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The Maori possessed but few agricultural tools, and those were of the most primitive nature, hence any form of earthwork was tedious and laborious. Some of the tools used in earthwork were not suitable for agricultural work, but were utilised in the task of constructing the defences of a fortified village: such were the rapa maire and the koko. These are, however, included in our list below, so that all implements used in earthwork may be brought together. It will be observed that, in some cases, several names are applied to one implement.

List of Names of Earthworking Implements

Hangohango
Hengahenga	Said to be a form of hoe.
Hoto	Said to be the same as the tihou and puka.
Kaheru	Syn. Karehu. Wooden spade. Also applied to the ketu.
Ketu	Syn. Pinaki, Wauwau. A light cultivating tool.
Ko	The widely used digging stick.
Koko	Syn. Tikoko. Any tool used as a shovel or scoop.
Paketu	Probably the same as ketu.
Patupatu	A clublike clod breaker.
Pere or Tipi	A scuffle hoe.page 46
Pinaki, Ketu, or Wauwau. See Ketu.
Puka	A form of spade.
Rapa maire	A form of spade.
Takoko	A form of scoop or shovel.
Tihou
Timo, Timotimo or Tima.	A form of grubber.
Tirourou
Tokitoki
Tukari
Wauwau	Syn. Pinaki.

Williams' Maori Dictionary gives hangohango as "An implement for digging, and for setting potatoes, etc." Its form is unknown to the writer, but this may be a local name for some well known tool.

Williams gives hapara as a Maori word, a name for a spade, but some natives deny that it is an old native name for any digging implement. The Tuhoe natives apply it to the iron shovel, while they call our iron spades ho, presumably our word hoe. The evidence is against hapara being an old name for any tool. As a verb it means to slit or cut.

Hengahenga.—Said to have been the name of a form of hoe formerly used by natives in cultivation work. Several specimens of wooden hoes have been preserved, of which some account will be given. If a genuine pre-European implement then they were certainly not commonly used, even the name is yet uncertain. One collector applies the name toki kaheru to a stone implement, as though it had been used in earth work, perhaps as a grubber, but no corroboration of this name has been received. We have been told of a greenstone (nephrite) hoe that is said to be in the possession of a Wairarapa native family, and is viewed as a prized heirloom. A greenstone implement found at Titahi Bay, Porirua district, in 1911 may have been hafted and used as a hoe, but so valuable a material (in Maori estimation) would not be employed for such a purpose unless it was for the special purpose of gaining kudos for the owner thereof. This implement is of an unusually rounded form and carries a blade like that of a thick, badly ground axe. It is not an adze blade and could not be used as an adze for working timber. A groove has been formed near the poll as though to facilitate lashing to a handle. No illustration of it is available.

Parkinson speaks of the stone hoes of the Maori, but we have no satisfactory evidence that such tools were used. He may have seen some of the large stone adzes, and thought that they were hoes.

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In writing of native cultivation and methods of turning or loosening the soil, Dieffenbach remarks—"Sometimes a hoe is used formed of Lydian or greenstone, fixed to a handle. It is called a toki." A native correspondent says that a stone hoe, termed a toki hengahenga was used in former times to a limited extent. Some implement called a toki henahena (the Matatua dialect drops the "g") is mentioned in certain Tuhoe ritual. The toki referred to by Dieffenbach may be the toki kaheru referred to above. The light form of kaheru or wooden spade was certainly used as a scuffle hoe or Dutch hoe, but evidence as to the use by natives of the ordinary hoe hafted as is a mattock or grubber is not conclusive. A wooden blade in the Dominion Museum looks much like a hoe blade, but it is not an old specimen.

Mr. E. C. Goldsmith, in his description of Mayor Island (Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, Vol. 17, p. 417), writes as follows of the Ruamata pa (fortified position)—"The ditch which cuts it off from the main island is very deep, and must have been hard work for the natives to excavate with their primitive spades of obsidian." Now we have no proof that obsidian spades were ever used, indeed so brittle is that material that it could only be employed in working soft substances.

