emerged. After his failures, Maui sought counsel with her. Her advice (wananga) was to make a snare (here) with strands of her hair (iho rauru). With the hair snare, Maui captured the sun and made the following terms before he let him go. The sun was to proceed slowly (haere maria) to enable mankind to light a morning fire (ahi popongi), a day fire (ahi awatea), and an evening fire (ahi ahiahi). The sun consented and has ever since carried out his bargain.
Nature provided in the hard shell of the coconut a natural cooking receptacle. The stalk end of the nut was tapped all around with a stone and removed. After the flesh within had been grated with a hand grater, the fluid was poured back and the top of the shell was replaced as a cover. The shell was then placed in the umu with the other food, and the coconut preparation was cooked in its own natural container, which served as pot or casserole. Fish were sometimes cooked in coconut containers.
A coconut shell cup (ipu) used as a drinking cup for water was made by cutting off the base end of the mature husked shell. Coconut fluid was drunk directly from the opened green nut.
A water vessel (ohonu) was provided by the larger mature nut, the eye hole being punctured and the flesh rotted out with sea water.
Wooden bowls (kumete) were made of trunk sections of whano and tou timber. (See fig. 19.) They are now fairly scarce, for trade dishes are easily procured. The bowls seen were elliptical, with projecting lugs for handles, flat bottoms, and no legs. They somewhat resemble the type in common use in Samoa. Other types are figured by Edge-Partington (6, series 1, p. 62, nos. 2–4). Bowl number 2 (fig. 19, c) Edge-Partington describes: “Oval bowl carved out of cinnamon-colored wood, the carved design is similar to that on the High Island and Mangaian adzes.” The bowl
d) he describes: “Oval bowl with end scooped out for pouring.” The narrow end of the bowl is shaped after the beaker type of bowl seen in Cook Islands, with a groove cut below the rim surface to form a spout. Bowl number 4 (fig. 19, e) he describes: “Flat oval bowl ‘Cuvette à eau’, carved out of wood resembling satin wood and inlaid with discs of pearl shell.” Wooden bowls were used as containers in which puraka and uto preparations were pounded. They were also necessary for the cooking of some food preparations, especially those which were heated or cooked by dropping heated stones into a liquid. Round bowls for coconut cream (roro), characteristic of Tongareva, are absent.
Hand graters (tuai) made of pearl shell are still in everyday use, due to the extensive use of unripe coconut as food. The soft coconut flesh is better dealt with by the hand grater than by a stand grater. The hand grater (fig. 20) is shaped somewhat like a European shoe horn. The part of the shell toward the hinge forms the grip, and the part toward the free edge forms the cutting edge. The grip end may be pointed or rounded and in the long graters may include a portion of the shell hinge. The curved grating edge is sharpened by grinding down the back of the shell, and it may be plain or serrated. The women are very expert in the use of the hand grater. By altering the pressure they make the grating fine or coarse. In addition to grating coconut flesh, the implement is used to grate the edible soft husk and also the uto, absorbing organ of the coconut. (For types, see pl. 1; fig. 20.)
The stand grater (kautuai) was used to grate the mature coconut in preparing coconut cream and obtaining coconut oil. It evidently resembled the Tongarevan stand grater in which a piece of coral was lashed to a wooden limb. The Cook Islands type of stand grater with a serrated metal grating edge is now in common use.
Another form of grater was provided by a block of sharp coral (punga taratara, on the rough surface of which raw puraka was rubbed to procure the grated form necessary in a particular food preparation and takataka oil.
The rough skin from the tail of the ray fish (hiku whai) was also used as a grater. A wooden scraper was used to detach the flesh from the keys of the ripe hala (Pandanus) fruit, but no specimen was seen. The combined wringer and strainer (kainga) was made from the pounded husk of the ni mata stage of the coconut. The kainga was used in expressing the coconut cream from the grated mature nut. The sheets of the fibrous textile-like stipule (kaka) at the base of the growing coconut leaves was also used as a strainer, especially in the preparation of coconut oil.
Pounders (reru) were rendered necessary by the presence of the puraka, which was mashed in certain food preparations. The uto, though fairly soft
oveke preparation. The pounder (pl. 1; fig. 21) was made of wood in the general form of a potato masher with a narrow neck and a terminal knob. The food was pounded directly in a wooden bowl without the intervention of a special pounding table (papahia) such as was used in Cook Islands. Pounders of coral were not made.
Special containers for puraka were plaited from coconut leaves to hold mashed and grated preparations for consignment to the cooking oven. These raurau and pite containers are described on pages 114–118.
The coconut husker (ko) was a pointed stick driven into the ground like the common Polynesian type of husker. The short husker held between the feet by the Tongarevans was not used. As the green husk at the base of the nut in the early stages of growth was used for food, it is probable that different methods of husking nuts prevailed as in Tongareva (29, p. 117), but details were not procured.
A short piercer (ko poto) made of a sharpened piece of ngangie wood was used to pierce the ni mata nut for drinking. This was used in the plantations and obviated husking the nut. The nut was held close to the face; the piercer was driven through the mokomoko butt end of the nut. As the piercer was removed the mouth was quickly applied over the hole, for the liquid spurted out and was likely to be wasted. The method of drinking (mokomoko kiri) was not without danger. The movements had to be so quick that, with the face held close to the nut, the exact site for stabbing was judged and not seen. Sometimes judgment erred and the cheek was stabbed instead of the nut.
Climbing bandages were used to assist in ascending coconut trees to pluck the nuts. Two forms are now in use:
1. Common tari bandage. This bandage is obtained from material stripped from the leaf of young growing plants which throughout the plantations have sprung from self-grown nuts. A leaf from the outer side of the closed central leaves (rito) is torn off, and the skin from the upper surface (aro) of the midrib is peeled off from the smooth part below the first two leaflets (puwha). About six strips (tari) 3 feet long are beaten against a tree trunk, chewed, and rubbed between the hands to render them soft and pliable. The ends are tied in a reef knot to form a closed loop about 16 inches long. The band is slipped over the dorsum of each foot and gives the climber a purchase against the palm trunk as he straightens his knees and seeks a higher grip with his hands.
2.Kaha-piki bandage (kaha, sennit braid; piki, to climb). The bandage is made of a length of sennit braid wound loosely into five loops about 16 inches long when pulled taut. The braid ends are knotted together and seized for a few turns around the five strands at the knot.
The carrying pole (amo) was formed of a convenient length of coconut leaf midrib. No shaped wooden poles were seen in use.
In the absence of cannibalism and many flesh foods, the proteid part of the diet was based on fish and shellfish augmented sometimes by wild fowl.
Fish were plentiful within the lagoon and in the deep sea. They were caught by a variety of methods (see pp. 158–194). Certain fish were
ninaki) to eat with the vegetable food was felt. On such occasions the Takai-whakaheo chiefess was called upon to exercise her power in calming the sea to enable the hungry fishermen to supply the larder. Cooked fish left over from meals were dried and kept in baskets for future use.
The waters of the outer lagoon were rich in crayfish, which were caught at night by torching and formed an important addition to the diet. They were cooked in the oven.
Two species of land crab, the tupa and the koveu, are plentiful, but the koveu (coconut crab) was more sought after. Certain islands were closed until the koveu were plentiful, when the restrictions were removed. Motungangie was opened for our party. We went crabbing at night with torches of dry coconut leaves. The ground was damp from rain, and the crabs, bloated, purplish objects with powerful claws, were found out of their holes, resting on tree trunks. We procured a large number by picking the crabs from the tree trunks or poking them down with the torch or a stick when out of reach. The natives grasp them behind the claws and then tie them with strips of bark or tari so that their claws are pinioned. The crabs are cooked in the oven. The huge claws contain a delicate flesh, but the rich fatty material in the round bloated part is considered the best portion. It is very rich and oily, but palatable. On account of the oil, I should imagine that the koveu supplies an important addition to the atoll diet.
The inner lagoons in both atolls were rich in pearl oyster (parau) and Tridacna (pahua). The Tridacna formed an important food supply and were eaten either raw or cooked in the oven. Tridacna were also strung on strips of tari after cooking and dried in the sun to form a reserve supply. When dried, Tridacna become as hard as leather and keep for a considerable time. After they are recooked in the oven, they become soft again. We found Tridacna a useful change while on Rakahanga. The women of our household were eager to get us a supply when we expressed the wish. The Tridacna were of medium size and were obtained from the sandy bottom of the inner lagoon in comparatively shallow water. Almost every household had strings of dried Tridacna hanging up in the cooking house. In eating raw shellfish, a certain amount of salty liquid which satisfies the craving for salt is ingested. Other smaller shellfish are found in smaller quantities and are collected by the women.
Turtles were caught and cooked, but did not seem to play as important a part in the marae ceremony as they did in Tongareva.
All wild fowl that could be caught were grist to the mill. The man-of-war hawk (kotaha) and the brown booby (toroa) were caught at night on their rookeries. A strip of coconut midrib skin (tari) tied in a running noose was attached to a handle of ngangie wood. The stiff tari material kept the noose open. The birds roost on low tauhunu bushes and along the leaves of coconut trees. On the low plants, they were easily reached with the noose. The higher coconut trees were climbed by the fowler, and birds within reach were caught both by hand and by snare. The coconut leaf was bent down, which caused the birds farther out to climb up toward the butt, when they came within reach. The kotaha colored white on the neck under the bill are termed kotaha mari and those colored red, kotaha tarakura. Two smaller seabirds, the ngoio and rakie, were also caught.
Other birds were caught with set snares or killed with stones (pehi ki te toka). The snares consisted of running loops of coconut husk fiber arranged in rows on sticks with the loops directed upward. Barriers were made on opposite sides of the set snares to force the birds to pass through the snares as they moved about on their quest for food. The birds said to be caught in the snares were the torea, kihi, parauanga, kururi, rahurahu, and moiho.
The vegetable food supplies consisted of the coconut, the puraka, the fruit and tips of the aërial rootlets of the hala (Pandanus), and the fruit of the nenu (Morinda citrifolia) which was used as a flavoring agent with one of the food preparations.
The coconut was introduced by Huku and planted by successive generations, so that at the present time all the islands are thickly covered by coconut groves. Many of the trees have been self-planted and there appears to have been no particular system followed.
The green nuts were plucked from the trees as required by the owners. The mature nuts that fell to the ground were gathered in heaps and removed as required. A heap of nuts (komua) belonged definitely to the owner of the trees, as expressed by the phrase, “Te komua ni nei na Tuteru.” (This heap of coconuts belongs to Tuteru.) A large heap is termed whetomo, but the term is sometimes loosely applied to a small heap.
In removing nuts, a strip of husk was peeled down, leaving one end attached. By means of the strip, the nuts were tied together in pairs. The
whakahani and the term was used in counting the nuts in pairs as follows:
The coconut tree is termed ni, the leaves, nikau, and the textile-like stipule at the base of the leaf, kaka. The flower is first inclosed in a small sheath (poepoe), from which an inner sheath (taume) emerges. The taume grows to a much greater length than the poepoe. From the taume emerges the flower (roro), which consists of a main spike with a number of smaller spikes. The secondary spikes have a number of male flowers (pua ni), with one female flower (huariri) at the base of each secondary spike. When the female flower has been fertilized and commences to grow, the male flowers with the main and secondary spikes dry up, and, still under the term roro, are used as firewood when the nuts are removed. The long boat-shaped taume also dries and is used as firewood. The growing stipules are cut off for use as strainers for coconut cream, and dry stipules are used as kindling for the fire generated with the fire plough.
The nut is contained within a thick envelope of husk (puru) which is covered by an outer skin (kiri). Nuts in the green stages (ni mata) are classified into two kinds, those in which the husk has a sweet taste (mangaro), and those which are not sweet (kawa, bitter). The husk of the green nuts is soft and contains a certain amount of moisture, whereas that of the mature nuts is hard and dry. The mangaro husk, owing to its sweetness, is used as food. It may be chewed raw like sugar cane to extract the sweet juice, or it may be cooked. When eaten raw, the husk is removed in segments with a husking stick and the outer skin (kiri) is peeled off. The term for chewing is ngaungau, but chewing mangaro husk receives the special term, kopani. To cook the husk, the nut is cooked whole without husking. The husk is then removed and chewed. The fluid contained within the nut may be drunk in the ordinary way.
The husk at the base or stalk end of the green ni mata stage contains less fiber and more parenchymatous material (mokomoko; Tongarevan, karisi) which is utilized as food. The green nuts are husked in such a way as to leave the mokomoko end still attached to the shell. The outer end which carried the stalk is broken off, and the mokomoko material is scraped off in small pieces with a hand grater to be mixed with dishes prepared from the grated nut. The material has a slightly bitter taste and thus provides a flavoring agent, as in Tongarevan cookery. In the later stages of growth, the moko
moko is invaded by more fibrous material and becomes too hard and dry for food.
The nut, as it develops, contains a fluid within the nut cavity which at first is too bitter to drink but which in the green nut stages forms a cool, refreshing beverage. The fluid also enters into the composition of dishes made from the grated flesh. In the mature stages of the nut the fluid becomes too bitter for use and is gradually absorbed by a part of the growing embryo and diminishes in quantity until it entirely disappears. The various stages of the nut are distinguished not only by external appearance, but also by shaking the nut to determine by the sound and feel the quantity of fluid present.
The fluid appears in the earliest stages before the flesh. The flesh then appears at the base end of the shell as a thin, slimy layer (havarevare). In the ni mata stages of growth, the flesh completely covers the interior of the shell and gradually thickens and becomes firmer. In this condition, the flesh is grated and utilized in various dishes. When the hakari stages are reached, the flesh assumes its maximum thickness and hardness and is still used as food. From then on, two courses are open. If the embryo grows, it gradually absorbs the flesh until only a thin, hard layer is left. If it does not grow, the flesh remains thick, hard, and well preserved. It shrinks slightly from the shell, and the loosened flesh rattles within the shell when the nut is shaken. This preserved form provides a useful reserve food.
The embryo develops in the flesh at the base of the nut. One part grows out externally through the patent eye of the shell base to form the root, stem, and leaves of the growing plant. Another part appears as a rounded protrusion (mata uto) at the base of the cavity. This is the growing absorbing organ which gradually fills the cavity with a soft, spongy mass (uto). The uto is edible raw or cooked and forms a welcome variation from the ordinary flesh of the nut. The uto, in expanding, absorbs all the remaining fluid, and unless used at the stage when it fills the cavity, it will gradually absorb the mature hard flesh with its contained fat crystals.
The coconut provides food from the husk, flesh, fluid, and uto which are present in different stages of growth. The particular stages of growth were thus of the greatest practical importance. The individual was not forced to make the food preparations from a haphazard collection of nuts, but he selected his nuts for the particular dishes that he desired. Experience had taught him exactly what parts of the nut were still edible in the nuts that he saw growing on the trees. Accumulated knowledge led him to recognize the different stages from their practical value as food. From the female flower to the nut only fit for planting, thirteen names distinguish the stages of the coconut growth (Table 15).
The flesh can be eaten uncooked at any stage from the thin havarevare to the hard takataka and the katinga of the uto pine. The fluid is drunk from the havarevare to the ni momoto stages. Out in the plantations where the nuts are opened for drinking, the flesh is generally eaten on the spot, or the nut is carried home for a later meal. In the earliest stages, when the flesh is thin, it is readily removed from the shell with the fingers. From the ni mata muri stage, it is customary to grate the flesh with a hand grater (tuai). The slices of flesh removed may be made fine or thick by altering the pressure on the grater. To grate finely is termed varuvaru, and to remove in coarser slices is tupere. The finer grating is used with the softfleshed ni mata stages and the coarser grating with the firmer ni momoto. Hence the following chant or pese:
Before a green nut is grated the fluid may be poured out into another shell, and the process of grating is then termed varuvaru maro (dry grating). In some preparations a little of the fluid is drunk to prevent spilling, and the grating process with the rest of the fluid in the shell is termed varuvaru tavai (wet grating).
The grated flesh of green nuts with the fluid retained (whakaehu) forms the basis of a number of preparations. The grated flesh of green nuts
takarari. When mixed with other food such as hala or puraka, the term pana is used to denote the mixture, but the actual mixing process with two grated foods is kahiro. When required, the liquid contained in the grated nut is squeezed through a stipule strainer. The remaining dry flesh is termed ota.
The mature hakari flesh is eaten (ka ngaungau te katinga). The fluid is apt to be bitter and is never sought after as a drink, though it may be used with the flesh. The Tongarevans do not drink it.
The takataka nut has three recognized stages: takataka maimaeha, in which the flesh is still completely soft; takataka whati, in which the flesh hardens but has not changed color; and takataka kura, in which the flesh darkens and turns somewhat reddish (kura) after being kept some time. The takataka kura is regarded as the best form for eating. The flesh is eaten without any special preparation. The thin inner part left after rubbing off the outer part for oil on sharp coral or ray skin is termed uhio and is eaten. The hard nut is eaten with dried fish, dried Tridacna (pahua maro), and puraka. A person with a large stock of takataka used it as a medium of exchange for fish.
The uto stages of the nut are, of course, known by the presence of the growing plant projecting from the base of the unhusked nut. When the nut is unhusked it is termed uto kiri (kiri, skin), and when husked it is uto ko (ko, to husk). The growing part is jerked off (huhuti) from the outside. A part left attached to the uto is called the pito (navel) and is removed (huhuti) after the shell is opened. To open the husked shell is kohoa or whowhoa. The end of the uto toward the base of the shell is the mata, as it is near the mata hole in the shell. The other end is the take. To cut in pieces is tehi, as in tehia mai na uto (to cut up the uto). Several preparations are made with the uto.
The uto puni is used medicinally but is of no use as food. The Manihi-ki-Rakahangan people considered it too tough; but as they had the puraka, they did not have the same incentive to experiment with pitting the uto as the Tongarevans, who had to rely on the coconut alone.
The puraka species of taro was extensively grown on both Manihiki and Rakahanga. Large areas had been excavated, especially on the island of Rakahanga, so that the level which was well below the surface reached the brackish water beneath. The large plots must have entailed considerable community labor, for the areas so dealt with are quite extensive. The spoil has been thrown out so long ago that it has formed natural-looking mounds and ridges at the sides of the excavations. These mounds on Rakahanga
puraka was dug up for food, the top of the leaves termed the seed or puraka purapura was replanted. The tubers were then pitted in a damp place in the sand near the cookhouse for use as required. The presence of the puraka gave the people a great advantage over the atoll of Tongareva, which the puraka never reached in pre-European times. A number of preparations were made from it.
Hala fruit is eaten raw when ripe, or it may be cooked on the stones of an oven without covering. Hala gratings were also dried and kept as reserve stock.
1. Whakaehu mata. The grated flesh of the ni mata muri coconut is eaten uncooked (mata) by itself after drinking the fluid of the nut or with the fluid mixed with it. As a flavoring agent, the grated husk (mokomoko) from the base of a green mangaro nut may be mixed with it.
2. Wai-tahi. The grated material of the whakaehu mata may be cooked in an oven in its own shell by itself or with the husk flavoring. The preparation is then termed wai-tahi.
3. Whakaehu pana puraka. The puraka is cooked whole and the whakaehu preparation made from ni mata muri is eaten with it. It is really a combination and not a single preparation.
4. Takarari. The flesh of the ni mata muri is grated dry and worked (oi) with the hands. The difference between it and whakaehu is simply that of fluid. Both are eaten uncooked.
5. Verovero puraka. The ni mata muri is wet-grated and raw puraka is cut into thin slices (tipu rahirahi). A layer of grated coconut is placed in the bottom of a coconut shell and alternate layers of coconut and puraka made until the shell is filled. The mixture is then cooked.
6. Romanga. The full name of this mixture is whakaehu pana ota romanga. As the name implies, the grated green coconut flesh (whakaehu) is mixed (pana) with the dry gratings (ota) left after expressing the oil from the grated mature nut (hakari). The grated mature nut is treated with heated stones to bring out the oil. The mixture prevents waste and supplies the whakaehu with a different flavoring agent.
7. Whakaehu pana nenu. The ripe fruit of the Morinda citrifolia (nenu) is squeezed in a wooden bowl with the hands to express the juice. The fluid from a green nut is poured in over the fruit to assist the extraction of the juice, as the fruit is fairly dry. The flavored fluid is then put in the empty shell of a green nut with the shell cover over it and cooked. The cooked mixture will remain good for two days. This is used as a flavoring agent with the whakaehu preparation of uncooked grated green nut (ka kahiro ki te whakaehu).
8. Tupere. The apical end of a ni mata matua is cut off, some of the fluid drunk, and the flesh wet-grated in coarse pieces. It receives its name from the coarse grating (tupere) as compared with the finer grating (varuvaru) of the whakaehu preparations which are made from ni mata muri or ni mata mua. The tupere preparation is largely used by nursing women to increase the milk flow, for which it is said that the ni mata muri of the whakaehu preparations is useless. Tupere is also used as a food complement (ninaki; Maori, kinaki) with fish.
9. Pana mokomoko. The ni mata mua is finely wet-grated, and the gratings of the mokomoko husk of a green bitter nut
ni kava) are mixed with it. The mixture turns reddish in color. The mokomoko by itself is bitter, but when mixed with the grated coconut flesh it turns sweet.
10. Huripaka. The flesh of a ni mata matua is dry-grated with the husk of a green sweet coconut (ni mangaro). The two are mixed, placed in a specially made coconut leaflet container (rarau), and cooked in an oven. The cooked preparation is very dark in color.
11. Puraka pana ota. Cooked puraka is pounded (tukituki) and mixed with the coarsely grated flesh of the ni momoto.
12. Wai ta. The grated flesh of a ni momoto with its fluid is put into a wooden bowl and mixed with grated husk of a green bitter nut. The mixture is then squeezed through a strainer to separate the flesh. The strained fluid is termed wai ta and is used medicinally by adults for pain in the back. The dry ota flesh is used for the puraka pana ota.
13. Roro. The roro is the creamy fluid from the mature nut grated on a standgrater and expressed through a stipule strainer. The cream may be used uncooked (roro mata), or a hot stone may be dropped into the bowl to heat it (roro hehengi). The roro mata may be used as a laxative. The preparation did not assume the social importance that it did in Tongareva, and no special bowls were made for it.
14. Uto kai mata. The uto is cut up and eaten raw.
15. Uto tupere. The opened shell is held in the hand and with a hand grater the uto is coarsely grated within the shell, as is katinga flesh. The two are mixed with the hand grater, which also acts as a spoon in conveying the mixture to the mouth. The person does not wait to grate the whole quantity but eats as he grates.
16. Turu uto. The uto is cooked in the shell in the oven. The mata ends are cut off with a hand grater and eaten by the family. The other ends are arranged around cooked puraka in the middle of a bowl and conveyed to the eating place (whainga) where guests are assembled.
17. Uto haehae. The uncooked uto is shredded (haehae) with the fingers, placed in a bowl, and the grated hard flesh of the nut is strained over the shredded uto. The fluid is very oily.
18. Oveke. Cooked uto is pounded (tukituki) in a wooden bowl and the grated mature flesh of the nut is mixed with it.
19. Pitei. A ni mata nut is dry-grated, put in a pite (coconut leaf container) and cooked in the oven. The uto is also cooked in the shell and afterwards pounded in a wooden bowl. The cooked coconut gratings (takarari) are mixed with the pounded uto, and the resulting mixture is pitei.
20. Pupu. Cooked puraka and uto are pounded and the takarari preparation from ni mata is prepared. The directions are as follows: “Oti, kua pana te puraka ki te uto, kua pana te takarari ki te puraka e te uto. E teru mea kua pana.” (When finished, the puraka is mixed with the uto, the grated coconut is mixed with the puraka and the uto. Three things are mixed.) “Raranga teraurau kapukapu. Kua hua ki roto, kua ruruku. Kia pu te umu, kua to. Huke ake, kua kai.” (Plait the kapukapu basket. Place within and fold up. When the oven is ready, cook. Open up the oven, eat.)
21. Uto whakapapa. The cooked uto is placed on a piece of katinga (hard flesh of the nut) and the two are eaten together, just as one would eat bread and butter.
22. Puraka mata. The puraka is eaten uncooked.
23. Puraka to. The puraka is scraped to remove the skin and cooked in an oven. It is eaten with uto, hard coconut, and fish. It is also dipped into roro. The puraka is grated on a coral slab to provide a number of dishes. When grating, the slab is placed on a kurei mat made of coconut leaflets so as to catch the grated material.
24. Papa puraka. The grated puraka is mixed with coconut cream (roro) and folded up in a puraka leaf. This is placed in the oven, with the end of the folded leaf below to prevent the parcel's unraveling. The cooked preparation is papa puraka.
25. The raw grated puraka is kneaded (oi) with the hands in a wooden bowl, placed in a pite (container made of coconut leaflets), and cooked. Sometimes only the outer parts of the puraka are grated off, when the preparation is termed oro, and the middle inner part (tahi) is cooked separately in another pite container. (Pite ke to ti oro, pite ke to ti tahi). When cooked, both the oro and the tahi are put in a wooden bowl, coconut cream is poured over them, and the contents of the bowl are stirred up and mixed (karo) with a piece of coconut midrib or a wooden pounder. The heat brings out the oil in the cream and the preparation is exceedingly sweet. (Kua mea te hinu, kua none whakarere).
26. Poke. The raw grated puraka is kneaded with the hands in a bowl and then placed on a plaited coconut platter termed a papa. The material is placed near the midrib edge and the far edge of the papa is folded over and tied. When cooked, the puraka is again kneaded and stirred up in a bowl, as the under part is somewhat harder from its position on the heated stones. The cooked puraka is made up into balls (popo) about the size of oranges. Heated coconut cream (roro hehengi) is then spread over the balls. The preparation is termed poke.
27. Mahu. The raw puraka is pounded. A receptacle is formed by placing a close kurei in a coconut leaflet basket (kete). The puraka is placed within and the kurei folded (whatuwhatu) over it. The basket is closed (tia) with two-ply twisted sennit (whauhoto) and laid aside (ka tuku ki waerenga) until the puraka becomes soft (whakape) and emits an odor (haunga piropiro). When required, some is taken out, kneaded in a bowl, placed in a pite (container) and cooked. When cooked, it is served with coconut cream. The food is fermented in the same manner as breadfruit but is kept in a closed basket instead of a pit.
28. Whakarikoriko. The puraka is pounded raw, placed in a large coconut shell container (ipu) with coconut cream, and cooked.
29. Verovero. The puraka is cut into very thin slices. Commencing with the puraka, alternate layers of puraka and grated coconut (whakaehu) are used to fill a coconut container. A topmost layer must be of coconut to prevent the puraka from becoming too hard. When cooked, the slices of puraka are removed with the layer of grated coconut above it and both are eaten together.
30. Puraka whakapara. Puraka is cooked whole in the oven and while still hot is placed in baskets which are closed with ties (tia more). All is laid aside until the puraka is dark, when it is recooked after any mould that may have appeared has been washed off. When being eaten, the puraka is dipped in coconut cream. The preparation is sweet.
31. Turoro. Puraka is cut very thin (kotikoti rahirahi) and laid in a coconut shell container. Coconut cream is expressed over the sliced puraka. The oven stones are covered with the husk (kainga) of the ni mata. The vessels are placed upon the husk and the oven closed. When cooked, the preparation forms turoro.