Hoto.—The hoto is a "wooden spade" according to Williams' Maori Dictionary. The late Mr. John White stated that hoto, tihou and puka are all names applied to one implement, in which case puka is probably an old spade name. It was made of maire (a species of Olea), a remarkably hard wood, somewhat in the form of our European iron spades, and hence must be the same as the tool called a rapa maire in some parts. It was used for digging purposes, in constructing earthwork defences, and also as a shovel. As described by Hari Hemara and W.B. of Waikato the hoto was in form much like our spade (See Fig. 3, p. 48) with a longer handle having a knob at its end. The blade was wide, some as wide as 14 inches it is said, and flat, but having a raised rim or edge on either side, as shown by the cross section. Handle and blade were made in one piece of seasoned heart of matai (Podocarpus spicatus), the helve in some cases being adorned with a band or bands of carved designs. A fine specimen was presented to Dr. Hochstetter when he visited this country, and which is probably now in the Vienna Museum. This tool was used as a shovel in shifting loose earth. These authorities maintain that the hoto and puka were two totally distinct tools, as will be seen by referring to the illustrations kindly supplied by W.B.

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Exhibit No. 2481 in the Dominion Museum would (See Fig. 4, p. 50) probably be termed a hoto or koko by natives. It is a shovel with a rounded scoop like blade, and a straight handle. It is, however, of very modern make, and has never been used. Its full length is 4 feet 11 inches. The blade is 1 foot 4 inches long and 6½ inches wide. The handle is round and has a carved design on the end, as also two bands lower down; the timber is white maire. The "dish" of the concave blade is 1⅛ inches. See Fig. 4 (p. 50). In Vol. II. of his Ancient History of the Maori, Mr. White gives hoto as the equivalent of taparau, a spade like implement mentioned at p. 76 of that work.

Kaheru.—This name was applied to several forms of wooden spades, and also to the light cultivating tool known also as a ketu, wauwau, etc.

In order to avoid confusion we will retain the name ketu for the latter, and that of kaheru for the spade like implement. These tools were not used for heavy work, as breaking up or heavy digging, but merely for lighter cultivation work, as loosening soil, weeding, the various operations embraced in the comprehensive native term ngaki.

We have three forms of the kaheru to consider—the spade like form with a short blade, a long bladed form somewhat resembling the ko, and a form having a triangular blade.

A specimen of the short blade kaheru, dug from a swamp at New Plymouth, is illustrated in the Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 16, p. 99; it is seen in Fig. 5 (p. 48).

In referring to the specimen found at New Plymouth, Mr. W. H. Skinner says:—"The kaheru … was found by Heta Ruru whilst draining a portion of his land at Moturoa, New Plymouth … the kaheru was found about three feet below the present surface. It is made of maire wood and is in excellent preservation. This class of instrument was used for the "hilling up" and cultivation of the precious kumara. In breaking up ground in the first instance, and bringing it into rough order, the ko was used, after which the soil was further worked by other implements, and then the kaheru was utilised for the forming up of the small mounds in which the kumara (sweet potato) were set, and for the gentle working of the soil whilst the plants were developing and coming to maturity. An immense amount of labour and careful tending was given to the cultivation of this most valuable of Maori food plants. In former days, I am informed by the old natives, this implement was in universal use along the Taranaki coast belt, where the kumara was extensively cultivated.

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So far, very few specimens of this native spade have been found in the Taranaki district, and those examples are of an inferior workmanship compared with the one now shown, which is a fine example of its kind. All previous examples, like the one under review, have been dug up in draining swampy ground."

This New Plymouth specimen is evidently formed from one piece of timber, cut out of the solid, blade and handle. The blade is much rounded at its lower corners, doubtless from long use. See Fig. 6-7 (pp. 48 and 50).

The writer of the above gives a specimen of the songs sung by native workers while using the above spade in their cultivation grounds.

Mr. T. H. Smith in his paper On Maori Implements and Weapons (Trans. N.Z. Institute, Vol. 26, p. 426, 1893), says:—"The spade and plough of the Pakeha [European] have entirely superseded the ko and the kaheru, which was an implement used by the Maori for such work as would now be done with the hoe, shovel and rake. It was made of hardwood also, as indeed were all Maori implements used in tilling the ground. It was, I believe, used for loosening and levelling the surface of the ground in preparation for planting, for removing weeds, and for various other purposes." These remarks are applied, presumably, to the kaheru.

The kaheru used on the eastern shores of the Bay of Plenty was about two feet in length, and made from a piece of manuka hardwood, hardened by fire. It was used for general purposes, including the lifting of a crop. They were also used by the Whanau a Te Ehutu clan when they went to Whakaari (White Island), digging out the kuia (a seabird) from their holes. This was probably the ketu or pinaki form.

The Rev. R. Taylor states that a special kaheru, or spade, was made to dig a grave with. It was rendered tapu by having certain charms repeated over it. In modern times, European spades have come into use for this purpose, but a spade so used is never again employed for any other purpose, but is left at the burial place.

Hari Wahanui of Otorohanga stated that, when European spades first became known, the natives made wooden ones in the same form, but this they seem to have done in pre-European times, though the handles of these latter implements were merely straight shafts lacking a specially formed hand clutch. Hari also said that natives used to reclaim old iron spade blades, that had been discarded by Europeans, and fit them with long, straight, shaft-page 52like handles about four feet in length, so that little stooping was necessary when using them.

The lighter forms of kaheru were often termed pere or tipi. This implement was equivalent to our Dutch hoe, or scuffle hoe, which the manipulator thrusts from him in weeding and soil loosening operations. These were light tools, as are our implements designed for a similar use, and, in many cases, the blade was detachable, being of spade-like form and secured to a straight handle by lashing. The blade was a piece of hardwood worked down to a light, handy form, and having a thin cutting edge, such a detachable blade had a projection at its upper end to serve as a means of attachment to its handle, as shown in Fig. 2, P1. XXXVII. of Maori Art. These tools are generally alluded to now as kaheru, for most natives have forgotten many old names, and Europeans did not trouble to collect or record names of objects of minor importance. Thus a writer on Maori implements has remarked that the minor agricultural implements "scarcely require special notice," a statement that the present writer cannot agree with.

The only hafted specimen of this implement in the Dominion Museum has a long handle, but we are informed that some were provided with shorter handles and were used by women while squatting in their favourite position for such work, viz., with buttocks resting on heels; they did not sit on the ground as stated in Maori Art. One sees natives now using light steel spades in the same manner.

The implement referred to is No. 1808 of the Dominion Museum collection. (See Fig. 6, p. 48.) This is a light tool, the full length of which is 5 feet 6 inches. The handle and blade are separate pieces, and the blade is very much older than the handle. The latter is made of matai wood and there was no doubt formed with steel tools; its slimness shows that the tool could only have been used for light work; its thickness is 1⅛ inches near the blade, and ¾ inch. near the knobbed upper end. The blade appears to be a piece of maire wood, a very hard and durable timber. It is evidently very old, and may be a relic from stone tool days, as it was dug up from a swamp, wherein such an object might survive for centuries. This blade is much worn, and a piece has been broken out near what looks like a blind knot. It bears evidence of having been well and carefully fashioned; its length is 7½ inches, but may have been considerably reduced by wear. Breadth 6⅝ inches, and thickness 5-16 inch. A narrow continuation of the blade timber projects 6 inches, and is flattened on one side, to page 53which tang the long handle is fitted and lashed. A boss on the upper part of the blade imparts strength to the junction. The lower end of the handle overlaps the blade 1½ inches, thus giving the appearance of a double boss. The handle is quite round in cross section, and is neatly lashed to the blade tang.

These light hoes were not used for any digging or other heavy work, for which indeed they were quite unsuited. The name tipi applied to them is evidently derived from the verb tipi, the meaning of which is to pare or pare off. The other name applied to them, pere, is allied to pere "to throw, project," that is to project endwise, as an arrow or dart is cast. We also have the verb perepere "to clear off," as weeds, but only used in connection with an implement used endwise.