32. Popo puraka. Cooked puraka is pounded and mixed with heated coconut cream in which the oil is brought out.
33. Turu puraka. Large-sized puraka called tahua are cooked, placed in a wooden bowl with the larger ends uppermost, and heated coconut cream is poured over them.
34. Reru. The puraka is cooked whole and pounded after the skin is peeled off (teretere). Heated coconut cream is mixed with it and the mixture rounded off (popo) into dumplings. The separate dumplings are placed on pieces of puraka leaf which are brought together at the top and tied. They are then cooked and served.
35. Puraka pana whakaehu. The pounded cooked puraka is mixed with grated green coconut (whakaehu).
36. Penu whara. The keys of the hala (Pandamis) fruit are pounded off the central core, and the inner soft ends are grated on a special instrument into a container. The penu whara is sweet-smelling as well as palatable.
The need for fat in the diet was evidenced by the fondness of the people for fatty foods. During the seasons when certain fish were fat, they were eagerly sought after. The oily part of the koveu (land crab) and the fat of the sea birds assisted in providing the necessary ingredients to the diet. An ever-present source of fat was the coconut, the mature flesh of which contains abundant fat crystals. The fat crystals were available not only in the mature flesh (katinga) but also in the coconut cream expressed from the grated flesh. In some food preparations the oily flavor was brought out by heating the coconut cream with hot stones. The uto (absorbing organ) also absorbs oil from the mature flesh and thus supplies it to the diet. Even in the preparation of coconut oil, the burned, grated material, after being strained and squeezed, is not wasted but is used in the food preparation known as romonga. As the coconut formed the staple food, it may be said that the atoll diet was fairly rich in oil.
Coconut oil was used medicinally and also for rubbing over the body. Three forms of oil were prepared:
1. Hinu takataka. As the name implies, the oil (hinu) is obtained from the mature nut (takataka), the flesh of which is very oily. It is obtained by chewing the flesh, and the chewed material is rubbed over the head and body. This is especially done by young people to render themselves attractive in the evening after the labors of the day have ended. Any extra material left over is put in the body belt (taoa) by young adults going out to keep love appointments (whakaturi).
The takataka oil is also prepared by grating the flesh on a slab of sharp coral or on the skin from the tail of the ray fish (hiku whai). The quantity required is small and is used immediately after its extraction from the grated nut. To rub is ukui, but the special grating process with the takataka nut is termed puoro or simply oro. The oil is contained, for the most part, in the middle of the flesh. As the pieces of flesh detached from the shell are ground individually, it is customary to rub off the outer and middle layers while the thin (angiangi) inner layer of flesh is being eaten. The oil may also be directly expressed by gathering up the gratings in a stipule strainer and squeezing the liquid through into a vessel. The oil may be kept in a coconut cup or container. This oil is also used medicinally.
2. Hinu romonga. The oil is procured from the hard flesh of the mature hakari kahatea and hakari uto nuts as well as from the growing nuts in the mata uto and uto pine stages. All these nuts are now used in making trade copra. The nuts are grated on a stand grater (kautuai) and the gratings fall on a pataro mat spread below. The gratings (ota) are exposed to the sun on the mat and turned now and again until the oil begins to show. This process is termed haumake. The mats are then drawn into the shade to prevent the grated material from becoming too hard. Stones heated in the oven are lifted with pingohi tongs, placed on the gratings, and the material at the sides is heaped up over the stones. The material is carefully watched and the stones are moved about to prevent the grated nut from becoming burned. When all is heated to the right appearance, it is transferred to a wooden bowl. The oil is expressed by squeezing (tatau) it through a stipule strainer into a coconut cup where it is allowed to settle. The grated material in which some oil still lingers is used as food in the ro
monga preparation. The heating process is also termed romonga and gives its name to the oil.
3. Hinu pipiro. The oil is prepared by mixing the inner parts (tutae) of the tupa (land crab) with the grated nut prepared from the same stages of nuts as those used in the extraction of romonga oil. The mixture is wrapped in the leaves of the whano, nenu, or puraka and covered over in a basket, bowl, or coconut leaf. It is left for two or three days to become ripe (para), a state influenced perhaps by the decomposition of the tupa. The material is then heaped up on the two sides of the broad upper concave surface of the butt end of a coconut leaf. The oil runs down the middle clear space into a coconut shell container placed below. The shell full of oil is then stoppered for future use. It was stated that this oil was used for lamps after their introduction. Because of its unpleasant odor (pipiro), it was not likely to have been made for bodily use in ancient times. The dry gratings were eaten and the thick sediment in the oil was applied to ringworm (hune).
Children received careful attention from birth, and food preparations to suit children's ages were made from the coconut.
It was considered advisable to give a laxative to the baby after the cord had been cut, in order to get rid of what was termed the dark excreta. The laxative was obtained from the uto pine nut, which contains both the uto and the katinga. The uto and a little of the katinga were grated with a hand grater. The mixed grated material was squeezed with a stipule strainer to express the liquid into a coconut shell cup. A piece of the free end of an aërial hala rootlet (kai whara) was used as a teat and dipped into the fluid (whakaoma). The child was encouraged to suck (whakaroroma) the teat and thus absorb the laxative.
The child was not fed at the breast for three days. The colostrum milk of the mother (mea renga, yellow material) was sucked out by a friend during this period until the normal milk was established. During this threeday period the child was fed on waita, which consisted of the fluid expressed from a grated ni momoto nut, mixed with water, and squeezed through a stipule strainer into a coconut shell cup. The hala rootlet teat was used.
The child was fed at the breast entirely for four months, after which the breast milk was augmented by giving the child a little grated whakaehu made from the ni mata nut. This was continued until the child was nine months old. Variety was provided by mixing grated uto with the coconut whakaehu. The uto was carefully selected from those which had reached the right full size but had not become tough. Both the uto and the ni mata were finely grated and mixed together.
After the child was nine months old, the best food for it was cooked uto (uto to).
Plaiting is woman's craft. It provides the technique by which many articles required in domestic life are made. The men are also skillful with their fingers and make thatch sheets and baskets that may be immediately required, but the production of plaited articles is essentially woman's work. The scope of the craft was wide when no form of weaving was in use. Certain articles of clothing were originally provided by plaiting. The advent of Western culture has affected the form of clothing, but all other plaited articles are as much in use today as they were in pre-European times. Plaiting has thus always been a live craft. It has recently been developed further by the making of more elaborate mats and satchels in lauhala (Pandanus leaf) and new types of fans and hats in prepared coconut leaf. The women of Manihiki and Rakahanga have established a wide reputation as skilled plaiters and far surpass their neighbors of Tongareva. The materials used, coconut leaf or lauhala, influence technique.
The coconut provides a great number of plaited articles which are necessities in everyday life. For houses the coconut leaf furnishes an alternative thatching sheet and supplies wall screens. Within the house, coconut leaf mats form part of the necessary furnishings. A coconut leaf mat is also used to sit on out of doors and during certain ceremonials. The leaf supplies containers in which food is cooked, covers to retain the heat of the oven during cooking, and platters on which cooked food is served. A variety of baskets is made to contain foods and stored clothing. Last of all, the coconut leaf furnishes a shade to protect the eyes during operations conducted during the heat of the day, especially fishing for bonito.
The leaf has received so much attention that the parts have been named for convenience:
nikau, full leaf
whani, main midrib
tua (back), upper shiny surface
aro (front), under surface
pihonga, under midrib surface
hikuhiku nikau, tip end of leaf
katuri, leaflet from tip end
rau papata longer
patapata leaflets
ruruku, bundle of leaflets
tuaniu, leaflet midrib
The naming of the two surfaces of the leaf has been reversed from that of Cook Islands. The skin of the midrib is used for rough lashings. The leaflets toward the butt end of the midrib become hard, brittle, and frayed, and most articles are therefore made from the leaflets toward the tip end of the leaf. Thus a woman requiring individual leaflets for a particular type of mat will say to an assistant, “Haehaengina mai na katuri.” (Tear off the leaflets from the tip end of the coconut leaf.)
Below the attachment of the leaflet midrib to the leaf midrib the two sides of the leaflet are attached close together in a vertical line to the side of the leaf midrib. The leaflet is therefore folded together at its commencement but soon opens out into its full width.
To obtain a woven or plaited surface, two sets of elements have to be provided for interlacement. In plaiting, the two sets of elements are fixed at the same commencement edge; one set is turned diagonally toward the left and the other toward the right. Individual strips of material, or wefts, inclined toward the left are sinistral and those toward the right, dextral. The technique is as follows:
The plaiter sits on the ground with the commencement edge lying transversely toward her and works from left to right in a section of convenient depth. When she attains the depth of a working section on the left, she also defines the left margin of the section by successively turning in the sinistral wefts as they reach the left margin. By turning in the sinistral wefts at right angles to their previous course, she not only defines the left margin of the working section, but she turns the sinistrals back into the plaiting where they now incline toward the right and thus function as dextrals. From the method of beginning, the working edge of the section is on the right of the plaited portion and is inclined obliquely upward toward the left, being formed by the last sinistral weft crossed with a number of dextrals. A triangular section is built up on the left until the worker has a convenient number of dextrals engaged, usually six to eight. With each subsequent movement, a dextral and a sinistral are added on the right of the working edge. From its position, the new dextral is added to the lower end of the oblique working edge, and for convenience the worker drops the top dextral in the last movement so as to keep to the same number of working dextrals. The series of working dextrals is manipulated by the left hand into alternating sets, the arrangement of which depends upon the plaiting stroke used. In check plaiting, the left hand picks up every alternate dextral and leaves the others down. The raising of one set of alternate wefts forms a shed between the two sets in which the new sinistral is laid by the right hand. In the next movement the plaiter drops the top dextral altogether, as she will pick up a new dextral at the lower end of the working edge. Commencing with the upper end of the working edge, she successively drops the raised dextrals over the sinistral placed in the shed and also picks up successively the recumbent set of dextrals from beyond the right edge of the sinistral which lies upon them. In this way, the added new sinistral passes over one and under one crossing element throughout its course in the shed, and the plaiting stroke is thus a check. In covering the last sinistral, the two sets of working dextrals have been reversed in position and a shed provided for the next sinistral, which will continue the check technique. When the wefts pass under
After establishing the technical stroke and the depth of the working section, the craftswoman works along the commencing edge from left to right by successive movements in which she drops the top working dextral, arranges the next shed, picks up a new dextral from below, and places a new sinistral in the shed. She is concerned with arranging the sheds and the plaiting stroke pattern develops automatically. On reaching the right margin, she successively turns in the dextrals as they reach the margin, and by bending them in to function as sinistrals she defines the right marginal edge. The defining of the right and left marginal edges is necessary with each working section of a mat. With baskets, the margins are not turned but are left free and oblique for subsequent treatment. Successive working sections are added until the required depth of the article is reached. The far or finishing edge is then completed, ordinarily by a three-ply braid.
Plaiting vocabulary used by natives:
Puwhera (open), open leaflet
Piri (stuck together), closed leaflet
Kohiti, check plaiting
To, prefix before number to distinguish twill
Torua, toteru, twilled-two, twilled-three
Whakatutu (to make standing up) toteru, vertical twilled-three (without qualification toteru refers to horizontal twills)
Peperu, to turn side margins
Hiri, three-ply braid
Take, free braid tail or corner
Huru, additional separate leaflets added to plaiting
Potiki, to narrow plaiting by bringing two wefts together to function as one
Hatu, to commence plaiting two leaflet-bearing strips
Tutaki, to close in ends of basket
When individual separate wefts are used, as with lauhala, a special technique is needed for joining the two sets of individual elements along a commencement edge. In the coconut leaf, however, nature has provided an established commencement edge in the leaf midrib on which the leaflet wefts are growing at regular intervals. The fixation problem was thus solved by nature. In the local development of the craft of plaiting to satisfy various
1. Whole midrib commencement (fig. 22). A section of leaf for the required length of the screen is cut off. The section is laid transversely before the plaiter with the tip end toward the right and the shiny surface uppermost. In this position the leaflets on the far side of the midrib form natural dextral wefts. The opposing set of sinistral wefts is formed by turning the near set of leaflets over the midrib and bending them to the left to engage with the natural dextrals in the manner shown in figure 22. The leaflets are kept closed (piri).
2. Single-strip midrib commencement (fig. 23). The leaf section is cut to the required length and split down the middle. Only one side of the leaf is utilized, so the crossing wefts are provided by bending alternate leaflets in the opposite direction to their natural course. When only one article is required, the leaf strip with the leaflets directed naturally to the right is preferred as the leaflets form natural dextrals and plaiting can proceed from left to right in the orthodox manner. If the other strip with
3. Simple two-strip commencement (fig. 24). The problem of supplying the second set of crossing elements has so far been met by twisting leaflets from the opposite side of a whole midrib or alternate leaflets from the same side of a single strip. A simple advance in technique is to split the leaf midrib and utilize both sides. When the strips are laid with the midrib strips together and the shiny surface of the leaflets up, the strip from the left side of the leaf provides a set of dextrals naturally directed, and the strip from the other side a set of naturally directed sinistrals. This obviates bending leaflets in the opposite direction to their natural inclination. The commencement of a food platter in check with the open leaflet is shown in figure 24. In such commencements, it is customary for the sinistral-bearing strip to be placed above the other.
4. The twisted two-strip commencement (takawiri, to twist). (See fig. 25.) Two midrib strips from opposite sides are used, but before plaiting, each strip is prepared by twisting each leaflet forward under the strip attachment of the leaflet in front (tip end of leaf in direction in which leaflets are naturally inclined). The two strips so dealt with are placed together with the sinistral-bearing strip above as in the simple two-strip commencement. The leaflets cross naturally, and in the subsequent plaiting they are kept closed.
5. The simple two-pair commencement (fig. 26). The number of wefts is reinforced by the use of a pair of midrib strips with natural dextrals and another pair with natural sinistrals. No twist is used, and each pair is so placed that the leaflets of one strip alternate with those of the other. As a double quantity of wefts is thus provided, the edges of the leaflets may be trimmed and made narrower. In a fish platter, the open leaflet was used and both free edges of the leaflets split off with the thumb nail.
6. The twisted two-pair commencement used in Samoa (28, p. 185) and Aitutaki (27, p. 183) is not used in Rakahanga, but completes the series of commencement methods. In the twisted two-strip commencement, the twist is used with each single strip. In the twisted two-pair commencement, each pair is twisted by placing the two strips from the same side with their midrib strips together but the leaflets alternating. Commencing, the back leaflet of one strip is twisted forward under the two leaflets in front of it, one from each strip. The next leaflet from the other strip is then twisted forward under the two leaflets in front of it, one from each strip. The twisting goes on automatically by taking the nearest leaflet from each strip alternately and twisting it forward under the next two leaflets, one from each strip.
In mats, sheets, and platters the plaiting ends when sufficient depth has been secured. The commencing edge has been defined by the midrib strip in the various forms of commencement. The side edges have been formed by half-turns or direct bends. The far edge now ends in the free dextrals and sinistrals which project beyond the last horizontal row of check plaiting. The problem of disposing of the weft ends was met by plaiting them into a three-ply braid:
The three-ply braid finish (figs. 27, 28). The plaiting is turned so that the incomplete far edge lies longitudinally to the craftswoman. In Rakahanga, the plaited article is so placed that this far edge is on the right of the plaited portion. In this position, the dextral wefts are directed obliquely toward the plaiter, and the sinistral wefts are directed away from her. It is convenient to allude to the dextrals as near wefts and the sinistrals as far wefts. The side of the braid toward the plaiting (left) will be termed the inner side, and that on the other side (right), the outer. Thus, if the free
Two varieties of technique have been developed. In one, the wefts are added to every turn of the plies. In the other, the wefts are added to alternate turns. These variations are influenced by the closeness of the wefts in the plaited article. Thus in the oven cover meant to retain the steam in the cooking oven, the plaiting is close and the wefts are added to every turn of the plies. In most of the other articles, the wefts are added to alternate plies. It is convenient, therefore, to allude to the two variations as the close three-ply braid and the spaced three-ply braid. Sometimes, owing to variations in the width of the wefts, both techniques (whiri) may be used in the one braid finish. The more common spaced three-ply braid is shown in figure 27. The close three-ply braid finish is shown in figure 28.
From the coconut leaf, thatch sheets, screens, oven covers, and two kinds of mats are made:
1. Thatch sheet. Thatch sheets for cooking houses and temporary houses out in the plantations are made of split half leaves. The leaves are cut off in 6-foot or 7-foot lengths. Each section is split down the midrib and each half leaf plaited separately with the split midrib commencement in check with the open leaflet. In the left half leaf alternate leaflets are bent to the left to provide the crossing sinistrals, and the plaiting proceeds normally from left to right. (See fig. 23.) In the right half leaf the natural direction of the leaflets is sinistral, so the alternate leaflets are bent to the right to provide crossing dextrals. The plaiting proceeds from right to left, the right hand manipulating a working set of sinistrals at the working edge and the left hand placing a dextral in the shed formed. The side margins are turned in with the upward half-turn. (See fig. 23, c.) After plaiting a few inches in depth with one working section, the ends of the leaflets are left free. The narrow band of plaiting insures that the leaflets are crossed to form a better thatch. The technique is the same as in Cook Islands, Tahiti, and Samoa.
2. The sitting mat (pora) is made by continuing the thatch sheet technique to a greater depth and then finishing off the far edge with a spaced three-ply braid. (See fig. 27.) It resembles, moreover, the Aitutaki thatch sheet in the principle of joining two sheets together after commencing each separately. The split midrib commencement is used with the open leaflet in check, and the side margins are formed with an upward half-turn. The two separate sheets, after being plaited for a depth of about 1 foot, are placed one above the other. The wefts of the two sheets which coincide in position are then treated as double wefts and the plaiting in check is continued to reach the full depth, when the braid finish is used. The process of combining the two sheets by using double wefts is termed kohiti, a term also applied to check plaiting. (See p1. 2, A.)
3. Wall screen (pataro whani). (See fig. 29.) The term pataro is identical with that used in Tongareva and distinguishes coconut leaf sheets or mats used as screens for the sides of houses, doorways, and also for sitting mats. The leaf midrib (whani) is not split, and its retention in the unsplit form gives the qualifying term, whani, to the screen. The same mat was also used as a seat, and was then termed a pataro noho. The whole midrib commencement, whereby the naturally directed leaflets of one side form the dextrals, is used. The leaflets from the other side are crossed over the midrib to engage the natural dextrals as sinistrals. The leaflets are kept closed (piri), and as
B, the twilled-twos at the midrib commencement are in horizontal rows, which are changed to vertical rows and then to a horizontal row of twilled-four sinistrals, followed by a row of twilled-three dextrals and finally finished off in check. The change in the twill and in direction gives variety to the surface appearance of the mat and is introduced for the aesthetic effect. The side edge on the left is formed by upward half-turns and on the right by direct bends. The far edge is finished off with the spaced three-ply braid technique. (See fig. 27.)
4. The oven cover (pataro umu) carries the screen name, pataro, qualified by the word umu (oven) to denote its use as a cover placed over the food in the oven to keep in the heat during cooking. (See p1. 2, C.) The technique departs from that of the screen pataro and is exactly similar to that of the Tongarevan oven cover (toto umu). The cover is made of two leaflet-bearing strips in the twisted two-strip commencement (fig. 25). The closed leaflets are used with both check and twill, both side edges are formed by direct bends, and the far edge is finished off with the close three-ply braid technique. (See fig. 28.) In addition to being used to cover (tapoki or puroku) food while it is cooking, the closely plaited mat is used for other purposes. The puraka may be grated on it (oro te puraka) and also the mature coconut (waru te hakari), so that the mat receives the grated material. It is also used as a mat on which grated coconut is exposed to the sun (tauraki ki te ra) to make the oil run, and for drying fish and Tridacna (tauraki te ika, te pahua).
5. The large sitting mat (tapakau) shows a marked departure from the technique ordinarily associated with coconut leaf material. (See fig. 30.) It is evident that whereas the midrib strips offer certain advantages in providing a natural commencement edge, their presence also imposes restrictions. The disadvantages of the wide spacing between the wefts has been met in making some articles by using the two-strip twisted commencement further reinforced by the addition of extra individual wefts to fill up interweft spaces. There are, however, further limitations as to the length of the midrib and the alternation in length and width of leaflets as they proceed toward the tip and the butt. Furthermore, the depth of the plaiting is limited to the length of the leaflets on one side of the midrib. To meet these disadvantages and provide a larger and neater mat, an artificial midrib is made, of any length required and with selected leaflets on either side set closely together, a distinct advance in technique. The new principle involved consists of plaiting a three-ply braid and adding selected leaflets on either side to each ply of the braid as it twists into the middle position. The appropriate katuri leaflets from toward the tip ends of the leaves are pulled off individually so that the butt ends of the leaflets carry short strips of the leaf midrib. In the closed leaflet wall screens and oven covers, the leaflet wefts average 0.8 inch in width, but in the tapakau mat the edges of the leaflets are split off with the thumb nail to form closed leaflet wefts from 0.4 inch to 0.5 inch wide. The leaflets from the opposite sides of the leaf are kept distinct, those from the right side being placed in a bundle (ruruku) on the left side of the craftswoman and those from the left side of the leaf on her right. When plaiting the braid commencement, the worker automatically adds the leaflets on her right to the right side of the braid and those on her left to the corresponding left side of the braid. The women are methodical in their work and, by attention to minor details beforehand, they not only quicken the work but avoid confusion and bad craftsmanship. The commencement is here termed, from its appearance, the keel commencement (fig. 30), to distinguish it from other braid commencements. Plaiting is commenced by laying the braided keel transversely in front of the plaiter. She sits on the near set of wefts and plaits the far wefts from left to right in twill. (See fig. 31.)
From the last horizontal row of twilled-threes in figure 31, the stroke technique is changed to vertical rows of twilled-twos for a depth of 12 inches. The stroke then changes to 5 horizontal rows of twilled-twos followed by about 10 rows of check. The dextral wefts in the check portion are narrowed by folding them over slightly at one edge. The depth of plaiting to the last check row is 22.5 inches. The far edge of the plaiting is then finished off with the spaced three-ply braid as in the preceding mats. (See fig. 27.) The free tail end of the braid is knotted and pushed back through the plaiting below the braid edge with the knot to the under surface. This completes one half of the mat. The unplaited side is then turned so that the worker sits on the plaited part. The second half is plaited in exactly the same manner as the first. (See p1. 3, A.) The tapakau is the best mat I have seen in coconut leaflet material. The long leaflets of the Rakahangan palms render the depth possible. Though the plaiting depth is 22.5 inches, the diagonal course of a single leaflet weft is 32 inches and at least an extra 2 inches are included in the braid.
A group of plaited articles known geneically as raurau divides into two classes, cooking receptacles and serving platters. With the exception of one used for cooking fish, the cooking receptacles have been created by the need for containers in which to cook the grated puraka preparations. In Tongareva, where until recently the puraka was not present, the technique of the raurau cooking receptacles was not known. The raurau food platter upon which the cooked food is served to guests follows the technique of the cooking raurau, but the finishing edge is made neater by finishing it off with a three-ply braid. Three forms of cooking raurau and three forms of platters are made:
1. The fish receptacle (raurau to ika) is the roughest form of raurau. (See p1. 3, C.) Two midrib strips from opposite sides of the leaf, each carrying 10 or 11 leaflets, are plaited together in check, the sinistral-bearing strip above the other. A leaflet at either end of the sinistral strip is left free for tying leaflets. The receptacle is about 12 to 13 inches wide. The side edges are turned in, and the plaiting proceeds until it is about 12 inches deep. The free ends of the dextrals are drawn together and tied in an overhand knot close to the plaiting, and the sinistrals are dealt with similarly. The fish are placed in the receptacle, which is hollow on the back surface of the leaflets, and the leaflet ends are simply tucked in around the fish. The plaiting is folded over the fish, the free tying leaflets are passed around parallel with the midrib strip, and the ends tied with a reef knot. The receptacle then serves as a cooking dish which is placed in the earth oven for cooking.
2. The large puraka receptacle (raurau papa) is also made of two opposite strips bearing 11 or 12 leaflets. (See p1. 3, B.) The sinistral-bearing strip is placed above the other, with the shiny surface of the leaflets upward. All the wefts are plaited in check with open leaflets. After the plaiting has reached a depth of about 5 inches, a leaflet is dropped out at either side edge for tying. The plaiting continues for a full depth of about 22 inches, the side edges being defined by turning in the wefts with a half-turn. The far finishing edge is fixed by tying the crossing wefts together with a reef knot in pairs, a sinistral and a dextral being included in each knot. For use, the raurau is turned over with the dull surface upward, as this surface is slightly hollow. The grated food (puraka oro) is laid on the midrib strip half of the sheet, the other end is folded over, and the two side leaflets that were left out of the plaiting are brought over to tie the receptacle together. The food in the receptacle is then placed in the earth oven for cooking.
3. The smaller cooking receptacle (raurau kapukapu) is made in a similar manner but with shorter midrib strips carrying about 7 leaflets. (See p1. 3, D.) The plaiting in check with open leaflets proceeds for a depth of 14 inches. The two leaflets which cross in the middle of the finishing edge are knotted together with a reef knot, which braces the plaiting edge together and prevents it from unraveling. The food cooked in the raurau kapukapu consists also of grated puraka when not so much quantity is required, and also of the preparation (pupu) of grated puraka mixed with coconut. The dull surface is again the hollow part, so the receptacle is turned with that surface uppermost. The food is placed on the midrib half and the other end doubled over. The free weft ends, which have been left long and brought around from either side, are passed around the sides above the projecting ends of the midrib strip, and tied at the back with a reef knot. The receptacle is neat and effective.
4. The ordinary platter is made of two opposite midrib strips, each carrying 8 leaflets. (See p1. 4, A, I.) With the shiny surface of the leaflets up, the sinistral-bearing strip is laid above the other. The stroke is a check with open leaflets, and the side edges are turned in with half-turns. The platter is about 12 inches wide at the midrib strip commencement. The plaiting continues for a depth of about 13 inches. The free ends of both sets of leaflets are then plaited in a single course three-ply braid, commencing on the left with the shiny surface upward. As in screens, the dextral wefts go straight into the braid from the plaiting edge, but the sinistrals pass under the braid and enter the braid in the outer plies. On reaching the right edge, the wefts are continued as a free braid tail for about 4 inches and tied in an overhand knot. The tail is then doubled in on the dull surface side, pushed through under a couple of wefts, and the knotted end is brought back again. The platter is hollow on the dull surface, which is turned uppermost in use.
5. A platter for serving fish (raurau rava ika) is more elaborate in that two sinistral-bearing and two dextral-bearing strips are used to supply a double quantity of wefts. (See fig. 32; p1. 4, A, 2). Owing to the extra material, the edges of the leaflets are split off to form narrower and neater wefts. The two-pair simple commencement shown in figure 26 is used. The side edges are turned in with half-turns, and the check stroke with open leaflets is used. Each midrib strip carries 7 leaflets, thus making 14 wefts in each series. The platter is a little more than 12 inches wide at the strip commencement. The plaiting continues for a depth of 15 inches where the plaiting narrows down to 9 inches in width. The finishing edge is completed by a two-course three-ply braid, shown in figure 32.