In Fig. 7 (p. 50), we see two of these detachable spade blades, and in both cases the tang has been carefully fashioned to accommodate the lashing, this is clearly seen in the photographs. The smaller specimen A. is of the usual size, it is in the Auckland Museum. The larger specimen, B., is in the Whanganui Museum; it is 22 inches long and 6½ inches wide, an unusually long detachable blade. The Auckland specimen was found buried in a swamp in the Waikato district. So many highly interesting and well preserved wooden artifacts have been found in swamps that it is slowly dawning upon us that our swamps are the best museums we have on this island, and that Hine-i-te-huhi, the Swamp Maid, is a more efficient curator than some upper world museums possess.

Regarding the peculiar form of wooden spade having a triangular blade, or pointed blade, we have information showing that it was used in the Waikato district and also on the East Coast. Karaka Tarawhiti, of Huntly, informs us that the form of kaheru used by his people in former times had a pointed blade of maire or akeake, and that the hand hold at the upper end of the handle was a looped contrivance made of the pliant stems of the kareao or supplejack (Rhipogonum scandens). A rough sketch of this implement made by our informant shows a curious tool, but there is some evidence to corroborate the above statement as to its form of blade. When enquiring the names of stars from natives the writer was once informed that the peculiarly shaped constellation Hyades was known as Mata kaheru (spade blade), its form being that of the blade of the native spade. At the same time it seems probable this form was confined to certain areas or tribes, and was by no means a universal usage. It was certainly employed page 54in the Waikato district and by the Ngati-porou folk. In pre European days it probably had a plain, straight handle, the hand clutch mentioned by Tarawhiti looks like a modern innovation. A kaheru with triangular blade and having a hand clutch precisely similar to that of a modern English spade is described by a correspondent at Waipiro, East Coast. A similar implement was forwarded to the Dominion Museum by a native at Huntly, Waikato. This form of handle I believe to have been copied from the introduced English spade, and do not believe that it was a pre European usage. This tool was used in forming, the puke or small mounds in which the kumara was planted, a process described by the term tuahu, and doubtless for other purposes. Ngati-Porou natives state that it was made of maire wood and that the blade was slightly dished. Waikato natives say that either maire or akeake was used. Fig. 8 (p. 55) shows this peculiar form of spade.

In his journal of 1819 the Rev. S. Marsden writes:—"The women turned over the ground with sticks about two feet long and as thick as a broom handle. They wrought hard but made little progress in cultivation for want of proper tools." Again he states that he saw natives using wooden spades with long handles, "the mouth made about the same size of an English spade," as also "small spatulas about three feet long." These were for working ground that had previously been broken up. He remarks that the "spatulas" were called kahedu (kaheru), but does not describe their form, and states that the ko was employed for breaking up new ground. The spatulas were probably the paddle shaped ketu, termed kaheru in the Ngapuhi district. Maning terms the kaheru a weed exterminater.

In 1881 Mr. Colenso exhibited "a very large flat white bone, artificially shaped into something like the form (and size) of the blade of a garden spade, measuring, extreme length 16 inches; breadth, at its broadest end 7 inches, and four lines in thickness, which is very uniform throughout; the broad end is bevelled down to a cutting edge, and the sides are square. This bone was found last year (1880) in the forest, near to the public works on the railway line at Kopua, lying under 10-12 feet of earth…. It seeems to be made out of the bone of a whale."

The following note was contributed by the late Tuta Nihoniho, of the Ngati-Porou tribe of the East Coast, an enthusiastic contributor:—The kaheru was made of hardwood, maire if procurable, handle and blade in one piece. Some were about five feet in length, others much shorter, two or two and a half feet, the latter being used in ngaki or cultivating operations, the manipulator being in a squatting position. The longer one was used much as we use a spade or scuffle hoe to loosen weeds so that they may be pulled up. Sometimes a teka or footrest was secured to the larger kaheru (as with a ko) and it was used to loosen the earth, though the Maori did not turn the soil over as Europeans do in digging. The patupatu was used to break up clods. In Fig. 9 (p. 50) we see three light cultivating tools, two of which would be called kaheru in some districts. The central one is clearly a kind of hybrid form related to the true ko, on the one hand, and the long bladed kaheru on the other. The specimen to the right is a light form of ko. Detachable foot rests were used with these implements. The specimen to the left is but 4 ft. in length while the central one is 6 ft. long, its elongated blade being 3⅝ ins. wide. All three are in the Whanganui Museum.

Tuta also explained that the form of kaheru or spade to which a footrest was attached by lashings, was not the implement resembling our spade in form, but had a narrower and longer blade. This blade lacked defined shoulders in many cases, and decreased gradually in width until it merged into the round, oval, or flattened handle. This tool was used for digging purposes in loose soils, that is in loosening soil, not turning it over as we do. By means of the footrest the tool was forced into such soils, the ko being used for hard soils and breaking up. The above mentioned authority mentioned that, in his youth, he saw one of these kaheru that was provided with a footrest cut out of the same piece of timber.

A specimen of these singular implements having an elongated blade is No. 2653 in the Dominion Museum (See Fig. 10, p. 55). This is a light form of tool, evidently used without any form of footrest. The wood is probably manuka (Leptospermum.) Its length is 4 ft. 8 ins. The blade is 6¼ ins. wide at its widest part and merges into the handle at 2 ft. from the lower end, the handle page 57being round and ranging from 1¼ ins. to ¾ in. in thickness. The lower part of the blade is ¼ in. thick, increasing to ½ in. at its upper part. The blade has a raised edge on both sides ⅛ in. thick at the lower end and ¼ in. higher up. These rims are ½ in. wide and flat topped, which surfaces are adorned with carved designs of somewhat unusual style, and of rude execution. So little prominence has been given to these rims that they may have been left merely to impart strength to the blade, and not with the idea of using the tool as a shovel. The blade has been split at some time and two holes have been pierced with some rude implement on either side of the split to accommodate lashings. The upper end of the handle is carved into the form of a human head of the usual grotesque form. The implement is undoubtedly an old one, shows signs of use, and has apparently been preserved by burial in swamp or earth. It is in such artifacts as this represented in Fig. 10 (p. 55) that we may note the evidence of the artistic sense of the neolithic Maori. Here we have an old implement, an agricultural tool, adorned with carved designs. This adornment must have been the result of a desire to please the eye of the owner, a gratification of his artistic tastes. This is noted in connection with many objects, some of which are paraphernalia seldom seen by any person save the owner.

Fig. 12 (p. 55) shows another hardwood tool, evidently old, and of stronger make than the three preceding ones. Its chief peculiarity is its length of blade, which is abnormal, hence it closely resembles the puka of Waikato. Its total length is 5 ft. 1 in. and length of blade 2 ft. 9 ins., width of blade 5 ins. The lower part of the blade is slightly curved longitudinally, which, however, may not have been an original feature. Lower end of blade nearly ½ in. thick, cutting edge much worn and blunted; upper part somewhat thicker; flat throughout. The handle shows a pronounced curve just above the blade, as seen in some of our modern shovels, and its upper end shows an enlargement nearly 4 ins. long, which may or may not have served as a handgrip. It seems scarcely likely that this tool was made, solely at least, for light cultivation work, in which so long a blade would possess no advantage. Quite likely it was used for trimming batters, as of scarps, pits, and fosses. This implement is No. 1321 in the Dominion Museum Collection.

In No. 1320 Dominion Museum register, we see a modern implement of rougher finish, though made with steel tools; a type with which a footrest was sometimes used. Its length is 4 ft. 10 ins., widest part of blade 3¾ in. This tool illustrates the careless work done in post-European times; the pride of the old time artisan in his work is a highly interesting subject, but that pride gradually decreased as the social system of the Maori became weakened, as a result of contact with Europeans. With regard to this No. 1320 referred to above, I found that the tool had been mislaid since it was described, hence no illustration of it is available. (It has since been refound in the Museum's collection.)