6. A small, neat platter (raurau mereki: mereki, modern term for plate) was made of two opposite midrib strips each carrying 6 leaflets. (See p1. 4, A, 3). In the type specimen examined, the dextral strip was placed above the other. The check stroke was used with the open leaflets and the side edges were turned in with half-turns. The platter at the commencement edge is 8 inches wide. The plaiting is continued for a depth of 8 inches. The 6 sinistral wefts are then braided in three-ply from the middle line toward the left. After all the six wefts have been included in the braid, the ends are continued as a free braid tail for a length of about 11 inches. The 6 dextral wefts are similarly treated on the right. The two tails are then brought back along their respective sides to the midrib strip, where they are passed through from the dull, concave side of the platter to the inner side of the marginal wefts. The two ends are drawn taut along the outer side of the strip margin and tied together in the middle line with a reef knot. This type of platter is probably modern but illustrates a form of technique seen in the pite group of plaited articles.
The raurau are characterized by the natural concavity formed on the dull side of the leaflets when plaited together or by folding. They are really plaited as sheets of material. The pite group consists of two types which commence with the raurau technique but are definitely converted into shaped receptacles by the introduction of corners or points into the plaiting. In both, the two-strip simple commencement is used, and the check stroke with open leaflets. Both utilize the raurau mereki method of disposing of the leaflets at the finishing edge by braiding the dextrals and sinistrals separately
The two forms of pite consist of a pointed conical article and a four-cornered one:
1. The pointed pite (pite pahua) is used by women when gathering Tridacna (pahua) for food. (See fig. 33; p1. 4, A, 5.) The receptacle is hung with the open mouth upward on a stick in the sand. After shellfish have been collected, the shells are opened and the flesh put in the pite. This saves carrying the heavy shells back to the cooking houses.
2. The four-cornered pite (pite pupu) is used for cooking the preparation (pupu) of grated puraka and coconut. (See fig. 34; p1. 4, A, 4). The receptacle has four corners (e ha take). The technique of the corner is simple and is similar to that used in satchels in New Zealand. In any plaiting surface, if the normal lean of a weft is turned in the opposite direction and the crossing weft is similarly dealt with, a corner will result.
The term basket (kete) is here used to include deeper and more permanent receptacles than the raurau and pite articles just described, and it includes articles usually described as satchels. Four types are made from coconut leaflets and two from lauhala. Of the four coconut leaf types, a round basket and a satchel clothes basket are local. The third type (to-ngini) was introduced during the post-missionary period, and the rough braided basket was also probably introduced.
1. The round basket (kete). The round basket is the common receptacle for food and other objects, the common baskets of other areas made with open leaflets in check not having been adopted. (See figs. 35, 36; pl. 4, B, 2–3.) The basket is made of two midrib strips from opposite sides of the leaf. The two strips are dealt with by the twisted two-strip commencement (takaviri) and a twilled-two plait is used after the whatu technique and join (fig. 35) are established. The horizontal row of dextral checks which completed the whatu is followed by a horizontal row of sinistral twilled-twos, another row of dextral checks, and then alternating rows of sinistral and dextral twilled-twos of two each. This forms a plaited cylinder about 6 inches deep.
The bottom of the basket is formed by decreasing the diameter with each circle of weft strokes. Thus from the last circle of twilled-twos with single wefts, the next circle of twilled-twos is formed by drawing two adjacent wefts together to form a double weft with both dextrals and sinistrals. This rounds the bottom and narrows (potiki) the circle of plaiting. After this round, the narrowing is repeated (ka potiki whakohou) by bringing two double wefts together to form compound wefts containing four leaflets in each weft. The four-element wefts are now plaited in check for three rounds. The three rounds of check plaiting form a raised cuff. The cuff is then flattened longitudinally, taking the join (tutaki) on the rim as the far end. From the far end of the unclosed slit bottom, the plaiter commences a three-ply braid (whiri) with the wefts directed toward her on either side. When she gets to the near end and has incorporated all the wefts directed toward her in the braid, she continues the braid in a free, thick, braided tail (take) and fixes the end with an overhand knot. The free tail is about 11 inches long. The ends are then reversed, and the remaining wefts on either side, which are now directed toward the plaiter, are braided in a similar way. The bottom is thus closed by a two-course braid, each course being completed by its own free tail. (See fig. 36.) Each tail is pushed through over two crossing wefts into the inside of the basket. The cuff is stretched and flattened out and the free tails pushed through to the outside at the ends of the bottom. The tails are turned upward and after a short course of 3.5 inches on the outside the knotted ends are pushed through to the inside. (See pl. 4, B, 2–3.) Owing to the longitudinal course of the thick braid tails on the bottom, the basket described is more elliptical than circular at the bottom. In the type basket, the wefts were 0.8 inch wide, but in a smaller, neater basket the wefts were 0.4 inch wide. In the neater basket, the narrower wefts were rendered possible by introducing a larger number of the extra wefts (huru).
2. Clothes basket (kete ngahengahe). The basket is made in the form of a satchel. (See figs. 37–39; pl. 5, A, 1.) It shows a marked advance in technical detail. The basket is distinguished by the braided rim commencement, the use of changing twill, and the advanced type of braid finish at the bottom. In addition, the rim is wrapped with colored lauhala and the satchel decorated with wrapped strips of aërial hala roots, tufts of colored fiber, and pearl shell ornaments. The leaflets of young coconut leaves are split with the thumb nail (tete) and passed over the fire (parara) to soften them. They are then dried in the sun (haumaki ki te ra). The leaflets are split from the leaflet midrib, and any thick strips from the vicinity of the midrib are carefully removed so that the strips are of even thickness. A number of individual wefts are thus prepared, which are cut off square toward the butt ends and average about 0.2 inch in width. The commencement at the rim is a unique feature,
hiri teru) in which the end of the first course was turned over to form the commencement of the second. The second course was finished off with a knot close to the plaiting and not pushed through to the inside. During the second course, the wefts, after a few turns in the braid, were successively dropped out on either side and then cut off close to the braid turns. This made a neater finish than the ordinary two-course braid in which the wefts are kept in the braid for their full length. The technique has been described for the baskets of Aitutaki (27, p. 186).
kaungutu) was finished off and embellished by a strip of the thin papa material obtained by splitting off the upper surface of the lauhala. It was dyed red and attached as shown in figure 39. Ornamentation was provided by the use of splints, fringes, and pearl shell. Ornamental splints (weri) were made of strips of aërial hala rootlets about 0.3 inch wide and 0.05 inch thick. These were wrapped spirally with a strip of dyed papa material. One strip passed along under the bottom, was bent up sharply at each bottom corner, and ascended at the ends to meet the rim where the ends were cut off level. A thin strip of material passed through the basket and around the splint fastened them at the rim and at each lower corner. A horizontal splint was then passed around the basket about halfway down. The ends overlapped and were tied together. They were also tied to the vertical limbs of the first splint at the ends. Two other vertical splints were passed from rim to rim under the bottom, dividing each side into three approximately equal parts. Short fringes of bast fiber, dyed red, were attached at the rim to the upper ends of the vertical splints and to the crossings with the horizontal middle splint. Pearl shell pendants (tau parau) triangular in shape but with the short base curved were attached to the fringes in sets of three by threads passing through two holes bored in each pendant. The pendants average 0.6 inch by 0.4 inch. The satchels are neat and attractive. The one figured (pl. 5, A, 1) is small and was made as a sample by Tina, the only woman on Rakahanga who knew how to make them. The baskets were made much longer and were used to contain garments (ngahengahe), hence the name, kete ngahengahe. Traditional history states that a woman named Utua-vaine once avoided the regular migration from Te Kainga to Manihiki by slipping away from the canoes to get her kete ngahengahe. This was adduced as proof of the age of the basket technique. The wrapping with dyed lauhala and the colored fringes are probably of more recent origin.
4. Foreign basket (tongini). This type of basket has been described by Handy (15, pp. 21–35) for Tahiti, and for Cook Islands by Hiroa (27, p. 168), and the Rakahangan technique differs in no way from that described. In Rakahanga the basket is made with four interlocking pairs of midrib strips, each pair carrying 4 and 3 leaflets respectively. (See pl. 4, B, 1.) The handles are plaited in flat bands, and the leaflets that pass around on the outside are plaited in three-ply braid and knotted together under the basket bottom. The baskets are large for such baskets. The basket is frankly acknowledged not to be native to Rakahanga. In Tahiti it is called oini and in Aitutake, ohini. The Rakahangan name, tongini, is evidently a local adaptation of the other name.
5. Full-leaf braided basket (fig. 40). This quickly made receptacle is made from a section of coconut leaf midrib with the leaflets on either side intact. It has been described by Handy (15, p. 62, fig. 27) for Tahiti. I could not determine whether it was introduced into Rakahanga from that area with the tongini, but the identity of technique favors the probability of diffusion in the post-missionary period.
Plaited shades for the eyes (taumata) are very quickly and roughly made, as they are not permanent articles but are discarded after use. Two forms were seen. The simplest form was made from one midrib strip carrying 7 leaflets. (See fig. 41.) The other is made with the simple two-strip commencement, each strip carrying four leaflets. The check stroke with the open leaflets is used. The technique is similar to that of the first shade in commencement, but the plaited band is made longer. Thus in the simple eye shade only two half-turns are made on the short side of the shade (fig. 41, b), but in the second form six half-turns are made. The end edge (fig. 41, c) is formed in the same way, but instead of finishing with a three-ply braid, a narrow band is plaited by closing the leaflets and thus narrowing the wefts. The ends of the leaflets are knotted and form one tie, and the other tie is provided by a long continuation of the midrib strip. (See pl. 4, A, 6.) These shades were used in fishing to protect the eyes from the glare of the sun, but plaited hats with brims are taking their place.
The hala (Pandanus) grows on all the islands without cultivation. Though whara is the general name, that term is especially applied to the mature plant which has developed a long trunk. The young plant which has no length of trunk is distinguished as puwhara; and it is from this plant that mats and clothing are made, whereas the leaves of the whara serve for roof thatch. The preparation, according to my informants, is as follows:
The puwhara is cut down and the leaves cut off. The leaves are individually passed over the fire (parara ki te ahi) and then exposed to the sun (haumtaki ki te ra:haumaki, expose to the sun; Cook Islands, tauraki) for two days. The spines on the
parau but if small, kati. The butt end of the leaf is held with the left hand and the shell is run along the under side of the leaf. This process (vautua) spreads out the wrinkles caused by drying and smooths and softens the material. The leaves are again exposed to the sun for three or four days.
Each leaf is then wound around the hand, commencing with the butt end. This opens out the leaf. A reverse winding is then made on the other hand, which leaves the butt end on the outside. The side edges (papita) of the leaf are split off (tete) with a kuku shell. Other leaves are added to form a large roll (pipiti). The process of rolling is termed tupe. The end of the added leaf is always placed under the end of the preceding leaf. The pipiti rolls are fastened with a strip of lauhala passed through the central hole and tied around one radius of the roll. These are stored for use.
In preparing the material for plaiting, the roll is first beaten on the ground (ka tuki te pipiti). The leaves are again scraped (haro) along the back with a shell to soften the material (kia paruparu). The leaf is split off on either side of the midrib, which is discarded. The worker then deals with the half leaves. The butt end of the leaf is the pu and the tip end, the hiku. The half leaf is split (tete) into wefts of the desired width. Mats with wide wefts are termed kiri maraia and those with narrow wefts, moenga kuti.
In plaiting mats, double wefts (tuarua) are used. To form a double weft, the dull surfaces of the wefts are placed in opposition so that the shiny (tua) surface will be exposed on both sides of the double weft.
The mats made from lauhala are used for sleeping upon and are hence termed moenga (moe, to sleep). The tua surface of the lauhala of the warmer atolls seems to have a better appearance than the material used in the Cook Islands. The women of Manihiki and Rakahanga are regarded as good plaiters. The sleeping mats made of double wefts and embellished with colored designs in overlaid plaiting are much admired and sought after. The commencement technique is as follows:
As applied with double wefts, the commencement technique (whatu) does not differ from that of the Samoan papa mats (28, pp. 214–216) which may be compared for technical details. (See pl. 6, C.)
The plaiting stroke throughout is the check. Colored designs are worked in after the completion of the mat with overlaid material formed of the upper layer (papa) of the lauhala separated in thin sheets after heating the leaf. The material is now dyed with trade dyes. It is split to the same width as the mat wefts, and geometrical designs are worked by filling in a series of weft squares. Dextral strips to cover the dextral squares are pushed under the crossing sinistrals. The sinistrals are then covered by sinistral strips which are pushed under the crossing dextrals. Large designs are worked and give a pleasing effect.
The length of a mat is roa and the width, kakano. The edges are termed tamore.
Baskets are now extensively made from lauhala, but little doubt can exist that this form of the craft has come in by diffusion from Cook Islands in the post-missionary period. However, the baskets warrant a brief description, for, though comparatively recent, they are nevertheless essentially Polynesian in technique and have been adopted and varied in the local culture. The lauhala baskets are of two types, the two-cornered and the four-cornered satchels:
1. The two-cornered satchel (fig. 42; pl. 5, A, 2). This basket conforms in all details except ornamentation to the baskets made in Cook Islands. The wefts are single strips 0.15 inch to 0.2 inch wide. The check stroke is used throughout. The basket is plaited like a strip of mat for twice the required length. The ends are brought together and the triangular gap filled in by plaiting the free marginal wefts of each end. This forms a plaited cuff, or cylinder, which is plaited in sections to the required depth. The cuff is turned inside out and the sides brought together to compress the bottom opening into a longitudinal line.
The bottom is closed (fig. 42) along the longitudinal line in a simple manner by check plaiting in two courses, which is really the beginning technique of a braid which is not developed by twisting in the plies. The dextral and sinistral wefts on either side of the median line run in opposite directions. In the first course the set of wefts on either side that inclines toward the plaiter is used, and in the second course both sets are finally disposed of.
The rim is finished off with a last working section to form serrations after the style of the pointed pite (fig. 33). Below the serrations the wefts are carried on in a plaited band to fix the weft ends. The technique is exactly the same as in the lauhala baskets of Aitutaki (27, p. 197). The basket is turned again and the bottom closure with the finishing rim cuff is concealed within. A handle of plaited lauhala is sewn on by the ends to the middle of the inner sides of the rim. Various designs in overlaid plaiting are made on the sides with the thin papa material in color.
2. The four-cornered satchel (figs. 43, 44; pl. 5, A, 5–6). This basket has come into great favor and large numbers are made to give away as gifts to friends and visitors. Single wefts are used with the check stroke. The technique differs in principle from the two-cornered basket. In the two-cornered satchel the corners are formed by the ends of the straight braid which closes one opening of a plaited cuff. In the four-cornered satchel the bottom is formed of plaited material first, and four corners are then turned, from which the wefts are directed upward at right angles to the bottom plane to form the sides and ends. (See fig. 43.) The size of the bottom varies. A fair average for the smaller satchels is 8 inches by 2.5 inches. The shape also varies, from rectangular to square. The plaiting of the sides and ends continues by working sections until a depth of 5.5 inches or more is reached. The upper edge is formed by turning down the top dextral at the working edge to lie on the sinistral placed in the shed. This is done successively throughout the length of the rim. The lower ends of the turned-down dextrals are left projecting on the outer surface. These are afterwards cut off, and the free ends are tucked in under a crossing weft and are thus not seen from the outside. The rim forms a smooth, even edge from the downward half-turn of the dextrals. (For detailed technique see 27, p. 202.)
Some of the satchels are finished off at the rim by a wrapped band laid along the outer side with another laid along the inner side. These two bands are stitched to the rim with a steel needle and cotton thread. Handles are formed of plaited bands from 0.3 inch to 0.6 inch plaited in the round in check and then flattened out. In
A still more modern note is struck in some of the wider bottomed satchels. The ends are bent inward by creasing the middle. The sides of the rim are brought together and kept closed with a dome fastener sewed to the inner side of the rim. The resemblance to the ladies' handbags of western culture is striking, and the idea was probably obtained from them.
The wide range of the geometrical designs used included the chevron, triangle, and lozenge in various combinations, together with more complicated figures, as shown in figure 44.
3. Fine coconut leaf satchel, technique derived from the lauhala two-cornered satchel. The satchel figured in plate 5, A, 3 is fairly modern. The material is obtained from the leaflets of the young unopened leaves in the middle of the leaf head. These are cut off from the midrib and boiled for a few minutes, when the upper shiny surface of the leaflets can be split off from the under surface in much the same manner as in procuring the papa material from lauhala to provide the colored wefts for overlaid plaiting. The thin coconut material becomes very white on drying, and narrow
The satchel is made in exactly the same way as the two-cornered lauhala satchel as regards the serrated rim and bottom closure, but the plait is in twill, which is changed to various combinations to obtain structural decoration.
The use of the specially prepared coconut leaflet material is a comparatively recent introduction and was stimulated by the fashion of making hats of the Panama type. The first person to use the coconut leaf was a woman from the Gilbert Islands who had married a Rakahangan. She, however, kept her process of preparing the material a secret. For a considerable time the Rakahangan craftswomen puzzled over the excellence of the material and endeavored to solve the secret. At last one struck upon the method of boiling the leaflets to enable them to be split. The discoverer of the method proudly told me that her method was superior to that of the Gilbert Islands woman who, as it was subsequently found when secrecy was useless, ran the leaflets quickly over a lighted fire. From then on, the people of the atolls used coconut leaflet instead of lauhala for their hats, which are beautifully made and provide some income.
Fans (tahiri) are made from the ordinary coconut leaf dried to a brown color in the sun and from the beautifully white prepared leaflets now used in the manufacture of hats. The brown fans are made of sections of leaf midrib with the bilateral leaflets attached naturally. A part of the midrib serves as a handle. The closed leaflets are generally plaited in check, but sometimes the twill is used. Two varieties of brown fan were seen, one composed of a single section of leaf and another of two sections, and one type of white fan:
1. Single-section fan (fig. 45) made of a midrib section 11 inches long with nine pairs of leaflets. Technique shown in the figure.
2. Two-section fan (fig. 46) made of a piece of midrib 8.25 inches long carrying five pairs of leaflets and a shorter piece 7.5 inches long carrying four pairs of leaflets. Technique shown in the figure. A larger two-section fan, plaited partly in twill, is shown in plate 5, B, 3.
3. The white fan (pl. 5, B, I-2) is neatly made of individual doubled wefts doubled around a thin wooden handle. The handle consists of a rod about 0.6 inch in diameter, which is left at its natural thickness for 4 inches and then cut down to a thin rod for about 9 inches to give support to the wefts. The wefts are added from the handle upward, each weft being doubled around the rod and plaited in check over the front in much the same manner as the two-section brown fan, the rod supplying the place of the leaf midrib. The wefts are then plaited in twilled-twos and twilled-threes and finished off in check toward the curved distal end. A fringe of dyed tou bast 2.75 inches long is caught in the plaiting and gives a characteristic finish. The fan is really a modern adaptation of the technique of the brown fan in plate 5, B, 3, and a detailed description of technique is unnecessary.
Clothing was further developed than in Tongareva. The Tongarevan perineal band of coconut stipule (kaka), which was the general dress of the men, was not used in Rakahanga. A more elaborate maro of fine plaiting was used instead. Kilts, capes, and poncho-like tiputa were also made. No form of weaving was known, and the craft by which the garments were made was plaiting. European textiles have completely displaced the old forms of clothing, but kilts and ponchos are sometimes plaited for festival dances and for presentation to visitors. Thus I was agreeably surprised on calling at Manihiki after our sojourn in Rakahanga to find that the people had of their own volition plaited kilts and ponchos for me as examples of their old-time garments. Though highly ornate, they gave some idea of the craft employed. Tupou-rahi also possessed a fairly old plaited maro.
Two plants which enter largely into Polynesian clothing, the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) and the ti (Cordyline terminalis), were absent from the two atolls as from Tongareva. Their absence precluded the manufacture of bark cloth (tapa) and ti leaf kilts. For clothing material, the plants available were the coconut and hala (Pandanus). It is curious that in Tongareva the people selected the coconut palm and used the stipule for the men's maro and the leaflets for the women's kilts and capes. In Rakahanga, owing perhaps to the greater plaiting dexterity of the people, the material selected was lauhala (Pandanus leaf). The leaves of the young hala (puwhara) entered into all the articles made, and the coconut was disregarded except to provide fiber for a belt. The upper layer of the lauhala was also split off, and the thin material (papa) was used for decorative purposes. The bast of the tou (Cordia subcordata) was soaked in sea water and used to provide fringes for the garments. A reddish-brown dye was obtained from the nenu (Morinda citrifolia), but now imported trades dyes have taken its place.
Women's garments enumerated were the double apron and kilt (tipora), the cape (pikipiki), and the poncho (tiputa).
1. The double apron form of tipora consisted of two rectangular pieces (tautape) of plaited lauhala. These were used in conjunction with a sennit belt (tukaha: tu, belt; kaha, sennit braid). Whether the tukaha was a particular form of belt like the many-stranded tu belts of New Zealand or merely a length of sennit braid was not made clear.
tautape were of different sizes, the longer one being slung over the belt in front to conceal the genitals, and the smaller one being hung over the back. The two tautape, with the sennit belt, constitute the tipora; but sometimes the term tautape is loosely applied to the whole combination.
2. The kilt form of tipora (fig. 47) consisted of a long tautape (tautape roa) piece of plaiting which completely encircled the waist and thus acted as a narrow kilt. Some confusion existed between different informants, one maintaining that the narrow kilt with a hanging fringe was termed a mahere, and another that the mahere was the short perineal band. The kilt in plate 6, B, consists of a long, narrow band plaited in check with overlaid wefts of the thin papa material dyed red. The separate fringe of dyed tou bast, which is attached in a continuous piece to the upper and lower borders and both ends, is described in figure 47. The two-cord attachment to fix bast elements in a short fringe is exactly similar to the technique used with longer strips to make kilts in the Cook Islands (27, p. 88) and Samoa (28, p. 254). The method of sewing the lauhala strips to the plaited band is modern and is due to the introduction of needles and cotton thread. It is probable that in the original garments the wide lauhala strips were split at one end into wefts, which were plaited to form the band to keep the hanging lauhala strips together.
3. The cape (pikipiki) was also plaited with lauhala wefts, but the exact technique has been forgotten, as capes have long been out of use. Capes were worn over the shoulders and tied (ruruku) in front at the neck. They were stated to be women's garments, but were also worn ceremonially by men when going to the religious inclosures, or maraes.
4. The poncho (tiputa) was plaited in check with prepared lauhala. (See pl. 6, A). A hole was left for the head so that the garment hung down in front and behind to the thighs or knees. The square-cut hole was decorated by a tou bast fringe made with the two-cord attachment as in the kilt fringe. The fringe was attached to the edge of the plaiting by a continuous colored bast thread which passed spirally around the fringe cord and through the edge of the plaiting. Another fringe was attached to the outer edges of the plaiting. This was composed of single strands of colored bast which were held down over the middle by two colored bast threads which passed along the edge in the plaiting strokes. The ends of the colored strands on the plaiting side were then turned outward.
The men's garments consisted of two forms of perineal band. The perineal band is known generally as a maro, but the shorter form received the specific name mahere and the longer one, taoa.
1. The short band (mahere) was plaited in lauhala. It was 1.5 arm spans (maro) in length and 1 finger span (ngahonu) in width. The band was passed between the legs and the front and back ends were held in position by a sennit belt (tukaha), the ends falling over it. (Ka huru mai i mua, ka huru mai i muri.) If the band was long enough, it was passed around the waist after passing between the legs.
2. The long band (taoa) was from 4 to 7 yards long and about 2 finger spans wide. (See fig. 48.) The specimen of taoa owned by Tupou-rahi was made of fine plaiting with 10 wefts to the inch. Overlaid plaiting in thin papa material stained with native nenu dye was used for decorative effect. Twill strokes were used to relieve the ordinary check plait, and a colored fringe of tou bast was attached at either end.
The plaited taoa was a well-made garment and a marked advance over the coconut stipule maro of Tongareva. Being long, it was wound around the waist besides being passed back between the limbs. The long taoa with colored wefts and end fringes was used by people of higher status on festive or ceremonial occasions, whereas the short mahere was used as ordinary clothing.
Headdress. Pieces of net (kupenga) were worn around the head like turbans by men on particular occasions such as consulting the gods.
Eye shades (taumata) have been described. (See p. 125.)
Neck ornaments (takawe) made of coconut leaf and hala were worn around the neck by the whakamaru chiefs when about to consult the gods. Their use inspired dread among the people, from association with this function.
It is unfortunate that no accounts of the first contacts of European voyagers with the atolls of Manihiki and Rakahanga seem to be available. The present population has had little handed down regarding the ornaments and personal decoration of early times.
Ribbons consisting of the thin white material peeled off from the tua surface of the closed young coconut leaves of the growing center (rito) were used. They were tied together in long thin streamers and stuck in the hair by women on festive occasions. The material (kamuka) corresponds in form and use to the revareva of Rarotonga.
Neck ornaments (takawe). A form of ornament plaited from coconut leaf or lauhala was worn around the neck (hei ki te kaki) by the whakamaru. The appearance of these ornaments was regarded with a certain amount of fear by the public, as it was known that the wearer was about to consult his god.
Breast ornament (fig. 49). Edge-Partington (6, series 1, p. 62, no. 5) figures a breast ornament and describes it as, “Breast ornament of pearl shell in shape of fish.” The ornament is 7 inches long, much larger than the shank of an ordinary bonito hook. Such ornaments were not mentioned
Tattooing was not indulged in until after European contact.
Though a low-lying coral atoll does not supply suitable basaltic material, a good deal can be done with coral boulders and coral limestone slabs. Rakahanga and Manihiki, however, do not show the activities in available material that characterize Tongareva. The outstanding Tongarevan features, house sites and religious inclosures, are lacking, and stone piers for canoes were not observed.
House sites. The stone platform, according to my informants, was not used. The surviving native house on Rakahanga is characterized by the absence of any platform or stones marking the wall boundaries. This is in marked contrast to the platforms of coral boulders associated with the Rarotongan types of houses which have become popular. The platform was introduced with the type of house. Because the present modern villages occupy the sites of the old villages, any traces of the past that might have survived the changes of time have been obliterated. The custom of segregation within the present village sites from the earliest times prevented the establishment of houses on other islands that might have left traces of interest to the archaeologist. It seems true, however, that not only were no house platforms made formerly, but that even the marking of the wall boundaries with stone was non-existent.
Maraes. The scanty material concerning maraes is presented on page 208. Here again the segregation into three villages prevented the survival of a marae on an outer island.
Graves. (See p. 217.)
Boundary stones (tuakoi) were used in the village of Te Kainga.
Owing to the lack of suitable material, stone adzes are not to be expected on an atoll isolated from frequent communication with high volcanic islands. For material, the atolls had recourse to the shell of the Tridacna. It came as a surprise, therefore, that three stone adzes were procured in Rakahanga. I picked up a tanged adz on the old village site of Te Kainga. My attention was drawn to it from its color, which was darker than the surrounding pieces of white coral. A few feet away, Judge Ayson picked up a piece
1. Tanged adz (fig. 50; pl. 10, C, 2). The adz is made of a gray stone and has been so weathered that the general surface is smooth. It gives the general impression of a triangular tanged adz with a posterior median edge. The posterior median edge is not pronounced owing to the comparative thinness of the blade and the rounding off of the lower part.