In Fig. 13 (p. 50) we have a very singular form, inasmuch as it is all blade, save a short handgrip at the upper end. Assuredly only the lower part of the blade would be of any service in delving or soil loosening operations, hence one marvels at the blade length. Any tool that is used with both hands needs a long handgrip, but in this case the lower hands finds no suitable grip on the wide and flat shaft. One can only surmise that the maker knew what he was about, and so fashioned his implement as to render it suitable for his purposes. This thin blade tool could be used only for light work. This specimen is No. 1746 in the Dominion Museum Collection.

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Fig. 14 (p. 58) is a genuine tool that has been service in the field, as shown by the chafe of the footrest on the front of the blade. Three notches on either side of the lower part of the blade provided accommodation for the now missing footrest. Decay has sloughed off the point or lower extremity. The total length is 6 ft. 7 ins., of which 2 ft. covers the flattened blade, and 6 ins. the carved design at the top. The blade is 3½ in. wide at the broadest part, flat on the back and rounded transversely in front, and the whole implement is curved longitudinally; handle smoothed by use. This tool is a sort of connecting link between the short kaheru and the long and strong breaking up ko. Fig 14 (p. 58) represents No. 1403 in the Dominion Museum.

Fig. 15 (No. 2001) (p. 58) is another implement not easy to classify, having a long shovel like blade and a fairly long handle. It may have been used as a shovel for such work as filling baskets with gravel or earth, as in obtaining gravel for a cultivation, and in constructing defensive earthworks. It is certainly very old, and bears the appearance of a swamp preserved derelict; the wood is probably matai. Its total length is 4 ft. 7 ins. Length of blade 1 ft. 6 ins.; width of blade 5 in. The blade is hollowed out, its side rim projecting some ⅝ in., point broken off except in one place, which shows original edge. The shaft is oval in cross section. An old and interesting specimen. This tool is in the Dominion Museum.

A shapely implement is seen in Fig. 16 (p. 55). This form closely resembles modern iron spades so far as the blade is concerned; it is, nevertheless, an old type, very old specimens of which have been found buried in swamps. In this case we have no detachable blade, for shaft and blade have been cut out of the solid, no inconsiderable task when performed by means of rude stone tools. The tool is a light one designed for light work among growing crops, weeding and soil loosening operations; it is No. 2400 in the register of the Dominion Museum. It has, unfortunately, been mislaid, hence I cannot give its dimensions.

In Fig. 17 (p. 59) we have a form known as a rapa maire; it represents No. 464 in the Dominion Museum. It is quite a modern specimen, made by Paitini of Ruatahuna (Tuhoe tribe) who, however, maintains that it is a replica of the old implement formerly used in that district. It much resembles the puka described above, and would probably be so termed by Waikato natives. Its length is 4 ft. 10 ins. of which the blade takes 1 ft. 8 ins. The handle is round and 1½ ins. thick. The blade is 7¼ ins. wide at the lower end and 6½ ins. at its upper part; thickness ⅝ in., square page 64edged on sides. The timber is maire (Olea lanceolata). Rapa is the name of the blade of a spade; the word maire simply denotes that it was formed from a piece of that timber, the best being made from roots of the tree. The blade was of considerable size, and it seems to have been used for digging purposes, and also as a shovel, though not for cultivation work. It was a favoured implement in the labour of terracing and scarping fortified hills, in excavating fosses and drains, etc.

We are indebted to the Curator of the New Plymouth Museum for photographs of some interesting old specimens of wooden implements of the kaheru type in that institution, as seen in Fig. 17a (p. 60). No. 1 specimen is 6 ft. in length and represents a form to which a removable step was attached. In No. 2 we see a somewhat similar tool that is 4 ft. 11 ins. in length, it was possibly longer originally. The footrest appears to have been fashioned from the solid, i.e., from the same piece of timber as the shaft. No. 3 is 4 ft. in length, and the blade thereof 3 ins. in width, and 15 ins. long. No. 4 is nearly 3 ft. 7 ins. long; its blade being 1 ft. 2½ ins. long and 5⅘ in. wide. Nos. 4-5-7 are by no means common forms of these short hafted implements. No. 5 is 3 ft. 5 ins. in length, and its blade is 3⅘ in. wide. No. 6 looks like one of the long shafted kaheru already described, but its length is given as but 3 ft. 3 ins. the blade being 3⅘ ins. wide and 9⅗ ins. long. No. 7 is nearly 2 ft. 7 ins. long and its blade 4⅕ ins. wide. These specimens bear the aspect of age.