2. Small triangular adz, without tang (fig. 51; pl. 10, C, 1). This fragment is regarded as an adz because it was found near the tanged adz and was of similar stone, though incrusted with a deposit of lime. The lower end was unfortunately chipped off some considerable time ago, for the white deposit completely incrusts it. The posterior median edge is well marked though rounded off by the incrustation. The lower end shows a trace of a triangular bevel surface.
3. Large quadrangular adz, with tang (fig. 52; pl. 10, C, 3). Whatever the doubts that may be occasioned by the preceding artifacts, none can exist with regard to the third adz. It is made of gray stone which has been ground throughout. It is characterized by a well-formed tang defined below by a deep convex shoulder and ending above in bilateral lugs at the junction with the poll. The longitudinal edges separating the four surfaces of the blade are well ground, and the two posterior ones are markedly concave. Owing to the pronounced longitudinal concavity of the back, the chin is prominent. The bevel surface is large and with the blade increases in width towards the cutting edge.
The quadrangular adz is exactly similar to an adz (fig. 53) discovered by the late Captain Allen on the island of Nassau, which lies to the west of Rakahanga. This adz was revealed by the slipping away of a bank, when it was seen sticking out from below the surface level. The adz was deposited by Captain Allen in the Australian Museum and afterwards given by him to the Auckland Museum, where it now is. It has been figured by Skinner (23, p. 92), who drew attention to the two lugs (poll-knobs) resembling those in Moriori adzes from Chatham Islands and in a less pronounced form from the South Island of New Zealand. The presence of lugs in the triangular adzes of the Austral Islands has also been remarked by Stokes (manuscript in Bernice P. Bishop Museum). The Nassau adz is a little larger than the Rakahangan adz, as the following figures, compared with measurements made by Skinner, show:
Skinner states that the Nassau adz is of light gray volcanic tuff, and it is evident that the Rakahangan adz is of the same material. Little doubt can exist that the two adzes came from the same workshop, being formed of the same material and by the same technique. It would be interesting to know where that workshop was, for both adzes have evidently been introduced, if not by the same people, at least by people who had mutual contact in some part of Polynesia.
Two Tridacna shell adzes (fig. 54) were among the presents given to me on Manihiki. Though they were evidently made for the occasion, it is presumed that the form and hafting reflects the technique of the past. One of the adzes was hafted to a movable socket.
The hafts are of the shape typical of most Polynesian areas. The shaft is composed of an appropriate-sized branch and the foot of a piece of the trunk. The acute upper angle formed by the branch with the trunk is reversed and becomes the lower toe angle between the shaft and lower projecting toe part of the foot. The upper line of the shaft is continued to meet the front surface of the foot, and the point so formed is termed the heel. The upper heel part of the foot may or may not form an upper obtuse heel angle with the shaft. (See 28, p. 357; heel and toe angles in
1. Simple haft (fig. 55, pl. 10, C, 5). The front surface of the foot is cut away to form a projecting shoulder to prevent the adz from working up on the foot. A slot, in which a mesial peg of hard ngangie wood has been fitted, has been cut in the front middle line. The mesial piece is wedge-shaped with the base below, and the upper end projects above the heel to form an ornamental projection. The inserted piece is of harder wood than the haft and has evidently been used to replace the pith canal of the foot and thus give the upper end of the adz something hard to rest against. The method of lashing the adz (fig. 54, a) to the simple haft is shown in figure 56. The decorative motive used is the repeated chevron which is produced on the front, the back of the heel, and on each side of the toe angle. This lashing, besides being decorative, holds the median peg in position, but does not affect the adz. From this first upper lashing, the braid is carried down and lashes the adz to the toe by two series of transverse turns.
2. Socketed haft (fig. 57, pl. 10, C, 4). The adz with socketed haft was obtained on Manihiki, and the type was said to have been used in the atolls in olden days. A socket has been defined (4, p. 178) as “an intermediate wooden piece by which the adz may be attached to the haft. It may be fixed or rotating.” The Manihikian haft, socket, and lashing of the adz are described in figure 57.
In discussing the socket, Skinner (4, p. 178) states, “In Polynesia the primary function appears to have been the attainment of greater security of attachment, though in the Ellice Islands, rotation of the adze or axe was the principal function.” The rounded character of the Manihikian socket enabled it to be rotated in the rounded groove of the haft. The two upper lashings attached the socket to the haft, but it could be rotated quite readily under the lashings. The third lowest lashing fixed the adz immovably to the flat surface cut on the lower end of the socket. By grasping the lower end of the socket with the adz, the line of the cutting edge may be turned obliquely to its normal transverse position with regard to the long axis of the haft. In this position, it was easier to dub out the narrowing hold of a canoe toward the bow or stern. The craftsman could still swing the implement in the long clear axis of the hold and adjust the socket to suit any angle and either side.
The old types of canoes have completely disappeared, even to the small dugouts used in fishing. The people are good artisans and quickly picked up the European methods of woodwork, with the result that imported sawn timber was used for making canoes. The craftsmen were no doubt influenced by the scarcity of timber in their own islands. The use of sawn planks influenced shape and technique, and the information obtained about the original types of canoes is scanty and inadequate. Missionary influence led to abandonment of the annual migrations between Manihiki and Rakahanga,
The canoe hulls were made of tou and whano, the largest trees that grow locally. The tamanu, so much used in Cook Islands, did not grow on the two atolls. The outrigger booms were made of whano, the float of tou, and the connecting pegs between them were provided by the tough ngangie shrub. Although it is generally held that coconut wood is unsuitable for canoes, a small dugout hull of this wood was observed on Rakahanga. Sennit braid was used for the lashings and coconut husk for the calking. The bark of the ngahiu shrub, which fringes the shores of the islands, was used for plugging the lashing holes.
The general term for canoe is waka. The hull is the tino waka (tino, body); the hold is the ri, a contraction of the general Polynesian term riu; and the outer under part of the canoe that corresponds to the keel is the takere. The bow is the ihu and the stern, velo, but in the built-up canoes the terms ihu and velo include the complete bow and stern pieces which are separately attached to the hull. The separate top side or gunwale to raise the depth of the canoe is the awa.. Seats (nohoanga) were lashed to the top edges of the hull, and curved wooden braces (manu) were attached to the gunwales on either side. It was stated that the braces were attached just behind the seats so that the curved horizontal parts served as back rests. Two straight outrigger booms (kiato) were used and were attached indirectly to the float (ama) by four straight pegs (tiatia).
The process of hollowing out the hull was haro, or hauhau. A join was pahu, the fitting of the two pieces together, tuita, and the lashing of the join, wharo. The lashing of booms and pegs was distinguished as whawhau. Pieces were joined together by boring holes near the edge right through the piece and making them in opposite pairs on the two pieces. Before lashing, the husk calking was laid on the upper edge of the lower piece and narrow battens were laid along on both sides to cover the seams. It was stated that the batten on the inside of the hull was composed of split pieces of aërial hala roots (kawhara), and that the outer batten consisted of strips of turtle shell (una honu). The width of the battens was adjusted to the space between the paired holes. The lashing with sennit braid was continuous, the braid, after making the requisite number of turns through the pair of holes and around the seam battens, being carried on to the next pair of holes. The carrying forward was always on the inside of the hull and was oblique
ngahiu bark was warmed at the fire and scraped into fine pieces with a kahi shell. The material was then plugged (momono or mono) into the holes with an implement made of pearl shell tied to a handle. By means of the handle, the material could be well pushed in and hammered. No forked wooden implement was used as in Cook Islands in tightening the lashings.
Three types of old-time canoes were made, the one-piece dugout, the five-piece larger canoe, and the double sailing canoe. A fourth type is the modern plank canoe. The double sailing canoe survives in the form of numerous models in museums. These models were made by old men for sale, and the stern pieces, bow pieces, and gunwales are richly inlaid with pearl shell. The tendency in making models is to exaggerate the size of the decorative parts. In New Zealand model war canoes, most carved bow pieces and tail pieces are exaggerated out of proportion to the size of the hull in order that the craftsman may have enough space upon which to display the carving. Similarly, it appears to me that the bow and stern pieces in the model double canoes of Manihiki have been exaggerated in depth in order that the craftsman may have space for more rows of pearl shell inlay and thus, to his mind, improve the selling qualities of the model. Unfortunately, the canoe modelers have died and I was unable to get a demonstration of the actual model. Under the circumstances, it can only be surmised that the models have followed the old-time sailing canoes in general principles but that the proportions of the parts and some details have departed from the original working technique.
The one-piece dugout (puni) was evidently not considered worthy of being called waka, a term used to specify the five-piece canoe. The hull was hollowed out of a single section of tree trunk, with the bow pointed and the stern blunt. (See fig. 58.) The coconut wood hull seen at puni type. Such canoes, fitted with outriggers, were used within the calm waters of the lagoon for fishing, obtaining Tri-dacna, and transport between the islands of the same atoll.
The five-piece canoe (waka) was evidently built on the same lines as the individual hulls of the double sailing canoes. From the meager accounts of native informants, the waka do not seem to have been made of so many pieces as the canoes of Tongareva. It was stated that they were restricted to five pieces, the hull, bow, and stern pieces, and a gunwale on either side. Some general idea of the waka may be formed from the discussion of the double sailing canoe models.
The double sailing canoe (waka taurua) is described from the model canoe in plate 7, C, which is typical of the models produced. (See figs. 59–68.)
The two canoes are of equal size, and a striking characteristic is the setting of the two bows in opposite directions to avoid bringing the canoe around in tacking. Each canoe consists of five pieces, as in the waka, but in addition, bulwarks (paruru) of lauhala were added above the true gunwales to raise the level to the height of the deep bow and stern pieces.
The hull (tino waka) was formed of solid timber, dubbed out to form the bottom of the hold, square at the stern, pointed at the bow, and with an angular projection on the under part toward the bow. The general shape is shown in figure 59.
The stern piece (velo) is a solid aft projection with the wider fore end hollowed out to fit over the hull below and junction with the gunwale and paruru wall in front. The stern end projects backward beyond the hull and ends in a slightly raised part ornamented by four knobs. The forward upper end widens out into a triangular seat with a raised square knob on each side of its forward base. (See fig. 60.)
The bow piece (ihu) is wider aft to fit over the hull and has two back projections to fit against the gunwales. (See fig. 61.) The gunwale projections are of the same depth as the gunwales, and above them the lauhala bulwark fits against the remaining part of the aft end of the piece. Above, a four-sided seat is provided out of the solid with two square knobs at its aft angles. Forward, the solid piece comes to a pointed bow.
The gunwale (awa) is a plank, convex below to fit against the upper edge of the hull and with a corresponding concave upper edge which supports the bulwark. (See fig. 62.) The plank fills the space between the gunwale projections of the stern and bow pieces, and its ends are cut to fit them. On the inner side, a raised flange is formed near the lower edge through which holes are bored for the lashings with the hull.
The bow and stern pieces are fitted to the hull, and the intermediate gunwale fills in the space as shown in figure 63. The figure shows the relative positions of the five
waka type consisted of only five pieces, it is obvious that the gunwale would have to be much deeper or the stern and bow pieces much
lower. For ordinary fishing purposes outside the reef, it is probable that the stern and bow pieces were much lower and that the canoe would then more nearly assume the appearance of the Tongarevan canoe (29, p. 189). The joins (pahu) between the pieces are lashed (wharo) as stated with through and through lashings, the seams being covered both on the inner and outer side by narrow battens. The lashing turns are thus seen on both the inside and the outside. An exception exists in the lashing of the gunwale to the hull, where, owing to the gunwale flange, a different technique is introduced. (See fig. 64.)
The use of a raised flange in lashing canoes raises the inquiry as to whether it was used in the full-sized canoes. The projecting lower edge of the gunwale renders it awkward to thread the braid through from the outside of the hull edge. In the models, all the paired holes must have been threaded first by everting the lower edge of the
The cross booms (kiato) in the larger models are three, but in the full-sized canoes it was said that there were several. They served the double purpose of lashing the two canoes together and of providing joists upon which a platform was made in the space between the two canoes. In the models the end booms rest on the upper edges of the gunwale projections of the bow and stern pieces. Thus the boom on one canoe rests on the two projections of the stern piece and on the other canoe on the two projections of the bow piece; the positions are reversed at the other send. The middle boom rests on the middle of the upper edge of both gunwales of both canoes. This position of the end booms on the gunwale projections of the bow end stern pieces is sound, as some of the strain is taken off the intermediate gunwale. In some models, however, all three booms are attached to the gunwale. The booms are rounded spars with their ends cut off flush with the outer sides of the two canoes.
Each boom is lashed to the four edges on which it rests. Each lashing is made through two holes bored a little below each edge. The holes are spaced to the diameter of the boom. The lashing turns cross the boom transversely on either side of the canoe piece edge after passing through the holes, diagonal turns are crossed over the boom to form a simple lozenge pattern, and finally circumferential turns are made horizontally around the lashing between the boom and the piece edge. The lashing differs in no particular from the Samoan technique described by Hiroa (28, p. 394, fig. 239, a-f).
The bulwarks (paruru) in the models are made of sections of lauhala doubled over a long spar stretching between the bow and stern pieces and slightly overlapping them at about the level of the two seats. For decorative purposes a strip of papa material
papa and lauhala are stitched to the upper spar with continuous half-hitches. The leaf sections are sufficiently long to overlap the upper edges of the gunwale and gunwale projections of the bow and stern pieces, to which they are fixed by a long batten laid over them and lashed at intervals to the upper edges of the gunwale and gunwale projections. (See figure 65.) The bulwarks fill in the space above the gunwale quite effectively. Compare figure 65 with figure 63. In the full-sized canoes, it was stated, the bulwarks were about 2 feet high. I am not sure whether or not lauhala was used. It seems quite probable, however, that the canoe with the wooden hull and gunwales was quite deep enough and that lauhala may have been used for protection against wind and spray as an alternative to timber, which was not plentiful.
Cross braces (manu) were used to give additional support to the gunwales and bulwarks. These consisted of two vertical limbs with an arched connection cut out of one piece of timber. The structure and methods of lashing to the top of the gunwales and the inner sides of the bulwarks are shown in figure 66.
In the model double canoes the lower ends of the braces are lashed to the top edge of the gunwales and the full depth of the vertical limbs rests against the inner sides of the bulwarks. Braces were also used in the single waka canoes, and it was stated that the vertical limbs rested against the inner side of the gunwales. Supporting this were the further statements that the curve of the brace formed a back rest for the seats which rested on the upper edge of the hull. If this is correct, it is probable that extra wide flanges were left at appropriate places on the inner side of the upper edge of the hull to support the seats and the feet of the cross braces. If the seats were lashed to the top edges of the gunwales, the feet of the cross braces could still be lashed to the inner side of the gunwales and leave enough of the arch projecting above the gunwale to furnish a back rest. In the Tongarevan canoe pictured by Choris (29, p. 189) braces similar to the Manihiki manu are shown with the arches well above the level of the gunwales. The Hawaiians use a brace, but with the convexity downward. The Maoris used straight thwarts as both seat and gunwale brace, and the Manihikian term, manu, for a cross brace is represented by the Maori term, taumanu.
The platform (horiki) in the models is made of a single piece of timber cut to fit the space between the canoes and resting on the cross booms (kiato). In the full-sized canoes, the platform probably consisted of a series of planks or poles lashed to the cross booms.
Horizontal spars (tautara) were laid transversely over the bulwarks and lashed to the top spar on each side. In the large models there is one close to the bow piece, another close to the stern piece, and two evenly spaced between. The spars are even with the bulwarks on the platform side but project well out on the other side. They were used for the stays supporting the masts. In a single canoe made on the same model as the double canoe, the spars projected equally on both sides.
The Manihiki mast somewhat resembles the Samoan mast with the expanded top end shaped like a netting needle and open at the top. The curve of the expanded portion, however, more nearly approaches a circle. The lower end of the mast has a curved notch. (See fig. 67.)
The sail is made of lauhala plaited in check and is triangular in shape with the base turned upward. The two sides are lashed to spars at intervals, the shorter straight side to a thicker spar (yard) which lies fairly vertically against the mast, and the longer side, somewhat curved, to a long flexible spar (boom) which follows the
tou bast. If the model sails are true to type, the Manihiki sail is intermediate between the Maori and Hawaiian sails. The Maori type, as represented by an old sail in British Museum (25, p. 353, pl. 40), is narrower at the base, which is ornamented with tufts of feathers. Both sides had loops, one side for the mast and the other for a sprit. A Hawaiian sail in a Paris museum, as observed from a photograph in the possession of Mr. Houston of Honolulu, is wider than the Manihiki sail at the base, which is unornamented. One side of the sail is lashed to the mast and the other side has a greater curved sprit than the Manihiki sail. In all three, the principle of keeping the apex down at the foot of the mast is similar. In the Samoan triangular sail the apex is carried forward, which sets the sail obliquely instead of vertically.
In all the models the lower end of the mast had a curved notch, evidently for fitting over some transverse support, but it was not always clear what the support was. In some canoes, the notch fitted over the cross boom connecting the two canoes, and in others they were simply stuck against the gunwale. The mast was kept in position by four side stays (shrouds) which were tied at the upper ends to the mast a little below the upper expansion; the lower ends were tied to the outer ends of four horizontal spars (tautara). The length of the stays indicates that the masts were set up in one of the canoes and not on the platform between the canoes.
The sail (fig. 68) had a rope (halyard) tied to the straight spar at about the junction of the upper and middle thirds. In the models, the rope was run through the hole in the mast below the upper expansion. The sail was hauled up so that the shorter spar became vertical with the tie at the level of the mast hole, and the lower end of the rope was tied either to a wooden peg let into the mast or to an adjacent horizontal spar. A rope (sheet) was also tied to the curved spar at about a quarter of its length from the upper end, and the lower end was tied to a horizontal spar to the set required.
Pearl shell inlay was used on the bow and stern pieces and on the arches, in the large canoes, of the cross braces that formed back rests for the seats. In the models, the gunwale, wooden platform, and horizontal spars (tautara) were also inlaid. The pearl shell pieces (tiwha) were cut in circles, triangles, squares, and lozenges, with one shorter than the other, and in pentagons. The process of inlaying (tatai) took the form of horizontal rows of circles or pentagons on the stern and bow pieces, single
C.) Pearl shell inlay is characteristic of Manihiki and Rakahanga. Brigham (3, p. 97) made a curious mistake in attributing the canoe models of Manihiki to Manihi of the Paumotu (Tuamotu) Archipelago. In describing Manihi, he stated, “Inhabitants make curiously elaborate canoes.” The inlaid double canoes in Bernice P. Bishop Museum labeled by him “Manihi, Paumotu” are without the slightest doubt from Manihiki.
The waka taurua was used for transport in the annual migrations between the two atolls.
The modern canoes (pl. 7, A, B) are made of imported sawn planks. The planks forming the sides are bent around and nailed to slanting bow and stern posts so that the canoe is pointed fore and aft. The bottom is formed of transverse pieces of board nailed on and is thus flat. A low gunwale is added on either side, and a portion of the bow and stern is covered over with pieces of plank nailed to the gunwales. Two straight outrigger booms are used which are indirectly connected with the float by two pieces of board driven into the float and lashed to the booms. (See figure 69.)
Paddles (hoe) are made of coconut wood and are characterized by long narrow blades which end in fairly sharp points.
An average length is about 65 inches, of which the blade takes up 31 inches or slightly less than half the total length. Some paddles have shorter blades with correspondingly longer handles.
The handle is round in section, cut off square at the top, and of fairly even diameter (about 1.2 inches) throughout its length. Approaching the blade, it flattens out slightly on the front so as to merge with the anterior front surface of the thin blade. This causes the handle to project on the back of the blade, down the middle line of which it extends as a raised rib gradually diminishing in width and depth until it ends 6 inches to 7.5 inches from the upper edge of the blade. In the typical paddle the rib is transversely convex, but in some inlaid paddles it is quadrangular in section to provide a flat surface upon which pearl shell discs are inlaid. (See pl. 8, A.)
The blade is ovate, the broad end junctioning with the handle. In most paddles, the blade forms a clean-cut obtuse angle with the handle, but in a few the blade slopes gradually upward to the handle without any sharp angle. The average width at the widest part is slightly more than 5 inches, but some may be less. In all blades the nearness of the greatest width to the handle junction is characteristic. From the greatest width the sides of the blade slope evenly down to the point, which is thus long and narrow.
The front of the blade is slightly concave longitudinally and slightly convex transversely, though some appear fairly flat. The back, marked by the handle rib in its upper part, is slightly convex longitudinally and flat or slightly convex transversely. The thickness is greatest in the middle line, whence it thins out toward the side edges. The blade thins off generally at the lower end but the actual point is reinforced on the back by thickening it to form a back projection extending upward for from 0.5 inch to 1.3 inches in the middle line.
Some paddles are inlaid with round or triangular pieces of pearl shell set on the front of the blade near the handle junction and may extend to the lower part of the handle itself. Inlay may also be applied to the handle rib on the back. (See pl. 8, A.)
A paddle in Bernice P. Bishop Museum (C. 523) wrongly attributed to Manihiki by its donor is described in the legend of plate 8, A, 5.
Steering paddle used with double canoes (fig. 70):
This paddle was shaped more like an oar than a paddle. The model paddle has a long somewhat narrow blade with a blunt end, a curved notch near the blade shoulder on one side and a hole through the opposite shoulder to carry a short rope. The notch was rested on a horizontal spar across the stern, and the rope was tied in a loop around the spar to secure the paddle and allow movement in steering. In some model
Coconut shells are used for bailers (tata) for the small canoes, but wooden bailers are made for the larger canoes on the Polynesian principle of a scoop with a mesial handle projecting forward from the upper edge of the raised back. The scoop figured in plate 7, D has a flat bottom with fairly vertical sides meeting the wide bottom at an approximately right angle. This departure from the rounded bottom has probably been influenced by the use of the modern flat-bottomed canoes, large ones necessitating the use of such flat bailers for loading and unloading trading schooners.
Fish, the staple article of flesh food, is plentiful in the inner and outer lagoons and the deep sea beyond the reef. Though no permanent deep channels connect the sea with the inner lagoon, shallow channels exist between the islands, and through these the sea flows in and out with the tides. Shoals of fish enter the lagoon by these channels with the incoming tide and retire with the ebb. Fishing with hand nets was done in lagoons and in the passages during the incoming tide. A favorite time for fishing was at night, when torches of dry coconut leaves were used.
Torches made by bundling whole leaves together in the same manner as in Cook Islands were used in the outer lagoon, some men carrying the torches while others used the scoop nets. A party generally worked along the lagoon in line so as to prevent the escape of fish. Torches were also used on canoes in the inner lagoon and out at sea when netting flying fish.
In the outer lagoon spears were used as well as nets. Nowadays, a piece of hoop iron is often used while torching. The fish, attracted by the light, swim very near the surface and are readily killed with a blow of the hoop iron. In olden days, a piece of wood was used.
Crayfish are caught in a strange manner by torching at night. The crayfish may be seen moving about on the bottom. The fisherman wades toward it and quickly puts his foot on it to hold it down on the reef. He
In all these methods, quick judgment and allowances for the rate and direction of movement of fish are required. Constant practice has made the native fisherman expert with net and spear.
The spears in use are iron-pointed, and no data were offered regarding old types. Self-acting traps were not made, but walled traps were used on both atolls. The fishing craft concerned itself mainly with nets and angling.
The walled fish traps were made of coral rocks piled up loosely to form walls that emerged above high water. A trap was seen at Rakahanga in the outer lagoon off the island of Te Kainga. The curved walls converged to narrow openings which projected into inner chambers of the maze-like structure. The principle of the trap was derived from the tendency of the fish, in trying to escape, to keep along the walls and to miss the inward-projecting openings. Unfortunately, no time was available to plot out the plan of the Rakahangan trap. Phillip Woonton made a rough sketch of the trap near Tukou in Manihiki which illustrates the general principle of the walled traps (fig. 71). The traps were made in conjunction with channels frequented by fish, and the shape was influenced in some details by the lie of the channels and the depth of the water.
Nets (kupanga; Cook Islands and New Zealand, kupenga) were made of sennit two-ply twisted cord (whauhoto), which has been displaced in recent times by foreign cord. The nets are all bag nets. Long seine nets are not used. A mesh is komata or simply mata, and commencement meshes are na mata i te aro. A needle (hika) (fig. 72; pl. 8, C) and a mesh gage (haeha) are used in netting. Netting technique is as follows:
A supporting cord, on which a row of meshes (ara pona: ara, path; pona, knot) is set up for the length of the net circumference, is used. The supporting cord is knotted at its ends to form a wide loop, which the net-maker hooks over one of his toes. An assistant holds the free end of the netting cord for the first row while the principal uses the netting needle and mesh gage as in figure 73. On completing the first row, the second row is added as in figure 74. To shape the net, extra meshes (mata i te tua) are put in as in figure 75. This technique of adding extra meshes has been described for New Zealand (26, p. 609) and Samoa (28, p. 472). As each row is completed the net is turned, and successive rows are added in the manner in which the second is added to the commencement row. When the net is of sufficient depth, the two ends are brought together and joined with the netting knot by crossing the cord alternately from side to side through the loops of the marginal meshes. The bottom is closed in the same way.
Four types of nets and methods of using them are as follows:
1. The flying fish net (kupanga maroro) consists of a long handle (huata), a frame (kaututu), a crossbar (teka) to keep the frame expanded, and the bag net attached to the frame and the crossbar. (See fig. 76; pl. 8, B.) The net has a circumferential cord through the marginal meshes of the opening. The cord is lashed at intervals to the frame and crossbar. The net is used at night with coconut-leaf torches from canoes outside the reef. The wielder of the net stands in the bow while a torch-bearer holds the light behind him and others paddle the canoe. In individual torching (turama maroro: rama, torch; tu, active verbal prefix; maroro, flying fish) each canoe crew seeks the fish without cooperating with the other crews. In cooperative torching (tanga maroro) a fleet of canoes acts together. Each canoe has a number of torches, and canoes of the fleet line up in single file. The leading canoe has the best chance and the rear canoe the worst, so each canoe gets its turn in front during the burning of one torch. When the first torch burns out, all the canoes put out their torches. The rear canoe (hakaporo or poro) paddles quickly up to the head of the file and when in position gives the command, “Tungina!” (Light up!) —na te poro e hakakite mai te tutu (the rear canoe announces the lighting). With each new torch the rear canoe moves up to the head. The methods of wielding the net vary with the position of the fish. The flying fish are usually near the surface of the water, and as they commence their flight two motions are required to secure them. First the net is brought down flat over the fish (whakahei) to prevent its escape by flight, and then a quick upward turn (tirapa) scoops the fish into the bag of the net. When fish are plentiful the whakaepa stroke is used, which consists of a lateral sweep along the
ko) is used when the fish is in the water and refuses to rise. The fisherman notes the direction in which the fish is going and drives the net, point down, into the water ahead of the fish and lets the fish run into the net. These fish are termed maroro mararo (flying fish below) in distinction with those which take flight.
2. The long-handled fine-meshed net (tirapa) has a shorter handle, about 6 feet long, and the mesh is finer than in the flying fish net. It is devised for such smaller fish as the ihe, marau awa, and other fish which do not fly.
3. The short-handled net (kupanga tuki) has a large frame and a short handle. It is used in the channels on the reef and lagoon. The two methods of using it are
hurahura and whatawhata. Hurahura: one man places the net in a channel so as to block it, and others drive the fish in on the waves; the man with the net calls to his companions, “Parea mai!” (Drive them toward me!) Whatawhata: a channel is selected, in which the net is set; the other channels are blocked with coconut leaves so that the fish from a number of channels are driven to the one where the net is.
4. The baited bag net (kupanga tata). (See pl. 8, A.) A hoop about 14 inches in diameter and formed of ngangie wood is attached to a bag net. A small net 12 inches deep was seen. Two strips of dry coconut flower sheath (taume) were crossed over the hoop, to which they were tied. The bait of tupa land crab is tied to the central crossing. Four pieces of cord equal distances apart are tied to the hoop, and the ends are brought together to tie to a line. A sinker consisting of a piece of coral is tied to the bottom of the net on the outside. The net is used for catching kokiri.
Fish are caught with hooks, baited and unbaited. The baited hooks are of two types, the large wooden two-piece hooks used in catching Ruvettus in very deep water, and the smaller one-piece hooks made of pearl shell for catching smaller fish at ordinary depths. The unbaited hook is a form of the widely distributed pearl shell lure trolled from a canoe to catch bonito.
The line material formerly consisted of sennit fiber twisted into three-ply cords. The lines used in Ruvettus fishing were of considerable length to reach depths inhabited by the fish. The line shown in plate 9, C, 2 is 5 mm. thick, whereas the lines used with the one-piece hooks are from 2 mm. to 3 mm. thick. The introduced cotton line has superseded the old sennit fiber line. The lashings of the larger hooks were made with the two-ply
The hook is made in two pieces from forked branches of tough ngangie wood. Kennedy watched a number of hooks being made, from the selection of the branches to the completed lashings, and his minute description (16) of the Ellice Islands hooks shows how the problems that arose in manufacture were solved by natives.
The large part of the hook consists of a shank limb, a point limb, and a fork angle corresponding to the bend of ordinary hooks. The ngie plant
ngangie of Manihiki and Tongareva, both linguistically and botanically (Pemphis acidula). Kennedy (16, p. 13) remarks that the common branching angle of the ngie is about 45 degrees, which is too wide for a good hook. The Manihikians, like the Ellice Islanders, selected forks with a lesser angle. The part beyond the fork angle is trimmed down on the outer lines of the two limbs and brought to a point or apex. It is convenient to refer to the parts of the two limbs that are toward each other as inner and the parts that are away as outer. The
upper end of the shank limb is narrowed to a point and provided with a knob or projection on its outer side to give support to the snood lashing. The knob is single, and the two knobs with a saddle between described by Kennedy (16, p. 15) are not present in the Manihiki hooks. The upper end of the point limb is cut with a long oblique scarf to fit against the point piece. The point is also made of a smaller fork, but has a wider angle. The lower limb of the fork is scarfed to fit against the point limb, and the upper horizontal limb provides the functional point of the hook. The overlapping scarfs are lashed together with what may be termed the point lashing. A hook from Manihiki and one from Rakahanga illustrate the structure:
1. Ruvettus hook from Manihiki (figs. 77–79). The large hook and the point lashing are described in figure 77. The lashing of the snood takes place in two stages, the arrangement of the snood and the actual lashing. In this hook the end of the three-ply
2. Ruvettus hook from Rakahanga (figs. 80–82). The bend of the hook forms a wide U shape in distinction to the V shape of the Manihiki hook. The fork is thick and solid and complies to the form that Kennedy (16, p. 13) describes as fapuku. The hook had been in active use, as shown by the marks upon it, and it was abnormal in having a pearl shell point. (See fig. 80.) The pearl shell point is lashed by transverse turns in the same manner as in figure 77, d-e, but the lashing is made with two-ply twisted sennit cord 2 mm. thick. The snood of three-ply braid is 4 feet long. The snood wrapping around the knob is made with figure-of-eight turns as in figure 81. The snood lashing is made with two-ply twisted sennit cord with figure-of-eight turns, but the method of fixing the end differs from the previous snood lashing and is shown in figure 82.
Kennedy (16, p. 17) has shown that the Ellice Islanders estimate the clearance required between the point and the shank limb by the thickness of the edgewise thumb with the point against the middle of the nail. Of 25 hooks listed by him, 12 were of the thickness of the thumb, 6 had a clearance of not more than 0.3 inch greater, and 7 were abnormal with clearances ranging from 1 inch to 2.4 inches. A native informant told him that though it was easier for a fish to become hooked on a point with a wide clearance it was also easier for it to escape, whereas a fish takes longer to force its jaws over the point with a narrower clearance, but, once on, finds it difficult to get off again. Expert fishermen thus prefer the wide clearance because it saves time. The Manihiki hook (figure 77) has a point clearance of 1.6 inches and the smaller Rakahangan hook (figure 80), of 1.25 inches. The hooks were thus evidently made for expert fishermen, but lack of data prevents the assumption that they were the type in common use.
In neither of the two hooks is the point directed exactly toward the mesial longitudinal line of the shank limb. Looking toward the point from behind the shank limb, the point in the Manihiki large hook is directed slightly to the left and in the Rakahangan hook, to the right. Kennedy (16, p. 16) gives the explanation of deviation from the middle line in some hooks as being accidental and due to the manner in which the scarf surface was cut on the point limb with the adz. In the Rakahangan hook the scarf was cut with a saw, and it is evident that the plane twisted slightly in sawing the point limb, with the result that the pearl shell point was deflected slightly.
Coral sinkers (maene) were used to carry the baited hook down to the bottom. In fishing for kakahi, the hook and some ground bait were placed on the flattish surface of the piece of coral, the line near the hook was wrapped around both bait and sinker, and a double loop was passed up under the turn in a form of slip knot. The hook was lowered to the bottom. A jerk made the loop come free and released the hook and ground bait. For
Ruvettus (paru), it was said that the stone was tied with a strip of lauhala and the end tied to the hook. When the fish took the bait, it cut the lauhala strip and released the stone. The fishermen held that the fish followed the sinker down to the bottom. If the detachable method is used, the line should be drawn up gently (whakapura) so that the fish, seeing the movement of the bait, may leave the stone and follow the bait upward.
Baited hooks of various shapes were made in one piece from pearl shell. Four types were described, but specimens of only three were procured. (See pl. 9, B.)
1. Wide U-shaped hook (tope), used with a line to catch tukoro and marau. The bait (maunu) was of fish. (See fig. 83, a.)
2. Narrower U-shaped hook (matau kiokio) for catching kiokio. (See fig. 83, b.)
3. Circular hook (koma), baited with koperu and flying fish for catching kakahi, para, roroa, and ruhi. (See fig. 83, c.) A small koma was used for koperu, maroro, karehe, and pawa.
4. Small hook (matau kokiri) for catching kokiri, used with a short rod of about one arm span in length and drawn (matau kume) through the water. The bait was land crab (kavou).
Charles Nordhoff gave me some other names of hooks obtained from a Manihikian living in Tahiti, but I was not able to confirm the names and types at Manihiki.
The three hooks obtained are all lashed to snoods of three-ply twisted cords, two of sennit and one evidently of foreign oronga fiber. The lashing thread in one is in the old-time form of thin two-ply twisted sennit fiber.
The snood lashing follows the Ruvettus hook lashing in using figure-of-eight turns, but with the smaller one-piece hooks both ends of the thread are
A bait string (takere maunu) made of thin two-ply twisted sennit cord is tied with a slip knot to the shank just below the snood lashing. After the bait is put on, a few turns are taken around it with the bait string to prevent it from being removed too easily by fish.
Ground bait or chum (whakaruru) and fish are used as bait. For kokiri, chewed land crabs (tupa) or sweet coconut husk (mangaro) are used and also the uto stage of the coconut husk.
The bonito trolling hook (uhi pa) is a two-piece hook consisting of a shank (pa) and a point (kawiti). The point is pierced with holes (puta) through which it is lashed (whawhau) to the distal end (rau) of the shank. The distal lashing also includes the hackle (whakahuru). The line or snood (taka) is looped around the base of the point, where it is included under the point lashings. The snood is also attached to the shank by a lashing passing through a hole pierced through the thick proximal end (pu) of the shank. In some hooks little filler sticks (mono) of short pieces of coconut leaflet midrib are placed on either side of the snood loop around the point base and included with it under the lashing to steady the point on the shank.
Nordhoff (21, p. 240) records some different terms: parau (shank), kaharu (hackle), kereka (lashings), roniu (snood), tuketuke (thick part of shank), fao (holes), kave (line to rod), and fakaketa (filler stick). Of these terms, parau is also the general term for pearl shell and kahuru another form of whakahuru.
The shank is cut from the shell in a long, narrow strip so as to include a part of the hinge to form the thicker proximal end, while the other thinner
ihuroa) of the valve was the most prized, and that the sections on either side of it (hiti) were also used. The Manihikian and Rakahangan people are hospitable and much given to making such presents of local manufacture as mats, hats, baskets, and fans. Bonito hooks are now also used as gifts. It is evident that a person making hooks is inclined to use as much of the shell as possible. Thus, some of the outer sections contain very little hinge and consequently a small head. The hook-maker probably uses the hooks made from the middle sections for his own fishing and gives the others away as presents to visitors. Others again are made for sale to Europeans who buy them as curios, to which category the hooks literally belong. The shell was originally cut with thin pieces of hard coral (punga) rubbed along the lines of the section and assisted with a little water, but now the saw is used entirely. The shaping was also done by rubbing with coral, but the introduced grindstone has taken its place. The outer surface of the shell forms the back of the hook, and the rough surface is ground down to bring out the white pearly color of the head and the iridescent colors on the back of the tail. The shell section retains its natural longitudinal curve. The inner natural nacreous white surface of the shell forms the front of the hook over the rau. The hinge part is ground not only to converge the sides to a proximal point, but the grinding is sloped inward on the front from both sides to form two inclined surfaces which meet in a mesial anterior edge. This edge in most hooks is ground down distally to a small triangular surface which meets the nacreous anterior surface where it curves up on the inner side of the hinge. The proximal end is sloped downward to meet the two side edges in a point. The head is thus triangular in section, with a back and two inclined antero-lateral surfaces. At a distance from the point which varies according to the size of the shank, a hole is bored transversely from side to side about midway down the thickness of the head. Two grooves are made on each side of the tail end to correspond with the holes in the separate point piece. Finally, in some hooks, a longitudinal mesial groove is cut on the back of the tail end. Some variations in the shank are shown in figures 86 and 87. In grinding
This care is universal in the making of lures. I watched the procedure in Samoa, Nordhoff (21, p. 243) describes it for Tahiti, and Kennedy (16, p. 42) for Ellice Islands. Different shades of color are also obtained by seeking other shells, most of which come from particular localities. The shells thus sought after are designated by special names. Nordhoff (21, p. 241) enumerates 15 shell names for the island of Tahiti and 12 for Moorea, besides names peculiar to others of the Society Islands. The particular shells were found in their own distinctive localities. In Rakahanga
tua kotaha (back of man-of-war hawk), dark; ata, reddish (muramura); kau overu, like the ata, but colors mixed (hiro); marauuava, the reddish color is deeper; kamuka, tail, as well as head, is white, name derived from resemblance to the white ribbons (kamuka) obtained from the front surface of unopened coconut leaves. Different colors are used to meet different atmospheric conditions. Nordhoff (21, p. 242) is convinced that the bonito recognize
… the correct shell for the conditions of weather, time of day, and the small fry on which they are feeding. One has only to put on a pair of diver's goggles and get under water for a “fish-eye” view of a variety of bonito-hooks trolled overhead, to perceive that the bonito's view of the shanks, in the water and against the sunlight, is different from ours. Often, out of a dozen hooks available aboard a canoe, there will be only one at which the fish will strike freely; yet all twelve have been chosen by expert fishermen.
The Polynesian fisherman used his experience and skill in preparing different shades of shank for his bonito hooks in much the same way as the
The point (kawiti) follows the same form as that used in Tongareva and western Polynesia. This is characterized by a proximal prolongation of the base and thus carries the technical “bend” of the hook. Nordhoff (21, p. 240) states that the Manihiki point is “generally of tortoise-shell” and attributes to the thinner nature of the material the use of filler sticks. All the hooks I have seen from Manihiki and Rakahanga resemble the Tonga-revan hooks in having the points made from the outer part of the pearl shell. One side of the point is thus white and nacreous and the other side, which corresponds to the outer surface of the shell, is dark. The outer surface is not ground down sufficiently to bring out the iridescent colors of the shell, as it is unnecessary in this part of the hook. The thickness of the shell ranges from 3 mm. to 6 mm., but thicknesses of 4 mm. and 5 mm. are most common. The method of lashing the point to the shank is through holes pierced through the point. The proximal prolongation of the base makes is possible to pierce a second hole through to provide for two lashings. The length of the base for 18 hooks with two holes ranges from 18 mm. to 23 mm. In 7 hooks, an extra third hole is pierced through the proximal prolongation, and in these hooks the base length ranges from 20 mm. to 25 mm. The holes are from 1.5 mm. to 2 mm. in diameter and the height of the proximal prolongation of the base is 5 mm. to 6 mm., to prevent the proximal hole or holes from breaking through the upper edge. Now and again the hole does break through and the proximal lashing passes over a groove, as in so many of the Tongarevan hooks. Variations are shown in figure 88.
The snood (taka) consists of a piece of fishing line from 18 inches to 30 inches long. This is attached to both the point and the shank. It is attached to the point by a closed loop passing around the base of the point, or by a line through a hole in the base of the point. The loop method is the more common. In the series of 25 hooks, 19 are attached by the closed
Considerable variation exists in the methods of lashing (figs. 90–95). The two lashings may be made with two separate pieces of thread, involving two commencements and two end fixations, or they may be made with one continuous thread, with only one end to be disposed of at beginning and finish. The lashing may or may not have side bindings consisting of loops passed around the lashing between the shank and the snood loop. The side bindings may consist of simple loops, half-hitches, or overhand knots. In some hooks the proximal lashing is made first, and in others the distal lashing comes first. The hackle may be lashed by some of the turns of the distal lashing, or it may be attached separately after the lashing of the point is completed. In some hooks the thread is carried back and forward between the two lashings in a manner that adds to its complication but does not improve its appearance. Different fishermen seem to have adopted extra details of their own and to have departed from a set method. A double cotton thread is now universally used for the lashings, but in the diagrams in this study a single thread is depicted for the sake of clearness.
The hackle formerly used was said to consist of coconut husk fibers, but white pig's bristles or horsehair are now used. A tuft about 3 inches long is bound around the middle with a single turn of thread and tied with a reef knot.
One of the methods of lashing resembles that of Tongareva; as the Tongarevans are a more conservative people, it is probably the oldest or original method. Two pieces of thread are used, the proximal lashing is made first, and side bindings are used. The proximal lashing is shown in figure 90. The distal lashing resembles the proximal in the fixation of the commencing end, but after 6 or 7 turns the hackle is fixed by 4 successive turns. The side bindings are then made as in the proximal lashing and the end fixed in the same way. The hackle fixation is given in figure 91. A continuous thread for the two lashings may be commenced with the proximal lashing, after the completion of which the thread is passed through the proximal hole, carried on to the distal hole, passed through it, and the distal lashing commenced (fig. 92). The use of a continuous thread for two lashings commencing with the distal lashing is shown in figure 93. Its feature is the leaving out of the commencement end which is later tied to the finishing end in a reef knot to fix the lashing. The use of the two ends to tie a finishing
Complicated combinations of the methods described are to be found on a few hooks, in which oblique crossings between the lashings are made on both sides. It may be stated, therefore, as an aid to the analysis of bonito hooks from unrecorded localities, that if the snood loop surrounding the base of a shell point is used with additional crossings between the lashings other than those figured here, the probabilities are that the hook came from Manihiki or Rakahanga.
Of the series of 25 hooks, 15 had the hackle lashed by the turns of the distal lashing as in figure 91; in 9, the hackle was separately attached to the distal lashing after it had been completed. In one hook, a continuation of both methods was used. (See figure 95.)
For the head lashing the snood is carried back over the median edge of the head and thus passes along above the transverse hole. The snood is not drawn taut, but loosely follows the concavity of the shank. The snood is lashed to the head with a thread passing through the head hole and over or around the snood. The simplest form of head lashing is shown in figure 96. A more complicated lashing is formed by adding some figure-of-eight turns around the snood in addition to those of the lashing above. (See figure 97.) The neatest form of lashing differs from the previous two in that turns are made around the snood as the thread passes over it. (See fig. 98.) This form was in use in Tongareva and Samoa (28, p. 502). The seizing around the snood, which fixed the free end of the lashing thread, is shown on the right or proximal side of the lashing in the three hooks
Filler sticks (mono) made of coconut leaflet midrib are not a constant feature, there being but 4 hooks so treated out of the series of 25. Nordhoff (21, p. 240) states, “The Manihiki point is generally of tortoise shell, and being thinner than the bone points used elsewhere, a little filler stick, a bit of the midrib of a coconut leaflet, is placed on each side of it, under the lashings. These sticks are called fakaketa (make taut).” I have never seen a Manihiki point made of tortoise shell, and there can be no doubt that the material generally used is pearl shell. In Samoa the turtle-shell point
kia whakaketa te kawiti). Nordhoff's informant used fakaketa as the term for the sticks, whereas my informant used mono as the specific term and whakaketa as a verb denoting their function. Kennedy (16, p. 48) describes the use of wedges (seketi) in the Ellice Islands, also made of coconut leaflet midrib. The feature of the Manihiki filler sticks is that they are small and are broken off on the far edge of each of the two lashings. The Ellice Islands filler sticks are longer and extend for the full length of the base of the
b). In Pukapuka filler sticks are also used, but they are much longer again and extend from the distal end of the point to the rise of the front of the shank to form the head (fig. 101). The need for filler sticks does not depend entirely on the thinness of the point, but also on its relation to the width of the tail end of the shank. In some of the Manihiki hooks with thin points the tail is correspondingly narrow, and no filler sticks were used. Whatever extra width the Manihiki shank tail may have is in most hooks compensated for by the snood loop, which passes around the point base and thus occupies most of the space under the lashing. It thus discharges the functions of the filler stick. This may have been one of the reasons for its adoption. In Ellice Islands and Pukapuka the snood does not pass under the lashings, and the need for filler sticks is thus obvious. Even with the Ellice Islands technique, filler sticks were not always needed, for Kennedy (16, p. 48) states, “In cases where the barb [point] is thick and has a good seat on the shell, the seketi [filler stick] may be omitted.” In Samoa, where the snood passes through the proximal hole and the point lashings are similar to those of Pukapuka and Ellice Islands, the filler sticks are not used at all.
The drill (hou) resembles the Samoan pattern with a stem of ngangie wood, a circular wooden disc as a balance, and two strings attached above to a hole in the top of the stem and below to the two ends of a crossbar, which act as a handle. The handle does not come down as far as the disc. Most points (mata) consist of the long pointed shells (vaevae unga) inhabited by hermit crabs. No names for the parts could be given, nor were any proverbs or sayings remembered in connection with the drill.
The rod (matira) consists of a tou or whano pole 2 fathoms to 3 fathoms long. One line only is attached to each rod. The snood carrying the hook is tied to the end of the line with a reef knot, one end being looped when forming the second turn of the knot. The second turn is so made that the free end of the looped part points upward. It is then quickly grasped and pulled to undo the knot in changing the hook, should it prove unattractive to the fish. A piece of cord is tied around the butt end of the rod with a short loop to take the point of the hook when it is not being trolled.
The canoes used in bonito fishing are the modern plank canoes. No special rod rests are made on these canoes. The rod rest (pou 'ofe) is a feature of the Samoan bonito canoe and is also used in the canoes of Pukapuka and Ellice Islands. In trolling, the rod butt fits against the back of the aft seat and is held by the rest at the appropriate angle. The fisherman thus has his arms freed for paddling, and the notice that a bonito has taken the hook is given by the forward leverage of the butt, the rod rest acting as
The fisherman sits on the aft seat facing the stern and therefore cannot paddle while on the fishing ground. He holds the butt of the rod between his thighs, usually at an angle so that it is below one thigh and over the other, to give it support. He holds the rod at the angle required and feels the direct pull of the fish with his hands primarily. When a fish is hooked, the fisherman swings the fish directly toward his breast and when it is near enough, he strikes the fish a horizontal glancing blow with the outer edge of his left palm, causing the body to jerk upward. This action, correctly applied, disengages the fish from the hook so that it drops into the canoe. Experience and judgment are required to swing the fish in at the right angle and level. The inexpert fisherman from some other island often swings the fish too high so that it strikes him on the face, to the intense enjoyment of the local experts. Most canoes are built for two, so that while the expert fisherman uses the rod facing astern, the assistant in the forward seat plies the paddle to keep the canoe moving.
The method of bonito fishing is thus distinct from that of western Polynesia. The Manihikian method resembles that of Society Islands, as described in detail by Nordhoff (21, p. 252). Presumably the same method is observed in the Tuamotus and the Marquesas. A Hawaiian fisherman demonstrated a similar method to me.
Manihikian colonists catch the bonito in Rarotongan waters with their own pearl-shell hooks. There was no bonito hook in Rarotongan culture.
Nordhoff (21, p. 233) has referred to the varieties of bonito hooks being spread from the Tuamotus to New Guinea, and from New Zealand to the Carolines, Marshall Islands, and Hawaii. He suggests dividing them into two broad categories, the Melanesian type with the snood attached directly and to the head of the shank alone, and the Polynesian type with the snood attached directly to the point, and secondarily to the head by a lashing of fine thread. The Micronesian hooks come under the Melanesian type in this general category, but there are some outstanding differences between them, as exemplified by the Melanesian hooks of Solomon Islands and the Micronesian hooks of Marshall Islands.
The Melanesian hooks of Solomon Islands have shanks of pearl shell cut radially through the hinge with the thick hinge part shaped to a raised
a-c.)
The Micronesian hooks of Marshall Islands are larger in both shank and point. The shank is rough and wide, formed from a section cut along the hinge. The head end is not artifically shaped, but a transverse hole is bored through the natural projecting part of the hinge to take the snood lashing. The point of pearl shell is very long, without any incurve, and is pierced by a hole to take the shank lashing. The point may be termed a simple point, as it has no projections at the base, either distal or proximal. (See fig. 102, d.)
Another point of resemblance between the Melanesian and Micronesian hooks, in addition to the lack of attachment of snood to point, is the presence of paired lateral projections on the shank to assist the shank-point lashings. The main differences between the two types are as follows:
The shank is remarkably homogeneous over the whole Polynesian area. The shell is cut radially through the hinge as in the Melanesian types, but the treatment of the thick hinge part is different. The hinge part is ground inward from the sides to form a raised median edge on the front. Contrast figure 86 with figure 102, c. A transverse hole is bored through below the mesial edge, a treatment which resembles the Micronesian. Compare figure 87 with figure 102, d. Instead of the paired lateral projections of the Melanesian and Micronesian shanks to assist the shank-point lashings, the Polynesians adopted the opposite technique of cutting paired grooves. It seems plausible to suppose that the Polynesians used the more easily made grooves because the point received forward support from the attachment of snood to point. An exception to the general Polynesian usage with paired grooves is found in some Hawaiian hooks with paired projections. These exceptional hooks, however, may have been due to Micronesian contacts in post-missionary times.
The Polynesian point, however, underwent differentiation through the provision for a second shank-point lashing. The problem was met by increasing the width of the base of the point. It was evidently thought undesirable or too unwieldy to continue the inner and outer curvatures of the point limb to form a wide base and so retain the simple form of the Micronesian point. The extra width of the base was provided by a projection on either the distal side away from, or the proximal side toward, the head. From the side on which the projections are made, the points divide into two main types which from their distribution may be termed eastern and western types.
The simplest form of point, which is without either projection, is the Hawaiian. The Hawaiian point has the simple Micronesian form but is made of bone and is less massive. It is pierced by one hole which takes the single shank-point lashing and also a secondary hackle lashing. In addition, however, the single hole takes the snood, which gives it forward support, the snood between the point and the lashing with the head appearing more taut than in hooks from other areas which have two shank-point a-b.) From figure 103 it would appear that the Hawaiian point is insecure, for there is but one real lashing to the shank. The point may be moved about by the fingers, but it cannot be pulled off, for the snood is taut. The slight distal projection shows the direction in which improvement could have proceeded to provide room for a second lashing.
The eastern type of point is typically exemplified by the Tahitian hook in which the slight distal knob of the Hawaiian point is enlarged to form a functioning distal projection over which a second lashing is made to fix the point more securely and immovably to the shank. (See fig. 103, c.)
A further development of the Tahitian point is seen in Marquesan hooks figured by Beasley (1, p. 14, pl. 76) and Linton (18, pl. 71, B, 1, 3). Here the distal projection is pierced with a second hole and the second a, but differs in providing a hole for the proximal shank-point lashing. Note that the hole in the Melanesian point (fig. 102, b) is through the distal projection and is intended to carry the distal shank-point lashing.
The western type of point is characterized by the prolongation for a second shank-point lashing on the proximal end of the point base. The form has been exemplified by the Manihiki-Rakahangan hooks. It is also illustrated by some points from Fanning Island, discovered in an old tomb made by inhabitants who disappeared before European discovery. The age of the relic is proved by the fact that the typical Polynesian shanks found with them showed that the holes through the heads were pierced from either side with an old-time drill point making two funnel-shaped holes which met in the middle. In the simplest form of Fanning Island point (fig. 105, a) the point is large and has a correspondingly wide base. In spite of the extra width, it was not feasible to pierce a second hole through the base without increasing its width a little. This slight increase was provided by prolonging the base proximally, a method opposite in principle to that of the eastern type of point. In the smaller points, the proximal prolongation was increased in order to provide sufficient base width without rendering the point limb disproportionately wide. The principle of retaining the original hole through the base of the point limb and piercing a second hole through the proximal prolongation therefore became established.
It is quite probable that originally the proximal prolongation was grooved instead of pierced. This happens accidentally in some Tongarevan points and occasionally in Manihiki hooks (fig. 88, d) in which, owing to the insufficient depth of the prolongation, the pierced second hole breaks through above and forms a groove which is just as efficient as a hole for lashing purposes. The grooved proximal prolongation happily survives in Fagatau in the Tuamotus, where it has been located by K. P. Emory. The points in use at the present time are made of turtle shell (una) with one hole drilled through the point limb and a groove over the proximal prolongation. Though pig's hair is sometimes used for the hackle, the most common material consists of man-of-war hawk feathers, which, after being fixed to the shank, are cut off short on either side. The feather hackle and form of the point
made it possible more correctly to attribute to Fagatau two hooks from the Young collection in Bernice P. Bishop Museum loosely labeled “Society Islands.” These hooks were collected many years ago and show a still earlier form of Fagatau point in which there was no hole. Both shank-point lashings passed over the proximal prolongation. (See fig. 106.)
Even without the history of the two hooks, the use of horsehair or pig's hair for the hackle instead of feathers and the employment of the needle and grooves in fixing the hackle instead of figure-of-eight turns show that hook b is more modern than hook a, and it follows that the use of the single hole through the point is also a more modern development on Fagatau. The needle and groove method of attaching the hackle has spread to Fagatau from Tahiti and probably also to Manihiki and Rakahanga from the same center.
A gradation of the western type of point is shown in figure 107, in which the order a, b, c is natural. A point like b was found on Fanning
a was large, with a naturally wide base. The forms b and c occur together and c is merely a specialization of b. The simplest point, however, is f, without holes and thus readily made without the use of a drill. Point e has recently developed from f as a result of Tahitian influence, and it necessitated the use of the drill. It has one hole probably because the Tahitian point has only one hole, the second lashing passing over the distal prolongation. The Fagatau people have copied the one hole and retained the proximal lashing over the proximal prolongation.
It requires little imagination to realize that with the continued use of the drill a second hole might be pierced in the proximal prolongation and thus make the Fagatau one-hole point (e) conform to the pattern of the two-hole point (b). It seems reasonable to suppose that the points f and e represent the original stages in the development of the general type b.
The western type of point with two holes is found in Tonga, Samoa, Ellice Islands, Tokelau, Pukapuka, Manihiki, Rakahanga, and Tongareva. The distribution gives it a western origin. The primitive form with no holes is found in Fagatau in the Tuamotus and thus forms an outlier as far as this cultural element is concerned. The two-hole point with a proximal prolongation figured by Beasley (1, p. 13) and labeled “Danger Island, Paumotus” should be referred to Pukapuka in the northern Cook Islands. Pukapuka in the Tuamotus (Paumotus) has not been inhabited for some generations.
The main differences between the eastern and western types of point may be summarized as follows:
The western type may be divided into two divisions according to the method of attaching the snood to the point. From the western limits of Polynesia as far east as Pukapuka, the snood is attached to a hole in the base of the point. In the eastern part of the area in which the western point is found, the snood is formed into a loop which passes around the base of the point, as seen in Manihiki, Rakahanga, Tongareva, and Fagatau.
The traditional narratives available do not record any wars. As the people lived in one village in Rakahanga and two in Manihiki, instead of separating to the various islands, the contention that active fighting of a serious nature was unknown is feasible. At the same time, individual and family disputes must have occurred, for certain people were referred to as toa (warriors) who were armed. It was evidently their duty to enforce the keeping of tapus and prohibitions concerning food-producing islands that were closed to enable crops to recover. The weapons consisted of spears and two forms of clubs.
The spear (tokotoko) was made of coconut wood and was from 2.5 arm spans to 3 arm spans long. The distal end had a sharp, rounded point (mata), and the proximal end had a raised butt flange to prevent the back hand from slipping off. A modern spear obtained on Rakahanga is shown in figure 108, a. Edge-Partington (6, vol. 1, p. 62, fig. 7) figures a Manihiki spear 89 inches long, inlaid with pearl shell discs, and with a four-sided point. The weapon was primarily used for piercing with a thrust (wero) but could also be used for striking (rutu).
Clubs (korare) were of two forms, long and short. The long club was made of coconut wood. It was described as being tukerua (two tuke) long. A tuke is the distance from the outstretched hand to the opposite shoulder. A long slender korare seen at Rakahanga is shown in figure 108, b. A club like a long billet with the head end rounded and slightly expanded (pl. 10, B) is richly inlaid with pearl-shell discs throughout its length.
The short korare was made of tou wood and was less than one tuke long. It had an expanded thick blade with sharp edges. One form described to me was said to have a curved distal end something like a bill hook, as in figure 109, a. The korare made for me has no curve as in figure 109, b and plate 10, A. A much shorter club fully inlaid (fig. 109, c) was recorded by Edge-Partington (6, vol, 2, p. 21, fig. 1). The short korare was sometimes carried slung to the wrist for use at close quarters.
Tops of the general sharp-pointed cone type are made of ngangie wood. They are spun by having pieces of two-ply twisted sennit cord wound around them for a number of turns and being either thrown down or jerked sideways.
Stilts (rore) are made as in Cook Islands (27, p. 329) with steps lashed to straight poles. They are used in a fighting game (tamaki) in which opponents try to knock each other over by striking stilt against stilt. Stilts are also said to be used in stealing, to prevent footprints from being seen.
Darts (to) are made of lengths of coconut leaf midrib (whani) about 6 feet long, trimmed to a width of about 1.5 inches, with the fore end toto and the dart itself, to, which is a departure from the eastern Polynesian term, teka. There are two methods of throwing darts:
1. The whakapa method of throwing consists of taking a run and then casting the dart forward with a low trajectory so that it strikes the ground some short distance away and then runs along the ground. The dart does not rise like the light darts which are ricocheted off the ground close to the player and make long flights in the air.
2. The hehe method consists of casting the dart with a higher trajectory so that it goes as far in the air as possible and finishes up with a short course on the ground.
The dart-throwing competition is for distance. The site is the village road, and any number of competitors, children, youths, and adults, join in the play. The players cast in turn from a mark on the road, and the farthest dart scores a point. The players then walk up to the other end, pick up their own darts, and throw back again. Organized games between sides, in the demonstrations I saw, were not indulged in. The players simply threw darts back and forth for exercise and enjoyment, and the victor of each throw acclaimed himself. The throws did not go so far as the light darts of other areas, but the general average for distance was more certain.
The common Polynesian term teka has been applied to a game of jumping over coconut leaves laid on the ground. Hence, anyone stepping over another person is likened to a person playing teka. To step over another person is regarded as bad manners in many parts of Polynesia, and in Rakahanga disapproval is expressed in the phrase, “E aha koe, teka mai ai?” (Why have you come in teka fashion?)
String figures (whai) were known, but none were recorded by me. K. P. Emory saw a Manihikan in Tahiti set up a figure to the chant used by Maui on fishing up Rakahanga, “Tokomiti, tokomiti, tokoheta, tokoheta.”
Of all the islands in the political boundaries of Cook Islands, Manihiki and Rakahanga have kept up to a greater extent the form of dancing usually referred to as a tarekareka, which corresponds to the saka of Tongareva (29, p. 78). As in Tongareva, the performers are arranged in columns of fours, men and women alternating in each four. The time is given by an orchestra beating wooden gongs and usually one large modern drum covered with goatskin. In the dance various movements of hands, feet, and bodies are executed in perfect unison, a marked feature being the quivering of the
haka, which is danced in rank and not in column. No voice accompaniment is used by the performers, due no doubt to the fact that time is given by the wooden gongs. Rehearsals are held beforehand under the direction of one who is appointed as ballet master. The movements of the various figures are arranged and practiced and their order of sequence decided upon. The figures are now usually named and the ballet master calls them out during the performance. The dances are given for the entertainment of visitors by the younger adults, who enjoy the performances as much as do their guests. The dance gives youth an opportunity of displaying grace and agility, and skill arouses admiration and applause.
The drama is represented by historical pageants (nuku). The stage, for most plays, is the village street. An orchestra of wooden gongs and the inevitable goatskin drum is provided, and a chorus may sing songs which describe the main events of the drama. A certain amount of make-up is used by the actors. The stage properties are necessarily of the crudest description. The actual words used by historical ancestors are recited at the appropriate time by the actors, but most of the play is represented in dumb show much after the principle of Chinese plays. The village humorist usually has a part, and by his exaggerated actions arouses much laughter among the audience. The person who thinks out the representation of the historical incident is credited as the author of the play, and it is customary to get his assistance or consent before reënacting the pageant on subsequent occasions.
A nuku seen at Rakahanga represented the mythical origin of the atoll (see p. 14) and is described in detail to give some idea of the method of presenting a nuku. The play took place in the afternoon. The street was cleared. The guests of honor were seated on the veranda of the chief's house, while the orchestra and chorus took up their position in the open court house opposite. The expectant audience lined the street on both sides in our immediate neighborhood. A small coconut leaf basket was placed bottom upwards in the middle of the street stage. The audience, which had seen the play before, glanced in the direction of an old, roofless lime house that stood about 20 yards down the street on our right and evidently formed
C.) Huku's appearance, with the husk mustaches projecting at abnormal angles and the eyelashes caked with dry mud, was appreciatively welcomed with bursts of laughter. Stuck through the leaves of the canoe was a short fishing rod, with a curved strip of coconut husk dangling from the end of the line to represent both hook and bait. Huku's mud-painted legs projected down through the bottom of the canoe and supplied the real motor power as he wielded a canoe paddle to propel his canoe toward the middle of the stage. Now and again he ceased paddling to make casts with his ludicrous fishing rod, for his expedition was for the purpose of fishing. The progress of the canoe was varied by encounters with imaginary Pacific rollers, during which the bow of the canoe rose to dizzy heights and fell into deep troughs. As the canoe approached, the orchestra struck up a rhythm, and the chorus of men and women sitting grouped together burst into song.
The rhythm of the music affected the legs that stuck through the bottom of the canoe and they performed a grotesque dance on the bottom of the Pacific ocean, to the intense delight of the audience. By this time Huku had arrived near the basket in the middle of the stage. He bent over the side of his canoe and, peering down into the depths of the ocean, scrutinized the object. “Ah,” said he, “this is an upgrowth of land.” Again the chorus burst into song.
Huku turned his canoe about and paddled off toward the dilapidated house which represented Rarotonga. On his way he evidently encountered a hurricane, for the bow of the canoe rose to alarming heights, and Huku even fell to the ground, where he kicked spasmodically, thus representing a canoe wallowing in the trough of high seas. At times we thought he was gone, for he had hardly enough strength to rise and surmount the next wave, but eventually, after a realistic exhibition, he passed through the gale and landed at Rarotonga.
For the second act, a stage hand roughly erected some coconut leaves on our side of the stage to represent a house. A small girl, covered with frayed mats and lauhala strips to represent an old woman, came in and took possession of the house. She was Hina-i-te-papa who dwelt at the bottom of the sea and evidently had power over fish. All eyes now turned toward an object on our left. Another coconut leaf canoe, paddled by an occupant also plastered with grey mud, emerged from behind a house. This was the mischievous culture hero of Polynesia, known in Rakahanga as Maui-muri. Paddling to the middle of the stage, he unloosened his canoe, stepped out of it, and with outspread arms took a realistic header onto the floor of the ocean. He crawled along on his hands and knees to the house of Hina-i-te-papa, and a modern note was introduced when he knocked with his knuckles against the midrib of one of the coconut leaves. He then proceeded to instruct Hina as to what she had to do when he and his brothers came fishing next day. He crawled back to his canoe, assumed the erect position, tied his canoe to himself, and paddled off. A few seconds later, a very large coconut leaf canoe emerged from behind the corner of the house. Three men were strapped to the canoe, the one in the stern being Maui-muri. Each had a short fishing line with a Ruvettus hook attached to it and stuck in his waist cloth. As the voyagers approached the stage the chorus broke out,
It will be noticed that the third verse is put into the present tense in continuous narrative form, though Maui-muri had already sought out Hina-i-te-papa. The fishing incidents described on pages 14–15 were then acted. As Maui-mua, in the bow of the canoe, dropped his hook, the chorus sang,
Hina-i-te-papa, who was supposed to be invisible from her position at the bottom of the sea, seized the hook, stuck it into a small immature coconut, and pulled on the line. Maui-mua shouted with glee and asked his brothers to guess the name of the fish he had hooked. Maui-muri replied that it was a shark. The chorus epitomized the incident in song:
The second Maui brother let his hook down and the chorus sang,
Hina-i-te-papa stuck the hook into another immature coconut, which represented an urua fish. As the hook was pulled, Maui-roto shouted with glee and asked the question, which was correctly answered by Maui-muri. The chorus sang a similar song regarding the hooking and hauling up of the fish, and urua was substituted for mango in the song.
The hook of Maui-muri baited with a small green branch of puka, a piece of coconut husk, and an immature, small nut was let down, to the song by the chorus. Hina-i-te-papa, according to agreement, hooked it into the rock, represented by a large coconut. The chorus sang,
The coconut was brought up with much straining. As it appeared on the canoe, Maui-muri stepped off onto what was supposed to be dry land, while his brothers fell off the canoe and crawled away, to show that they had been engulfed in the ocean.
Maui-muri then recited with appropriate hand and foot action a kapa. Hina-i-te-papa, presumably at the bottom of the sea, also recited a kapa:
The stage was then cleared for the third act.
In the third act Huku paddled over from Rarotonga, saw the land, and planted a coconut in the road. The chorus epitomized the scene as follows:
The fourth act opened with Huku basking in the sun, leaning against the wall of the ruined house. Another character, Wheatu, appeared and also sat against the wall not far from Huku. Huku, daydreaming, repeated the historic words:
Wheatu, thereupon, embarked in a plaited coconut leaf and arrived at the area which the planted coconut palm showed to be Rakahanga. Here he enacted the story of battering a canoe channel through the reef by hammering on one flat piece of coral with another. The part of Wheatu was taken by the village humorist. Thus, when Huku again arrived on the scene, a good deal of amusing byplay went on. To Huku's angry question why he was there, Wheatu—in soft, cooing tones, purposely exaggerated—replied that he was making a channel for him, and with much assumption of energy Wheatu battered away on the piece of coral. When Huku ordered him to leave, Wheatu pursed out his lips and kept mumbling in imitation of Huku. When Huku turned away, Wheatu stuck out his tongue at him, to the enjoyment of the audience. Finally Wheatu had to embark on his coconut canoe. When he was safely embarked, he added a modern Western note to his acting by placing his thumb to his nose and spreading out his fingers. By this time, orchestra, chorus, actors, and audience were satisfied. Huku again protruded his lower extremities through his coconut leaf and paddled his stormy way home in the wake of Wheatu, who had been doing fancy steps to the rhythm of the gongs. With a crash of the goatskin drum, the play was over.
In one play concerning the voyage of Tuahu and Waikohu to Hawaiki, the upper end of a coconut tree was carried in by about 20 men and planted
Another Rakahangan play depicted the departure of the people to Manihiki. A woman of high rank remained behind purposely, and she had some trouble with the spirits who haunted her lonely stay. The spirits were represented by about 20 children, who were naked except for loin cloths and, liberally plastered with grey mud, looked their ghostly parts. In one scene they danced very effectively.
In Manihiki, our departure by schooner for Tongareva was delayed until the local people put on a nuku representing the voyage of an ancestor to Aitutaki to see a hala tree that had been planted there by the ancestor's grandfather. The hala tree was duly represented.
Their reproductions of historical events in the form of nuku are greatly enjoyed by the people. Though technique may have altered slightly, the nuku are old and are enacted throughout the Cook Islands, as well as in Society Islands and the Tuamotus. The nuku reflect the deep-seated interest taken in traditional history, and no doubt have assisted in the memorizing of some of the events of the past.
A wooden gong (koriro) is made by hollowing out a section of tree trunk or branch (p1. 11). The opening is narrow and the hollow interior widened out. The ends are closed. The gong is similar to the pate of Cook Islands. The word pate is used locally as a verb meaning “to strike a gong,” as in “ka pate te koriro” (the koriro gong is being struck). The gong is beaten with a single stick to give time to dances, and it is also used when announcements are cried through the village.
A double gong in Bernice P. Bishop Museum (p1. 11, A) is formed of one piece of wood twice the depth of an ordinary small gong, so that slot openings and cavities can be formed on opposite surfaces. The outer surface of each half is convex from above down, and a longitudinal horizontal groove is formed by the meeting of the two curves. This gives the appearance of two gongs stuck together by their under surfaces. Outside the ends of the slot openings, pearl-shell discs are inlaid for ornamentation, and nicks are also cut on the side edges opposite. Though both slots and cavities are of approximately the same dimensions, there is a slightly different tone when
Shell trumpets (pu) were formed from Cynatium tritonis shell, as in other parts of Polynesia, by making a hole through about the third whorl from the apex. No wooden reeds or mouthpieces were used.
A rattle made of split coconut leaf midrib was used in dances to supplement the wooden gongs, and the hands were also clapped to give time.
Sharkskin drums and flutes were unknown. Nowadays, large drums of European pattern are made with goatskin membranes. These drums are beaten during dances and historical plays, and with the wooden gongs form the orchestra.
The Rarotongan missionary, Aporo, is responsible for the following statement (13, p. 150):
There are no gods of their own in these two islands; their gods were stolen from Utone by Ngaro-purui and Ngaro-vaaroto; Patu-kare was the guardian of the gods, whose names were Te Puarenga and Te Uru-renga, whilst another god named Ikaera drifted ashore onto the island. Te Puarenga is at Tau-unu at the marae named Te Pouhiteru; Ikaara (sic) is at Tukao at the marae named Marae-okoroa; Te Uru-renga is at Rakahanga and Variu is the name of his marae.
Aporo landed in Manihiki in 1849 and thus had the opportunity of getting information before the culture underwent material change. The statement that the people had no gods of their own evidently means that there were no gods brought by the first settlers. Tupou-rahi made a statement that Huku, the brother-in-law of Toa, had a god named Mokoroa-i-taupo located at Maungatea in Rarotonga. It is natural that the god remained with him in Rarotonga and was not given to his sister, Tapairu. Toa was a warrior and brought no priest with him. The statement that the people had no gods thus fits in with traditional history. Toa's lack of scholarship receives further corroboration from the lack of any myths concerning Tane, Rongo, Tangaroa, and the brotherhood of major gods so widely spread through neighboring regions. Tangaroa is actually mentioned as the grandfather of the Maui brethren and the possessor of fire.
Aporo states that the first two gods were stolen by Ngaro-purui and Ngaro-vaaroto. In the first of these names we may recognize Ngaro-puruhi. He is evidently the youngest brother of Whati-akau, as given by the genealogy of Tupou-rahi (Table 13). As his elder brother, Tangihoro, is credited with making voyages to foreign parts, the younger brother is likely to have gone with him. The genealogy places Ngaro-puruhi in the 7th generation chronologically. Thus, owing to lack of teachers and priests, the people had no gods from the time of the settlement of Rakahanga until the 7th generation, a period of over 150 years. It is not evident from Aporo's statement whether the Utone mentioned was a man or a place, but clearly the two gods, Te Puarenga and Te Uru-renga, were introduced from another island in the 7th generation of occupation. Tupou-rahi stated that the care of the family gods (whare urunga) was entrusted to Ura, an elder brother of Ngaro-puruhi. This statement would have no force but for the additional information recorded by Aporo that gods were actually introduced by his brother, Ngaro-puruhi. The Patu-kare mentioned by Aporo as the guardian of the gods was probably Ura under another name.
Te Puarenga, one of the stolen gods, was established at the marae in the
Whainga-aitu ariki and was thus the principal god of the Heahiro and Mokupuwai tribes. This again fits in with genealogical evidence, because Ngaro-puruhi, the procurer of the god, was the youngest brother of Whati-akau, whose name was adopted by a subtribe of the Heahiro tribe.
The question of the establishment of the Poututeru marae is also raised. When Ngaro-puruhi stole the gods, he must also have brought away with him some of the observances associated with the gods. One observance was probably the building of the marae on which the necessary ritual could be conducted. It is likely, therefore, that the Poututeru marae was built in the 7th generation, when the knowledge of maraes was revived or introduced through the voyage to other lands. This again throws light on history, for it indicates that settlement on Manihiki had occurred by the 7th generation.
The guardianship of the god must have descended in the family of Ura or Patu-kare, but later, after the establishment of the dual arikiship, it passed to the Whainga-aitu of the tribe with which the god was associated. Another difficulty is created by our lack of knowledge of the details concerning the manner and time at which the change in guardianship took place, for the first Whainga-aitu, Temu-matua, was placed by his uncle Rikiriki under the protection of the god Hikahara, who belonged to the Whakaheo ariki. We can only assume that though retrospective history shows a clear-cut division between the ariki, gods, and tribes, this exactness was not actually defined in the 11th generation, but was inaugurated then and assumed clarity later.
Te Puarenga was offered up as a burnt sacrifice by the missionary Aporo after Christianity was accepted by the people. Te Raina, son of Aporo, related that his father examined the heathen idol before destroying it. He said that it was made of breadfruit wood (kuru), which again corroborates the foreign origin of the god, for the breadfruit has only been introduced into both atolls within the last few years. The wood was ornamented with sennit braid lashed in a pattern (whakatiki ki te kaha), inlaid with white shell (tiha), wrapped up in a mat (moenga), and further bound with sennit. It was kept in a special house on the marae. Its destruction constitutes an irreparable loss, for had it been preserved as a missionary trophy of the chase, its island of origin might have been revealed.
Te Uru-renga, the other stolen god, was kept at the Variu marae on Rakahanga, according to Aporo. Neither the god nor the marae was mentioned to me. However, as the god also was acquired by Ngaro-puruhi, it was probably also a Whainga-aitu god.
Hika-hara, referred to by Aporo as Ikaera and Ikaara, was a locally manufactured god. Aporo stated that another god named Ikaera drifted ashore onto the island. What drifted ashore was a log from foreign lands (no hahake). It was cast up on the island of Motu-whakamaru in the southern part of Manihiki. The log was of reddish appearance in the water (muramura i roto i te wai). All drift material is of interest to a people isolated from foreign contact. The Whakaheo ariki went to Motu-whakamaru, viewed the log, and had it brought to Tukou, where he and his tribes lived. The log was laid outside the house of the ariki, and in the ordinary course of events various objects were laid upon it and against it. In the morning the objects were found scattered. The power of repelling objects was attributed to the log and revealed that it had power (mana). In the night the log was observed to show a phosphorescent light (purapura). It was deified by the Whakaheo as his god (kua whakariro hei atua nona). No information was obtainable as to whether the log was shaped and ornamented with sennit to follow the pattern of the stolen ready-made gods. If Aporo subsequently added it as fuel to the fire of his missionary zeal, he gave no detail of its construction.
Two prohibitions were enacted in connection with Hika-hare. First, no fire was to be lighted at night, and the people ate the evening meal in darkness. Second, if the hand was burned while cooking fish, on no account was it to be put in the mouth. Infringements of the two prohibitions were considered sins against the god, who punished the offender in one of two ways. The person who lit a fire felt a pain in his foot as if it had been stamped upon. Thus it was said that the god stamped upon the offender's foot (ka takahi te waewae), the foot swelled up, and death followed. If the hand was put into the mouth, the tongue swelled up and the person died. Thus the two punishments were swelling of the foot or swelling of the tongue, both followed by death.
As the Whakaheo was under the protection of the god, any sin against the Whakaheo was automatically punished by the god. The sin against the Whakaheo was to steal his food. For such an offence, Hika-hara metaphorically stamped upon the offender, who had nothing left to do but to die of a swollen foot.
If the Whakaheo became angry he called up his god (kua whai i tana atua), who sent wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, evidently to demonstrate that the Whakaheo had the tira or power over things celestial, and thus to warn his people not to proceed too far in a direction which angered him.
The statement that the Whakaheo himself went to view the log stranded on Motu-whakamaru indicates that Hika-hara could not have been created until the dual arikiship was in existence. Which one of the line of went to Motu-whakamaru was not mentioned, but as Temu-matua, the first
Hika-hara was located at a marae on Tukou, the Manihiki home of the Whakaheo tribes. Aporo says the name of the marae was Marae-okoroa, but my informants stated that it was called Te Koutu.
The above gods seem to have been the major gods, whose officiating priests were the Whainga-aitu and Whakaheo. They were in authority over the larger groups of two tribes. In addition, there were a number of minor gods that were the property of such smaller groups as subtribes.
It seems necessary to provide a church, temple, or dedicated space of ground where the people may watch the priests perform the ritual to the gods. The gods, the priests, and the people thus come together in their respective relationships to each other. The public religious gathering places were termed maraes in Manihiki and Rakahanga as in the neighboring areas. The maraes were constructed on the islands inhabited by the people, and as the occupied islands were small, the maraes were on the outskirts or actually in the villages of Te Kainga, Tauhunu, and Tukou. The result of this close proximity to villages which continued to be occupied throughout the Christian period was that all the maraes have been utterly demolished. They shared the destruction of the gods. No maraes were built on the other islands, and thus they had no chance of escape as did many of the maraes of Tongareva. The names, however, are remembered, and the sites can still be pointed out by the older men. The names of five maraes are associated with Te Kainga, but accounts from different sources are conflicting. In Manihiki there was one marae at each village.
1. Punariku was said to be the first established marae. It was in existence before the dual arikiship was established but was not built until the people began to increase. When the people split into four tribes, another marae called Huku-wananga was made. According to Pukerua, the Punariku marae was then used by the older tribes of Numatua and Tiangarotonga. The first marae built on Tongareva by the ancestor Mahuta was named Punaruku. The site of this marae was not pointed out to me on Te Kainga.
2. Avarua is on the seaward side of Te Kainga and was said to have been Matangaro's marae. The statement may apply to the Mata-ngaro group as a whole and not to Mata-ngaro, the son of Toa, as the marae was introduced with the stolen gods at a later date. That it belonged to the Mata-ngaro group is substantiated by its situation on their side of the village. The marae later served the Whainga-aitu tribes, Heahiro and Mokopuwai. It was said to have been paved formerly with coral slabs, but no evidence remains.
3. Huku-wananga on the lagoon side of Te Kainga, from its position, must have served the Hukutahu group and thus the Whakaheo tribes, Nu-matua and
4. Mua was situated in about the middle of the village of Te Kainga and is still distinguished by a large rounded earthen mound, resembling the turtle ovens of Tongareva. Coral slabs were found lying here and there and were said to have formed part of the pavement of the marae. Mua was a public marae which, from its position, served all four tribes when they united for a common function. Avarua and Huku-wananga were the tribal maraes and Mua, the common national marae.
5. Variu (Whariu?) is the Rakahangan marae stated by Aporo to have been associated with the god Te Uru-renga, and it may possibly have been another name for the Avarua marae.
6. Poututeru, the Whainga-aitu marae at Tauhunu, occupied the site of the present church which supplanted it, and here the god Te Puarenga was established.
7. Te Koutu was the Whakaheo marae at Tukou where Hikatara was established. Aporo gives Hikatara's marae as Marae-okoroa, which may be an alternate name.
Each of the two tribal groups had its own marae in the separate villages on Manihiki, and in their separate divisions in the one village on Rakahanga. In Rakahanga they had, in addition, a common marae, as they lived close together. Undoubtedly, owing to their separation on Manihiki, no common marae was set up there.
Merely from verbal description, it appears that a space was set out and paved to define the marae. There may have been some coral pillars set around the boundaries, but the lack of cut slabs of coral on the neighboring graves indicates that the maraes were not so well made as in Tongareva (29, pp. 148–159). No evidence is forthcoming as to whether raised stone platforms were built to form altars as in Tongareva, but the god-house on the marae was present, according to Aporo.
No priests accompanied the first settlers, and consequently no specialized line of priests came down by descent. Functions of a priestly nature were discharged by the head of the group and probably were concentrated in the single line of ariki chiefs. In the 7th generation the introduction of gods necessitated the creation of a keeper of the gods. This office went to Ura or Patu-kare and probably descended in their line until the 11th generation, when the position passed to the dual ariki. The whakamaru also acted as the media of the minor gods. The acquisition of temporal power by the heads of the tribes certainly took away some of the temporal power from the dual ariki and forced them into the position of a senior priesthood. The establishment of the dual arikiship split the priestly powers exercised by the ariki so that one ariki exercised supernormal power in the air and the other on land and sea. This division of priestly power was symbolized by the words tira and papa.
The special function of the Whakaheo was to bring about good weather during the voyages between the two atolls and to control the wind and
Whainga-aitu exercised his powers to induce productivity of the land and sea. If in good humor, it was said that he could invoke the sea so that fish came ashore (ka tarotaro i te moana kia haere mai te ika ki uta). On the other hand, if he were angered, he invoked his god so that the sea became rough and no fish or turtle could be procured. Both the Whakaheo and Whainga-aitu suffered from the lack of the hereditary background of scholarship that is the birthright of the established Polynesian priesthood.
Details of ritual are lacking. The ritual must have been influenced not only by the break of transmission in priestly ritual but also by the general poverty of the cultural and material environment. There was a lack of textiles with which to manufacture vestments and the poor range of foods restricted the choice and lavishing of offerings.
The general ritual (whai) took place on the marae. Individual incantations were termed tarotaro. When the Whakaheo or Whainga-aitu went to the marae, he was accompanied by the whakamaru of his tribe and subtribe, who acted as assistants. Food and fish were taken to the marae and after the ritual in which it was offered to the god, the food was divided among the people.
The following brief incantation was recited by the Whainga-aitu on such occasions, and the whakamaru joined in the refrain, “ua!”:
“First is He” refers to the god. The god having thus been exalted, the material food could be distributed to the people. The ceremony was equivalent to a petition for blessing on the food.
Mention has been made of the part taken by the whakamaru (p. 55) and the whakatapaeru (p. 56) when the voyages between the atolls were made.
It was generally held that the tukuwhare (subtribes) had gods of their own in addition to those controlled by the priestly ariki. Much confusion, however, has been caused by the attitude of different families to certain foods
koveu or tupa land crabs. Some prohibited the use of certain fish, such as the taeha, hue, hakura (sawfish), mango (shark), and patuki-whara-kawa, and also the honu (turtle). Others will not touch certain birds, as, for example, the kotaha (frigate bird) and tawake (Phaeton rubricauda). These foods are arai (to prohibit). The eating of the arai is supposed to bring on illness, generally urticarial skin rashes and digestive troubles. In native psychology there is no distinction in principle between such manifestations of illness and those of swelling of the feet or tongue caused by breaking the prohibitions associated with the major god, Hikahara. The symptoms of illness are not associated in the mind with such natural causes as indiscretions of diet but with some supernormal agency which is offended. Punishment follows, as revealed by a form of illness which may result in death. The term atua, usually applied to definite established gods, is also applied to anything malign or disagreeable. Thus, when a Rakahangan refers to the koura (crayfish) as his arai, we know that it is prohibited in his family, as it will cause urticaria and digestive troubles if eaten. When, however, he states that the koura is his atua, we are not sure whether he regards it merely as being disagreeable and malign as far as he is concerned or whether he actually regards it as a family god. Both views seem to be held.
Tupou-rahi stated that the family atua (gods) were fish, birds, or crabs. His own was the hue fish. Such gods had material forms in wood or stone, which might be shaped to represent them. These were wrapped in matting, tied up, and perhaps kept in a basket. They were kept in a fenced-off place near the dwelling house of the guardian, the whakamaru. Tupou-rahi seemed to imply that the term whakamaru applied to the heads of family groups who had charge of the family gods. The title would thus apply to the heads of subtribes, but some informants restricted it to the heads of tribes. When the people moved from one atoll to the other, the whakamaru had charge of the basket containing the god. On arrival at the other atoll, the gods were deposited in small inclosures, not maraes, which were tapu, so that no one went near them except the whakamaru. Another informant, Araipu, said that such minor gods as the kotaha (frigate bird) were tukuwhare (subtribe) gods. They had material representations which were kept on the loft (pahata) of special houses. It was on the loft of these special houses that the body of a chief was placed after death.
The whakamaru (guardians) consulted the gods before any family enterprise, such as fishing or sea voyages. He recited the appropriate tarotaro) in order that success (manuia) might crown the undertaking. If success did not follow, it was held that the ritual had not been correctly conducted (kua he te tarotaro) or that something else was wrong.
This mechanism indicates clearly that there were family gods, definitely treated as such. The weak part in the system is that the gods had no definite personal names but were alluded to by the general name of their species. Some informants maintained that the prohibited foods were not treated or worshiped as gods but merely regarded as arai.
The prohibited foods, if regarded as gods by the affected families, were not so regarded by the others. Family groups could eat all prohibited foods except their own arai and in doing so gave no offence. A patient, Metutera, whom I treated on Rakahanga, had the crayfish as his family arai. A party of us was going out in the evening torching for crayfish. Metutera informed me that were it not for his illness he would accompany me to give me good luck. Crayfish, he said, were attracted to him and though he would not kill them himself he was quite willing to attract them toward me in order that I might spear them. Some of the older men supported Metutera's statement about the attraction he influenced over crayfish, saying that they had seen it demonstrated. Metutera could not eat crayfish without developing an urticarial rash and gastric disturbance. He was a member of the church and had no religious attitude toward the family arai. He maintained the family prohibition because he had suffered from breaking it in the past. His present illness he attributed to inadvertence. Another family had cooked a crayfish in an earth oven with other food. He was offered some of the other food, and not knowing that a crayfish had been cooked in the same oven, he partook of it. Afterwards he broke out in a rash and hard lumps formed under the skin on his back. When I saw him, the skin had sloughed off and formed an ulcer about 5 inches across. He probably had had a carbuncle, but the coincidence of eating the tainted food with the development of the urticaria had convinced him as to cause and effect. However, the ulcer cleared up and he was on the way to recovery when I left. His attitude toward crayfish in general was not that of a person with superstitious fear of a family god but that of a normal person who realizes that he cannot eat a particular food without suffering for it. On the other hand, he derived satisfaction from the idea that there was some mystical bond between crayfish and himself which attracted them to him.
A traditional origin is given to some of the prohibitions. The crayfish prohibition is attributed to an incident in the voyage of Tuahu and Waikohu to some distant island said to be Hawaiki. Off Hawaiki, Tuahu dropped anchor outside the reef, and Waikohu swam ashore to explore. Waikohu saw a coconut tree, climbed it, and dropped a nut to the ground. An old
arai in the family descended from Waikohu. Unfortunately, I did not get Waikohu placed in a pedigree and cannot locate the alleged origin in its chronological position.
Another tradition concerns the tavake (tropic bird). Ngaro-tara-maunga, in an adventurous spirit, decided to sail across some whirlpool known as the rua tai koko. It was far distant, so he told his family that he would send a messenger back. Some time after Ngaro-tara-maunga had gone, a tropic bird alighted near the house of the family. The bird made no attempt to fly away when approached. It was caught and put in the oven for cooking. When the oven was opened the bird was uncooked, so the oven was covered over again. A second time the bird was uncooked, but at the third uncovering of the oven the bird was not only uncooked but so much alive that it flew away. It was then realized that the bird was the expected messenger from Ngaro-tara-maunga who had lost his life in the whirling waters of the rua tai koko. Perhaps from the failure to cook it, the tavake was prohibited as a food to the descendants of Ngaro-tara-maunga.
A short song commemorates the unsuccessful culinary operations:
The words, though simple, are pleasing in the native language and they record a historical incident, though the song has a mythical ending.
Most of the prohibited foods were associated with families, and I could get my informants to connect none of them except the turtle and the frigate bird with definite subtribes. The turtle (honu) was said to have been the arai of the Taupo subtribe of the Numatua tribe. The frigate bird (kotaha) was said to have been the arai of the whole Numatua tribe, but later, as the people increased, it became restricted to the Pu-tauhunu subtribe.
The presence of zoological gods with their prohibition as food naturally suggests totemism. However, in no instance is the prohibited food in its personified form regarded as having anything to do with the origin of the family which avoided it as food. All the families and subtribes had their normal origin from human ancestors, and the creation of material gods and the use of ritual in connection with them seems to be a late development. It is tempting to assume, from the nature of the symptoms associated with breaking the prohibitions, that the system had its origin in unpleasant experiences and reactions toward particular foods. Many people of other races cannot eat crayfish, lobster, crabs, or shellfish without digestive disturbances and the production of an urticarial rash. Some Rakahangan ancestor suffered in this way on eating crayfish and it became his atua in the sense of being disagreeable materially and malign through failure to appreciate natural causes of disease. The ancestor, therefore, tapued the food and ceased to collect it in his fishing operations within the lagoon. As it disappeared from his family menu, it also became tapu to his children. One can imagine the children asking the father why they did not have crayfish, like other families, and the father describing in detail all the symptoms that occurred on eating crayfish. He had to excuse what might have been regarded as a lack of skill by impressing upon his family the real cause for the absence of crayfish from the family diet. In this manner, he passed the prohibition on to his children. In Polynesian psychology there is a dual reaction that is extremely common and of great significance for an understanding of the attitude toward institutions. The very fact that a person suffers through eating crayfish indicates clearly that there is some supernormal influence that takes particular notice of him and selects him, so to speak, from his fellow men. His self-esteem is flattered. It is the common people of no account of whom the unseen powers take no notice. The inconvenience of a personal tapu is
arai. It may be that the idiosyncrasy toward the particular food reappears from time to time as manifested in the authentic case of Metutera, but with the mass of the subtribe the factor that keeps the prohibition from being broken is not so much fear of consequences as the pride in having a peculiar tapu. I know personally that men would be extremely disappointed if unpleasant symptoms did not arise after eating the arai. They desire so much that the power of the arai should continue that on some occasions symptoms are exaggerated and may even be falsified. The lack of reaction to the breaking of a tapu diminishes the status and self-esteem of the individual, and he would rather conceal the fact that the god had taken no notice of him than to blazon forth his own inferiority.
It is well known that around certain atoll islands certain fish are poisonous at certain seasons. An urticarial rash and gastric trouble are among the common symptoms of fish poisoning. Thus, besides an individual idiosyncrasy in regard to crayfish and crabs, disasters from the eating of poisonous fish provided the origin for fish tapus. These again were associated with certain families and spread to subtribes. Some of the present older inhabitants assured me that they had eaten their arai without ill effect, but this they attributed to the breaking down of the power of the old institutions through Christianity. On the other hand, I have been somewhat suspicious of the veracity of some who informed me that they could not eat their arai without suffering the classical symptoms. Little doubt can be entertained that in the original cultural background the person who broke a prohibition would suffer psychologically, but apart from an idiosyncrasy or a poisonous fish, the question of how far such psychological guilt would result in physical symptoms is a matter for conjecture.
That similar prohibited foods exist in Tongareva shows a similar physical reaction to similar causes. However, in the far-away high islands of Hawaii similar food prohibitions exist among families, and their supernatural association is believed in.
The missionary Aporo (13, pp. 150–151) states:
Another species of gods were stones; they would place them in their girdles when going out to sea or war, or when they slept. Another custom they had of making a god of a dead man. They used to take the head, teeth, nails, bones, and hair, after death. The bones of the ariki were given to the warriors, and his family…. Another god they had was Matariki (the Pleiades) which they worshipped, and another was the pukatea leaf, the paiku and the nikau (palm), and the oil of the coconut.
With most, if not all, branches of the Polynesian race, the theory of medicine is associated with religious concepts. Certain symptoms which denote a departure from normal health were regarded as manifestations of the displeasure of the gods. They were punishments inflicted for infringing prohibitions that had been established in connection with religious observances. Thus, a swollen foot or a swollen tongue was a punishment by the god Hika-hara. Urticarial skin rashes and digestive troubles were associated with the family food prohibitions, which had come to have a supernormal significance. It is not clear whether or not a treatment through ritual to placate the supernormal cause had been in use. It is difficult to obtain exact details from a people who have come to regard “heathen” practices with shame.
The power of causing illness and death to others by the use of occult powers, or black magic, was not referred to in any conversations, except in the story of one Whakaheo ariki. He went to Honolulu after European transport was available and is said to have caused the death of a chief there by putting a hair from his head in the chief's bowl of kava. But for this isolated example, the Whakaheo and Whainga-aitu chiefs seem to have restrained their displeasure with their people to calling up rain, thunder, and lightning through their influence with their gods.
A people with a psychological attitude toward the manifestations of ill health usually seeks a psychological remedy by consulting priests and going through the established observances and ritual. There is no incentive to explore the field of herbal remedies, and the native pharmacopoeia is thus a very limited one, even supposing that medicinal plants grew on the islands inhabited.
The one plant used for minor ailments was the coconut. The diet of children was formed from the special use of various stages of the coconut, as described on page 101. The hinu romonga oil was used in massaging babies. The general term for massaging was kotikoti; pressing movements with the fingers were termed tauromi and stroking movements, maoro. The oil was also used to make the hair grow. The hinu takataka oil from the takataka nut was used as an application for boils (tahora) and any such obvious tumors as sebaceous cysts. It was also used as a dressing for burns, ulcers, and cuts. The sediment from the hinu pipiro oil was applied to ringworm (hune) after the part had been washed in salt water. The uto puni stage of the coconut was used for cuts and wounds to stop the bleeding. A slice of the uto was placed over the cut and changed two or three times until the bleeding ceased. A fresh piece was applied and kept on for one or two days. Coconut cream was used as a purgative.
The atolls are remarkably free of endemic diseases. The medical officers of late years report but little yaws. I saw one case of elephantiasis of the feet, but the patient had been to other islands and may have become infected there.
Leprosy has been known from time to time, but the origin is attributed by the natives to Hawaii. Dr. Andrews, Surgeon on H.M.S. Ringdove, made a medical report on the islands in a New Zealand Parliamentary Paper printed in 1893. He stated that the first case was developed by a man named Tukerau, who, at the age of 18 years, left for Honolulu in an English trading barque (25 years before 1893). Tukerau developed leprosy on his return. The second leper was a man, Akatu, who visited Honolulu in 1874 and lived with a leper family. On his return in 1876, he developed the disease. The origin of the disease in the neighboring atoll, Tongareva, is also attributed to Hawaii.
When a chief died the whakamaru (tribal head) placed the corpse on the platform (pahata) of the house in which the tukuwhare gods were kept. Some corpses were not buried (kare e tanu). Relatives mourned in the house on the floor below and bore the odor of putrefaction out of affection (aroha) for the deceased. They even allowed the fluids of decomposition (wai o te tupapaku) to fall down upon them. The body was allowed to remain in the loft of the house until it had dried up. Many human bones are to be seen on the atoll, and are evidence that all bodies were not interred in the ground.
The missionary, Aporo, is responsible for the following description (13, p. 150):
After any man had died, from the second until the fifth night they took food for the deceased and hoped then to upraise him to life. This is one of the “upraisings”:
They all cried and cut themselves, and knocked their heads, when they found the deceased did not arise; and thus they did for many days.
Burial places were termed turuma. The dead were interred in pits and the sites marked with small coral slabs set on edge, after the style of the smaller graves on Tongareva. The coral slabs were set to form a rectangular inclosure, above the grave, about 7 feet long by 2.5 feet wide. The projection above the surface was from 10 to 12 inches. None of the large worked historic slabs forming headstones, so common on Tongareva, were seen. Though a number of graves were seen on the island of Te Kainga, it was stated that it had been customary to bury the dead on the other islands where the families had their property rights.
The lunar month (marama) was divided into nights of the moon. Commencing with the new moon, each night received its own distinctive name, which came to denote the size or stage of the moon on a particular night. A night name could not be transferred to a night when the moon was not in the stage denoted by the name. The Rakahangan list of nights of the moon contains 30 names and is divided into two divisions. In the first division (Ohiro), consisting of 17 nights, are the nights when the moon is rising to its zenith (te au po e rewa ai te marama). In the second, consisting of 13 nights, are the nights when the moon is getting darker (te au po o te kau pouri).
The notes on the nights of the moon gathered in Rakahanga were obtained from the writings of an old man named Haumata-tua, who recorded them in a ledger now in the possession of Aporo of Rakahanga. The names as spelled in this manuscript are given in table 16. The actual night names without the introductory particle ko or the definite articles te, ti, or ta, with the pronounced h and wh inserted, are given in parentheses.
Te atu (Atu)
Te tutai (Tutahi)
Te turoto (Turoto)
Tamatea tutai (Tamatea tutahi)
Tamatea turoto
Tamatea akaoti (Tamatea whaka- oti)
Ko Tiooata (Hoata)
Ko Tiari (Ari)
Kote korekore tai (Korekore tahi)
Ko Uune (Hune)
Ko Tioau (Ohau)
Ko Tamaaru (Maharu)
Ko Tiotua mua (Otua mua)
Ko Tiotua muri (Otua muri)
Ko Tiotu (Hotu)
Ko marangi (Marangi)
Te etau maro (Whetau-maro)
Rakau tai (Rakau tahi)
Rakau roto
Rakau akaoti (Rakau whakaoti)
Korekore tutai (Korekore tutahi)
Korekore roto
Korekore akaoti (Korekore whaka-oti)
Tangaroa tutai (Tangaroa tutahi)
Tangaroa roto
Tangaroa akaoti (Tangaroa whaka-oti)
Ko Tirongonui (Rongonui)
Ko Tane (Tane)
Ko Te mauri (Mauri)
Ko Te mutunga (Mutunga)
The name Atu applied to the 1st night is peculiar to the list. The name Tutahi (first) given to the 2nd night is followed by Turoto, meaning “inner.” The 4th, 5th, and 6th nights form a group of Tamatea which are distinguished by the qualifying terms tutahi (1st). turoto (inner), and whakaoti (to finish, last). The triple grouping with the same qualifying terms is used three times in the second half of the month with the Rakau, Korekore, and Tangaroa nights. It is evident, therefore, that Tutahi and Turoto, as applied to the 2nd and 3rd nights, are qualifying terms applied to a triple group of which the last of the series is missing, for it is not logical to use the middle term turoto unless it is followed by a whakaoti. The group name has been dropped.
A widespread commencement consists of Tireo (1st), Hiro (2nd), and Hoata (3rd). With dialectical letter changes, this commencement is found in Tahiti, Tongareva, and Cook Islands. It is present in New Zealand, but in most lists from that area Tireo and Hiro (Whiro) change positions. Hawaii, like New Zealand, commences with Hiro (Hilo) but drops Tireo altogether and places Hoata (Hoaka) as the 2nd night. A list collected by K. P. Emory from Fagatau in the eastern Tuamotus gives Hiro as the 1st night and Hoata as the 2nd. From the distribution in the marginal areas of New Zealand, Hawaii, and the eastern Tuamotus, it would appear that the Hiro commencement is older and that Tireo has changed places with it in the central eastern area. Localities that do not now have the Hiro commencement are the Marquesas, Mangareva, and Rakahanga. It is evident, however, that Rakahanga once had knowledge of it but that Atu or Atua has displaced Hiro, which, in the form of Ohiro, came to be used as a term for the first 17 nights, and that Hoata has been displaced to the 7th night.
A widespread group that appears early in the first half of the month is the Hamiama trio. Stimson (24, pp. 327–328) in a Tahitian list gives a group of three Hamiama, qualified by tahi (1st), roto (inner), and fa'aoti (last), which follows the Tireo triple commencement and immediately precedes a group of three Tamatea. Rarotonga (32, p. 356), after the Tireo commencement, has two Amiama immediately preceding two Tamatea. Tongareva (29, p. 216) has the Tireo commencement followed by three Samia, which immediately precede three Tamatea. The Samia of Tongareva corresponds to Hamia or Hamiama with the final syllable dropped. In the Fagatau list Hiro and Hoata are followed by three Hamia, which in turn precede three Tamatea. It may, therefore, be inferred that in Rakahanga the Tamatea group, by being displaced to the 4th, 5th, and 6th nights, has also pushed up a triple Hamiama group ahead of it. The Hamiama group dislocated Hiro (1st) out of list, and Hoata (2nd) fell back immediately below the last Tamatea. Somehow or other, Atu took up the place of Hiro, which
Hamiama trio. This resulted in the dropping of the last member (Hamiama whakaoti). In the course of time the group name was forgotten or dropped, and Hamiama tutatahi and Hamiama turoto now appear as Tutahi and Turoto for the 2nd and 3rd nights.
The dislocation of an earlier commencement by the Hamiama group is shown in other areas. For the Marquesas, Handy (14, p. 348) gives a list of three Maheama which occupy the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th nights; the Marquesan 1st night is Tu. In Mangareva, according to Williams (32, p. 355), the 1st to the 4th nights form a group of four Maema. Maheama and Maema are dialectical forms of Hamiama.
Considerable confusion is apparent in the names of the first half of the month. The 7th night is the displaced Hoata of the Hiro commencement. The 8th night, Ari, has a wide distribution. The 9th night, Korekore tutahi, is a single representative of a Korekore group, which is present in the first half in both Tahiti and Rarotonga. The retention of the qualifying term tutahi (1st) shows that it was originally the first of a group. The 10th night, Hune, is the widespread Huna of other areas, which, in most, falls on the 10th. In the 11th night, Ohau, if what is evidently a prefixed “o” is removed and hau transposed, we have Hua, a widespread term which is usually about two nights later. The 12th, Maharu, is widespread and generally on the same night. Two Otua (Atua) follow on the 13th and 14th, but most other areas have only one Atua. The 15th, Hotu, coincides in name and date with other areas. The 16th, Marangi, has the same name and date in Tongareva, Tahiti, and Rarotonga, but Whetau-maro, 17th, is evidently a local name which has replaced Turu. It will be noted that the 16th and 17th are regarded as nights of the full moon and are added to the first half so that the second period of the kau pouri, consisting of 13 nights, covers the decrease in the size of the moon.
After the confusion of the first half, the stability of the second half is all the more marked. It coincides in every particular with the Rarotongan list and differs from Tongarevan and Tahitian lists only in transposing the positions of the Rongonui (27th) and Tane (28th) names.
Te Mutunga
Tiatua
Tuatahi
Tuatahi-rua
Tuatahi-toru
Tamatea-tuatahi
Tamatea-turua
Tamatea-tuturo
Tehari
Korekore
Tehune
Tiohua
Temahari
Tihotuamua
Tihotuamuri
Tihowhotu
Te marangi
Whetau-maro
Rakau-tahi
Rakau-rua
Rakau-toru
Korekore-tahi
Korekore-rua
Korekore-toru
Tangaroa-tahi
Tangaroa-rua
Tangaroa-toru
Te Tane
Te Rongonui
Te Mauri
After naming Te marangi (17th), the reciter of the list remarks, “Kua tae ki te kau poiri.” (The dark period is reached.) After the Mauri (30th), an explanation is offered, “The mutuanga Tiatua ka vero no te Ohiro.” (The end of the Tiatua commences the Ohiro.) The first part (evidently to the Marangi) is headed, “te tatauanga po o te Ohiro” (the counting of the nights of the Ohiro).
This list has evidently been badly mutilated in the course of time. A significant item is the transference of Te mutunga (the end) from the 30th night to the 1st with the subsequent dislocation of the otherwise consistent second half. Thus the first of the Rakau group, which, over a very wide distribution, occurs on the 18th, is displaced to the 19th and all following names are displaced a night later so that the Mauri, which should be on the 29th, ends the list on the 30th. The transference of Te Mutunga to the first night of the moon has doubtless been due to the confusion which arose between the months which had 29 nights and 30 nights respectively. Savage considers from the remarks added to the list that the nights were divided into two periods termed Tiatua and Ohiro. The Manihikian dialect uses ti as an alternative to the definite article te, so that Tiatua is really the Atua. The Atua period corresponds to the Kau-poiri period of the second half. The statement that the end of the Atua commences the Ohiro points to a memory of Hiro commencing the month as in the Maori and Hawaiian tables. Unfortunately, both Mutunga and Tiatua have been confused as names for the 1st and 2nd nights and Hiro, or Ohiro, has been transferred to a name for the first half. The term Atua here takes the place of Atu in the first list and is probably more nearly correct. The utter confusion is indicated by the use of Tuatahi (1st) for the 3rd night and the terms Tuatahi-rua and Tuatahi-toru (2nd-1st and 3rd-1st) for the 4th and 5th nights, which is absurd. It
Tamatea group, the group was again probably the Hamiama series.
Another variation in the second table is the use of the numbers rua (2) and toru (3) to designate the last 2 of a group of 3 instead of roto (inner) and whakaoti (last) as used in the first table. In the second table Tane (28th) and Rongonui (29th), if brought back to the 27th and 28th, occupy the order and dates which occur in New Zealand and Hawaii as well as Tahiti, which, with the mention of Ohiro, would indicate that the second table represents an older series than the first table. If so, it may also be assumed that tahi, rua, and toru as applied to triple groups are older than the use of the forms tahi, roto, and whakaoti.
Confusion is also evident in the 14th, 15th, and 16th nights, which, as Ti-hotu-mua, Ti-hotu-muri, and Ti-ho-whotu, are all forms of Hotu, which is found but once in lists from other areas.
In spite of the confusion in names and their sequence, the Rakahangan lists show a marked affinity with eastern Polynesian lists and they have not one name in common with Samoa and Tonga.
The Rakahangan cycle contained 13 named months (marama). These were grouped into three periods in one classification and into two in another. A list was also given of the weather conditions, appearance of stars, and their relationship to food. An attempt was also made to correlate the native cycle with the European calendar months which may be regarded as merely approximate. The recorder solved the disparity in numbers by dividing the European month of May into two and apportioning a part to the two months, Pipiri and Whakaau. Unfortunately the order of these two short months is transposed in one of the three lists recorded.
The three-period classification (Table 18) was divided as follows: A, “te tau o te mata tonga” (the period or count of the Mata tonga); B, “te pouri” (the darkness); and C, “te au po” (the nights). A further explanation runs, “Tera tatahi ingoa o te mata tonga, na riri o te tonga.” (There is another name for the mata tonga, the wrath of the south wind.) The period of the mata tonga contained six months (e ono marama). Each of the six names is prefixed by the article ko, which simply indicates the proper name of the month. Before commencing the list with the first name, Pipiri, the following was written in the Aporo manuscript: “Te akaauanga o Matariki.” Aporo explained the meaning of akaauanga (pronounced “whakaauanga”) as, “The six stars of the Pleiades could be seen plainly.” In other words, it referred to the reappearance of the Pleiades. The dark period has
a teru ona marama). With the last two months of the dark period the definite article te is used. The nights period contains four months all prefixed by the article te.
The second classification into two groupings was recorded by the same person after the three-period groupings. In the two-period classification the recorder gave the names of the English months, which in his opinion corresponded with the native moons. He met the difficulty of placing the extra native month by dividing May and giving 15 nights to Pipiri and 15 to Whakaau. At the same time he transposed the order of these two
Table 19. Rakahangan Annual Cycle, Two-period Classification
Te tau marama a to tahito.
“No Hahake mai te tau marama. Na Erengai i ka tnai te tuaroa i karangaia e to tahito e hitu ia marama. Tera tona tikaanga e ono marama e te wahanga.” (The count of months according to the ancients. From Hahake came the count of months. Erengai brought [ka] or instituted the tuaroa [long period], which was said by old people to consist of seven months. The meaning of this is six months and a part of one.)
“Te tuapoto kua karangaia e to tahito e ono marama. Tera tona tikaanga e rima marama e te wahanga.” (The short period [tuapoto] was said by the old people to comprise six months. The meaning of this is five months and a part of one.)
The long period (tuaroa) thus comprises the Pouri and Au po periods of the previous classification. The month names follow the same order except that Pipiri has displaced Whakaau in following the April moon, Te Rehu. The following remarks are made concerning Pipiri: “Te Pipiri 15 po no May. Te takahanga ia Matariki ki raro.” (Pipiri has 15 nights belonging to May. The Pleiades are situated low in the sky.) With regard to Whakaau in the short period the recorder states, “Te Whakaau 15 po no May. Koia te ruiruinga ia Matariki.” (Whakaau has 15 nights belonging to May. In this [month] is the sowing of the Pleiades.) It will be observed that the short period corresponds with the period of the mata tonga except that Whakaau has changed places with Pipiri.
Of two lists copied by Savage from the book of Aporo-ariki of Manihiki, one is identical with that already given in the two-period classification, but the other (Table 20) differs in some of the names and their sequence and in the omission of the 13th name, Pipiri. In this different list, each month is given a star with the expression, “Tona etu i runga ko….” (Its star above is….) The sequence of the list in Table 19, commencing from Whakaau, is shown in parentheses in the second column of Table 20.
After the total lack of any correspondence with the western nights of the moon, it is surprising to find that some of the month names correspond to those of Samoa (22). Of these, the two most significant are Paroro-mua and Paroro-muri. In Samoa the palolo is an edible marine worm that appears at the end of the second or beginning of the third quarter of the lunar month that includes October. It is thus a definite period in the Samoan calendar. This marine worm does not appear in Manihiki and Rakahanga. The Paroro month names must have had a western origin. The star of the first Paroro month is Ika-vaerua which means “spirit fish” or “fish without a material body.” As the paroro came from the sea, it could be spoken of as an “ika.” It may be that the memory of a fish associated with the first Paroro month has led to the local naming of a star that was visible in that month.
Aporo-ariki's list supports the tuapoto division of the two-period classification in placing Whakaau as the first month, followed by Unuunu. The further definite statement that the Pleiades (Matariki) (Table 21) are seen in Whakaau also proves that in the three-period classification Pipiri and Whakaau have been transposed in sequence, and the remarks concerning the Pleiades go with the month names. Whakaau should thus be the first month at the beginning of the Mata-tonga period and Pipiri the 13th month at the end of the Au-po period.
From astronomical observations it is known that the Pleiades are fairly high in the evening sky in the month of March, and they get lower and lower during April. E. H. Bryan informs me that in Hawaii, for the year 1931, they were last seen in the evening sky on May 7. They were in conjunction with the sun on May 20 and were not seen again until June 5, when they reappeared in the eastern sky before sunrise. The sequence of the appearance of the Pleiades as given in the above table was thus based on practical observation and fixes the times of the native months, but the European months given are only approximate, as the lunar months do not agree with calendar months. The lunar month which was divided between Pipiri and Whakaau covers part of May and part of June.
Any doubt as to the sequence between Pipiri and Whakaau is settled by the following from Aporo-ariki's book:
It is clear that the whakaauanga or morning rising of the Pleiades in June was the guide to the commencement of the year, in the month of Whakaau. The morning rising of the Pleiades is the only definite sign given by which the annual cycle of months could be inaugurated. Other stars are mentioned with each month, but they were merely seen in those months and there are no details concerning their appearance or disappearance as with the Pleiades. No mention is made of the Pleiades in the November-December period, so that the evening rising of that constellation was of no significance in the Rakahangan calendar. After Whakaau was inaugurated
tau marama or sequence of months followed automatically with the rising of each new moon. From an astronomical point of view, the morning rising of the Pleiades in June is much more definitely defined than the evening rising in November. In May the Pleiades disappear and cannot be seen at any time of the night. Their reappearance in June in the eastern sky before sunrise is thus the reappearance of that which was lost and is hailed with singing and dancing. According to the chant, the Pleiades represent the woman who descended into the pit of the setting sun in the west and who, after traveling around the tua-nuku (back of the earth), emerges again in the east scatheless after her great adventure and with her six eyes sparkling on the face of the dawn.
Both the native recorders, Haumata-tua and Aporo-ariki, in endeavoring to reconcile the Rakahangan 13-month cycle with the 12 European calendar months, wrote that though the old people (to tahito) stated that the long season consisted of 7 months, the meaning was 6 months and a part, and the short season of 6 months meant 5 months and a part. They then divided the calendar month of May between the two months Pipiri and Whakaau, giving each 15 days. In the use of the term May it may be inferred that the lunar month of May-June was meant. If, however, a full month of 30 days was divided regularly between two of a series of 13, and the remaining 11 were lunar months, the result would be a regular cycle of 12 lunar months with no system of intercalation. Such an interpretation is untenable.
As the short month, Pipiri, precedes Whakaau, it must commence with the new moon after the previous regular lunar month of Te Rehu, in which the Pleiades are descending. In Pipiri the Pleiades either sink below the western horizon or have disappeared. The following Whakaau month is indicated by the rising of the Pleiades, and as Pipiri is a short month, Whakaau cannot very well wait for the next new moon on all occasions. The problem is the division between Pipiri and Whakaau so that a system of intercalation may be possible. An indication is obtained from a statement by Best (2, p. 12) which shows that a similar system was known in New Zealand in addition to the one more widely used:
Tutakangahau, of Tuhoe, clearly explained the fact that in the Mataatua district the appearance of the Pleiades on the eastern horizon before sunrise was the sign awaited as a token of the new year. He made a peculiar statement that looks as though the year in that district commenced, or sometimes commenced, in the middle of the lunar month. If this was so it was a very singular procedure. He remembered that each month had thirty nights, but that the first month, Pipiri, had fifteen nights only “of its own,” its other fifteen nights formed half of the second month, Hongonoi. Hongonoi was composed of these fifteen nights and fifteen others “of its own.” The third and following months were made up in a similar manner. Unfortunately, I lost the
These remarks support the Rakahangan statements. Though Pipiri was the 1st month in the Maori calendar and the 13th month in the Rakahangan, they were both months evidently in the lunar month of May-June. In the Rakahangan calendar the rising of the Pleiades ended in the Pipiri month, and in the Mataatua calendar of New Zealand it commenced the Pipiri. It is significant that the Maori 13th month was also known as Te tahi-o-Pipiri.
As a working hypothesis based on the Rakahangan observations concerning the Pleiades, it is held that the morning rising of that constellation ended the Pipiri month and commenced the Whakaau. The Pleiades descend from the western sky on about May 7, which is in the month of Te Rehu. This is borne out by Table 22, except in the intercalated years. The next new moon after Te Rehu is taken as the commencement of Pipiri, which continues to June 4, whereas Whakaau commences with the morning rising of the Pleiades on approximately June 5 and finishes out the lunar month. In Table 22 the new moon commencements of the lunar months are given and, in parentheses, the number of days in Whakaau and Pipiri.
In the cycle 1927–28 the last month, Pipiri, commenced with the new moon on May 19, 1928, and ran to June 4, making a month of 17 days. The 1928–29 cycle commenced with Whakaau on the rising of the Pleiades on June 5, 1928, and finished out the lunar month to June 16, thus giving Whakaau 12 days. Thus the Pipiri of the previous cycle and Whakaau divided a lunar month of 29 days between them in respective proportions of 17 and 12, and not 15 and 15. The last month of the 1928–29 cycle commenced with the new moon of May 9, 1929, and ran for the long period of 27 days before the Pleiades rose. The Whakaau of the following cycle, 1929–30, thus had only 2 days before the next new moon rose to usher in
Unuunu on June 7. The short Whakaau in 1929 led to the early commencement of the last month of the cycle on April 28, 1930, and Pipiri ran a full lunar month of 30 days without being stopped by the rising of the Pleiades. Nothing now remained but to commence the next cycle of 1930–31 with Whakaau on the following new moon on May 28, 1930. In this month the Pleiades rose on the 9th night, but the Whakaau month ran on the orthodox manner after the rising of the Pleiades to the end of the lunar month of 29 days. The intercalation thus consisted of bringing the two short months of Pipiri and Whakaau up to the value of two lunar months, when the Pleiades did not rise in the lunar month commenced by Pipiri. The principle is similar to the New Zealand method of adding a 13th month when the Pleiades do not rise in the 12th month of the cycle. The intercalation restored the balance between the lunar months and the seasons. At the close of the 1930–31 cycle, Pipiri and Whakaau again divided a lunar month between them. Pipiri closed the cycle with a month of 19 days, whereas Whakaau commenced the 1931–32 cycle with the remaining 11 days.
In Table 23 the range of the Rakahangan lunar months has been worked out in sequence over a cycle of 19 solar years. The range is estimated from the earliest new moon to the end of the lunation commencing with the latest new moon. The exceptions are in the 1st and 13th months.
It is apparent that with the exception of split months and the intercalated 13th month, the month names in any Polynesian calendar have a range of 57 or 58 days in a cycle of 19 years. Some names, such as Takaonga, extend into three calendar months, as from October 30 to December 26. As, however, the month can only occupy two days of October at the most, October may be eliminated and the general grouping of Takaonga may be considered as November-December. The fallacy of attempting to identify
Whakaau is due to splitting the calendar month of May, when it was the lunar month range of May-June that should have been divided, May going to the 13th month, Pipiri, and June to the 1st month, Whakaau, of the next cycle.
It will be observed that at different periods in a 19-year cycle the second calendar month of one lunar month will become the first calendar month of the succeeding lunar month. Thus Paroro-mua (August to September) will at one period be in the calendar month of September and at another period the next lunar month of Paroro-muri (September to October) will also be in September. The coming of the tomore fish is associated with Paroro-mua; but if the fish comes regularly in the calendar month of September, the result will be, from a native point of view, that the tomore arrives in some years in Paroro-mua and in others in Paroro-muri. Such occurrences may have constituted one of the factors which led to variation in the sequence of similar lunar month names in different localities.
The Rakahangan information establishes a hitherto unrecorded method of correlating the lunar cycle with the Pleiades year. It is known from various writings that the lunar cycle was used throughout Polynesia and that in most areas the appearance of the Pleiades in the morning or evening sky gave the sign for the commencement of the new year. None of the early writers who had the opportunity of obtaining information from Polynesian astronomers have recorded how the Polynesians corrected their annual lunar cycle to prevent a dislocation of the seasons. Best (2) has recorded that the Maori year commenced with the first new moon after the morning rising of the Pleiades. He recorded lists of cycles of 12 months and some of 13 months. Though he did not follow the matter up, it may be inferred from his work that when the Pleiades did not rise in the 12th lunar month of the cycle, the Maoris had to delay the commencement of the next cycle for a whole lunar month. This meant the addition of an extra lunar month to the 12-month cycle. The intercalation of a 13th month was decided not by mathematical calculations but by the simple rule that the new year could not start until the first new moon after the morning rising of the Pleiades. The rule of not commencing the new year until the first new moon after the astronomical sign applies equally well if the evening
The Rakahanga system, if I have analyzed the evidence correctly, differs in that the new year commenced on the actual morning rising of the Pleiades. This led to the splitting of a lunar month with the result that the calendar was a constant 13-month cycle though the lengths of the two split months varied. Though the two months were contiguous and split one lunar month between them, they did not belong to the same cycle, one being the last of one cycle and the other being the first of a new cycle. The total of the two split months in the same cycle amounts to more than a lunar month. The total taken over a period of 19 years ranged from 31 to 49 days. Thus in the Rakahangan system a correction was made every year and the number of days in a year ranged from 356 to 372. The Rakahangan year was never more than 9 days longer or shorter than the solar year, whereas the New Zealand year varied from 11 days shorter to 19 days longer. Rakahanga resembles New Zealand in observing the morning rising of the Pleiades. The Rakahangan system of the constant split 13th month is more accurate than the intercalated 13th month attributed to New Zealand, but there are indications that the split 13th month was also known in New Zealand.
The navigation stars (te vairanga kaveinga) were listed as follows by
Tauira-te-ao
Tauira-te-marama
Tauira-te-etu (hetu)
Tauira-te-kaveinga
Tauira-rangi-o-Avatea
Etu-kura
Ngamau
Okianga
Matanui
The term “kaveinga” means “direction to steer by,” and was consequently applied to the European compass when it made its appearance. A star is hetu but is written as etu by Aporo. Star 7 should be Nga-mahu or Na-mahu. An explanation given to me was, “E rua Mahu, e rua ata.” (There are two Mahu, with two shadows.) It was applied to the Magellan clouds which pointed out the direction in which to steer between Rakahanga and Manihiki.
Stars of the month are given in Table 20. The appearance of the Pleiades is given on page 226. Another list gives Tautoru as seen in the Utuamua month, Te Ahura in Utuamuri, and Whaniu as the main star of the Pouri period extending from November to January.
A. Old-type house with side supporting posts and crossbeams, low eaves, and open walls with coconut leaf screens let down on left; sole survival of type, on Rakahanga.
B. Houses of Rarotongan type on Rakahanga, with lauhala thatch: 1, house with end sloping out to form veranda, closed walls of horizontal pieces of wood; 2, house with vertical ends and open walls, used as assembly house.
C. Thatching implements: 1, roof sheet needle (tuiau) of ngangie wood (C. 2811) (fig. 10); 2, thatching needle of ngangie wood (C. 2810) (fig. 11).
D. Hand graters (tuai) of pearl shell, front surface with grating edge up: 1 short grater (C. 2788) (fig. 20, a); 2, grater (C. 2784) with serrated edge, length, 6.5 inches and greatest width, 1.4 inches; 3, grater (C. 2783) with serrated edge, length, 7.1 inches and greatest width, 1.2 inches; 4, grater (C. 2785) with part of shell hinge included in grip end, length, 8.1 inches and greatest width, 1.6 inches.
E. Wooden food pounder (reru) with knobbed handle (C. 3020) (fig. 21).
A. Sitting mat (pora) of open leaflets plaited in check (C. 3074), from two midrib strips shown in back view of lower edge, finished above with spaced three-ply braid: width at top, 27 inches; width at bottom, 33 inches; depth, 20 inches.
B. Wall screen (pataro) or sitting mat (pataro noho) (C. 3109) formed of leaflets from both sides of unsplit midrib at lower edge: extra leaflets introduced; leaflets kept closed; horizontal rows of twilled-twos formed in lower part, followed by vertical twilled-twos, then horizontal twilled-fours and twilled-threes and finally check; side edges formed by upward half-turns on left and direct bends on right; three-ply braid finish at top commencing from left with braid tail tucked back on right; width at top, 30 inches; width at bottom, 35 inches; depth, 27 inches.
C. Oven cover (pataro umu) (C. 3108): twisted two-strip commencement with closed leaflets; technique from bottom, horizontal row of dextral check, horizontal sinistral twilled-two, horizontal dextral check, vertical twilled-twos, horizontal twill and finishing rows of check; three-ply braid finish at upper edge with braid tail tucked through plaiting on right; width at top, 18.5 inches; width at bottom, 30 inches; depth, 19 inches.
A. Large sitting mat (tapakau) (C. 3075) made of separate leaflets plaited in on either side of three-ply mesial braid 45 inches long: closed leaflets plaited in horizontal and vertical twills converted to check at outer edges and finished off with three-ply braid; under surface shown to illustrate mesial braid commencement; length of braid finishing edges, 42 inches; width of each half, 23 inches.
B. Large puraka cooking receptacle (raurau papa) (C. 3072): simple two-strip commencement, open leaflets, check plait; leaflet left out on either side to act as tying strip when upper end folded down over food; top finishing end has leaflets tied together in pairs; top width, 16 inches; bottom width, 11 inches; length, 22 inches; width of wefts, 1.2 inches.
C. Fish receptacle (raurau to ika) (C. 3069): roughly made from two strips with open leaflets in check; free leaflets left out on ends of midrib strips to serve as ties; ends of leaflets tied at upper end into overhand knots; depth and width, about 10 inches.
D. Small cooking receptacle (raurau kapukapu) (C. 3069): simple two-strip commencement, open leaflet, check plait; ends of leaflets brought around back of midrib strips in two sets after doubling receptacle over, and tied in reef knot; width, 9.5 inches; depth, 6.5 inches.
A. Serving platters, pite receptacles, and eye shade. 1, ordinary serving platter (raurau) (C. 3073): simple two-strip commencement, open leaflets, check plait, braid finish; bottom width, 12 inches; top width, 10 inches; depth, 13 inches. 2, fish platter (raurau rava ika) (C. 3064): simple four-strip commencement, open leaflet with pared edges, check plait, braid finish; bottom width, 12 inches; top width, 9 inches; depth, 15 inches; weft width, 0.6 inch or 0.7 inch. 3, modern plate platter (raurau mereki) (C. 3073): simple two-strip commencement, open leaflet, check plait, braid finish produced as two free tails which are tied behind midrib strips; 8 inches by 8 inches. 4, four-cornered receptacle (pite pupu) (C. 3069): simple two-strip commencement, open leaflet, check plait, braid finish; width, 8 inches; depth, 5 inches. 5, pointed receptacle (pite pahua) for Tridacna shellfish (C. 3070): technique similar to pite pupu, but point formed instead of corners; top width, 7.5 inches; depth, 7 inches. 6, eye shade (taumata) (C. 3071): midrib strip carrying six open leaflets, check plait; width, 17 inches; depth, 6 inches.
B. Round baskets, 1, introduced basket (tongini) (C. 3067): open leaflet, check plait, and single looped handle; rim dimensions, 13.5 inches by 10 inches; depth, 8.5 inches; width of wefts, 1.9 inches. 2, local basket (kete)
kete) (C.3065), botom view showing concentric narrowing by combining pairs of wefts as single elements: braid finish forms transverse line; rim diameter, 11 inches; greatest diameter below rim, 13.25 inches; depth, 6 inches.
A. Satchels. 1, coconut leaflet clothes satchel (kete ngahengahe): twilled technique with split leaflets braided together at rim and finished with threeply braid at bottom; ornamented with wrapped splints, tou bast, and pearl-shell pendants; bottom width, 12 inches; rim width, 9 inches; depth, 7.8 inches. 2, two-cornered lauhala satchel (C.3059): wefts, five to the inch; check plati with overlaid geometrical figures in red; serrated rim and single longitudinal handle; width, 10.5 inches; depth, 9.75 inches. 3, fine coconut leaflet satchel (C.3059):two-cornered, twill plait, serrated rim, transverse handle; modern note, insertion of colored ribbons and rosette ornamentation. 4, four-cornered lauhala satchel (C.3041): wefts, seven to the inch; check plait with overlaid geometrical figures; turned, even rim; single transverse handle; width of sides, 9.5 inches; widh of ends, 2 inches; depth, 5–5 inches. 5, four-cornered square lauhala satchel (C.2861), side view: wefts, six and a half to the inch; check plait with overlaid geometrical figures; seized rim; two longitudinal handles; rim, 7 inches square; dept, 5.75 inches. 6, four-cornered square lauhala satchel (C.2861), end view showing overlaid ornamentation of ends as well as sides.
B. Fans. 1, fan (C.3028) of white prepared coconut leaf: Plaite in twilled-twos, finished in check, end fringe of tou bast dyed red; lenght, 2.75 inches; wooden handle, 4.25 inches long, 0.6 inch in diameter, with distal prolongation 6.35 inches long, thinned down to diameter of 0.3 inch proximally and 0.2 inch distally to afford support for white wefts which are doubled around in at their middle and crossed above in check; plaited portion, 6.3 inches long mesially and 6.75 inches long at widest part. 2, back view of fan similar but slightly larger (C.3028): thinned distal prolongation of wooden handle projects beyond end of plaiting; plaiting, twilled-threes and twilled-twos. 3, two-section coconut leaf fan (C.3027):longer upper midrib section, 13.75 inches long with seven pairs of leaflets; shorter under midrib section, 10 inches long with six pairs of leaflet; leaflets crossed in check over front of upper midrib, plaited in twilled-twos on either side of midrib, and finished off at end in check; total lenght, 23 inches; greatest width, 10 inches.
A. Plaited poncho (tiputa) of lauhala: nine or ten wefts to the inch; width, 19 inches; depth in mesial line to neck, 16.25 inches; neck opening square, 8 inches wide and 4 inches deep in position shown; fringe of tou bast dyed red, 3.75 inches deep.
B. Kilt (tipora or mahere) of a plaited band 40 inches long and 2.75 inches deep: six wefts to the inch; check; overlaid dyed wefts; fringe of tou bast 2.75 inches deep on lower border and 1.5 inches deep on upper border; lower pendent lauhala strips, 13 inches long and 2.5 inches wide.
C. Lauhala sleeping mat (moenga): double wefts in check plaiting, pattern in overlaid plaiting of papa material dyed red; lenght, 9 feet 6 inches; width, 7 feet 10 inches.
A. Modern outrigger canoe of sawn planks, both ends pointed: two outrigger booms with float on left, right ends projecting beyond gunwale; indirect connection by means of two staves between booms and floats; bow and stern pieces to which ends of planks are nailed project above bow and stern covers; canoe small for one man, who is holding flying fish net.
B. Large modern plank outrigger canoe to seat two or more men: outriggerfloat turned to right for convenience in photographing; upward-projecting modern bow and stern posts; man in stern holds bamboo bonito rod and faces astern to illustrate method of bonito fishing.
C. Double canoe model (B.3475): three triangular sails and masts go with model; bows and stern reversed in the two canoes; elaborate inlay with pearl shell; lauhala bulwarks; lenght, 36 inches; width between outside gunwales, 9 inches; depth from ground level, bow, 8 inches and stern, 8.25 inches.
D. Bailer (C.3022): lenght, 10.5 inches; front width, 5.3 inches; back width, 5.9 inches; side depth in front, 3.5 inches; side depth at back, 4.3 inches; mesial back depth, 6 inches; thickness, 0.15 inch in front, increasing toward back to 0.5 inch; back meets bottom and sides at sharp angles and is 1.1 inches thick; handle projects forward from upper part of back in mesial line and is 6.9 inches long, 1.3 inches wide, and 1.7 inches thick.
A. Baited bag net (kupanga tata): hoop of ngangie wood about 14 inches in diameter; depth of net, 12 inches; suspensory cords from hoop; coral sinker.
B. Flying fish net (rupanga maroro) showing handle, frame, crossbar, and net (fig. 76).
C. Wooden netting needle (hika), 11.2 inches long (fig. 72).
A. Paddles (hoe) 1, front view of paddle (C. 2924) showing typical blade with shoulder angles and long point: total lenght 65 inches; blade lenght 31:25 inches; greatest blade with, 5.1 inches; greates width to handle jucnction, 4.5 inches; length of rib on back, 7.5 inches; 2, side view paddle (C. 1444) showing handle rib on back of upper part of blade, projection on back of point, and longitudinal point concavity: total length, 67–25 inches; blade length, 30.6 inches; greatest blade width, 5.4 inches; greatest width to handle junction, 5.2 inches; length of rib on back, 5.8 inches. 3, front view of paddle (C. 1446) showing pearl shell inaly of disces triangles: total lenght, 62.25 inches; blade lenght, 24.75 inches; greatest blade width, 5.15 inches; greatest width to handle junction, 3 inches; length of rib on back, 7.25 inches. 4, back view of paddle (6104) showing pearl-shell discs inlaid on handle rib: total lenght, 66 inches; blade length, 32.5 inches; greatest blade width, 4.8 inches; greatest width to handle junction, 9.1 inches; length of rib on back, 7.4 inches. 5, paddle probably erroneously attributed to Manihiki: total length, 68.5 inches; length of blade, 25.25 inches; greatest blade width, 9.6 inches; distance of greatest width from bottom, 4.5 inches; handle surmounted by flattened knob 2.1 inches wide and 1.1 inches thick; handle averages 1.5 inches in width and 1.4 inches in thickess and widens out to 2.8 inches at shoulders below, diminishes to 1.2 inches in thickness; blade, 2.3 inches wide at handle junction and 0.75 inch thick at side edges; blade diminishes in thickness in middle line from 1.2 inches at handle junction to 0.3 inch near lower end; side edges diminish in thickness from 0.75 inch at junction to average of 0.3 inch.
B.Pearl-shell hooks: 1, one-piece wide U-shaped hook (tope) (C. 2841) (fig. 83, a); 2, one-piece narrower U-shaped hook (matau riokio) (C.2844) (fig. 83, b); 3, one-piece circular hook (roma) (C.2843) (fig. 83, c); 4, bonito hook, back view, showing two lashings of point, width hackle secured by turns of second distal lashing; 5, bonito hook, side view, showin form of point with proximal projection and two holes for lashings to shank, snood loop passing around base of point, characteristic shape of shank head, hole and head lashing to snood, snood slack between point and head; 6, bonito hook, front view, showing snood passing along mesial line in front of shank, hackle removed on left side (figs. 86–88).
C. Ruvettus hooks: 1, small hook (C. 2806) with pearl-shell point and wide bend, snood of three-ply braid (fig. 80); 2, large hook (C. 2805) with
A. Short korare club (C. 3019) made of tou wood, inlaid with pearl sheel, and ornamented with three tassels of tou bast (fig. 109, b).
B. Long club (Am. Mus. Nat. History. S. 5113): pearl-shell discs inlaid and stuck on with some white substance: club fairly round in section but at head swells and is elliptical in section; total length, 60.5 inches; maximum width, butt, 3 inches and middle, 3.5 inches.
C. Adzes: 1, triangular adz (C. 2744) without tang, basalt cover with patina, 6 oz. (fig. 51); 2, tringular tanged adz (C. 2743), basalt covered with patin. 18 oz. (fig. 50); 3 quadrangular adz (C.2742) with tang and bilateral lugs, grey basalt, 46 oz, (fig. 52); 4, adz (C. 2767) of Tridacna shell, lashed to movavle socket to permit rotation of blade (figs. 54, 57); 5, adz (C.2768) of Tridacna shell, simple hafting (fig. 54, 56).
A. Double wooden gong (koriro) (6977): length of slot surface, 15.25 inches: width, middle of slot surface, 2.25 inches; width, ends of slot surface, 2.5 inches and 2.75 inches respectively; length of slot opening, 10 inches; width of slot opening, 0.9 inch to 1.1 inches; cavity depth, 2 inches; Ornamentation: six pearl-shell discs at either end, disc diameter, 0.4 inch: nicks cut on outer edges at ends, 17 to 20 nicks on each edge. side view: depth in middle, 5.1 inches; depth, ends, 5.2 and 5.4 inches; transverse longitudinal goroove midway down, constriction, 2.1 inches. Slot also on under surface of lower part.
B. Wodden gong (C. 2838): diameter from slot to bottom, 3.8 inches; cross diameter, 3 inches; ends slope down and outward outward slot surface, making upper length 14 inches and bottom length 16.5 inches; slot opening, 10.5 inches long and 1 inch wide; beating stick, 14.5 inches long, 0.9 inch in diameter, one end pointed.
C. Historical play, depicting discovery of Rakahanga; chief actor represents Huku, the discoverer; his body plastered over with light mud; wears headdress of netting and beard of coconut husk; plaited coconut leaf, supported as high as waist by cord passing over shoulder, represents canoe; coconut leaflet basket on ground represents upgrowth (topua) fished up from bottom of sea to become land; play took place on village road.