In Fig. 17b (p. 59) are shown two implements in the New Plymouth Museum. That marked A is 7 ft. 3 ins. long; its blade being 3 ft. 2½ ins. in length and 4 in. wide. It is essentially a cultivating tool, a light form of ko, or kaheru. It carries two small slots at the lower end of the blade to accommodate the lashings of the detachable step. A neatly fashioned implement. In B we have an old specimen that is here represented on account of the carefully carved designs on the shaft. These unfortunately, do not come out well in the photograph.

Fig. 18 (p. 55) shows us the puka type of spade, as known at Waikato. This name is confused with those of hoto and tihou by some writers, but our Waikato authorities referred to in remarks on the hoto show the puka and hoto to be two distinct forms, the latter being a shovel with short blade, and the former a long bladed spade, as shown in the illustrations forwarded by them (See Figs. 3 and 18, pp. 48, 55). This puka resembles the tool called a rapa maire in the Bay of Plenty district, and it is quite clear that imple-page 65mentsof similar form were known by different names in various districts. The peculiarities of the puka described by our Waikato correspondents are its length of blade, and its peculiar form, inasmuch as, not only its lower end, but also its sides, are worked to a fine edge. The cross-section shows a flat back to the blade, while its front surface is rounded. It is said to have been much used for the purpose of trimming the batters of escarpments in fortified hill villages, and the scarps of defensive fosses.

Colenso seems to imply that puka was a name for iron spades, so called by natives on account of the blades thereof resembling the great leaf of the puka tree (Meryta Sinclairii). The resemblance, if any, can scarcely be termed a striking one, and the Waikato evidence tends to support the view that puka is an old native spade name, though not in general use in all districts. As explained here it can scarcely be termed an agricultural tool, but it was a form of spade, hence it is included in our list. In trimming down a batter face the flat side of the blade would be next that face, and the convex side outward. These tools, shaft and blade, were cut out of the solid.

We have now to deal with the small paddle-like tool called a ketu that was formerly so much used by tillers of the soil. The ketu is, as we have seen, termed kaheru in some districts. It is a small, shapely, neat little cultivating tool, and handier for its peculiar purpose than other native agricultural implements are for theirs. It seems clear that these tools have been modelled in the form of the canoe paddle, which they closely resemble. The sharp point of the blade was peculiarly suited to the work of loosening the soil around the kumara plants, an operation that was performed when the crop was weeded. This work was performed by the Maori in a squatting position, not in one of stooping or sitting. One often sees native women using small steel spades in a similar manner. Even now, after long years of work with European tools, many natives appear awkward in using a steel spade, as in digging operations. They thrust the spade into the soil at a very low angle, thus turning but a shallow spit.

The ketu was sometimes used in the labour of taking up the kumara crop. Its narrow, long pointed blade was an excellent instrument wherewith to loosen the soil, and the tubers were then picked out with the hands, thus but few of them were bruised by the tool. This was highly desirable, for the least bruising of the surface of this tender product would cause decay to set in. Waikato natives tell us that agricultural tools were formed from maire (an page 66Olea), ake (Dodonoea viscosa), manuka (Leptospermum), and matai (Podocarpus spicatus), whatever hardwoods were obtainable. Lashing material was usually aka, tough, durable and pliant stems of climbing plants, cordage of Phormium fibre being seldom used, as it chafes readily and is not so durable.

In describing the care of the kumara crop in former times, Archdeacon Walsh says:—"One weeding was considered sufficient, and it was done in the dry summer weather by a party made tapu for the occasion, and armed with small wooden spades shaped something like a short paddle."

In L'Horne's Journal of De Surville's voyage, as given in Vol. 2 of McNab's Historical Records of New Zealand, appears the following:—"Their implements for ploughing the ground are in proportion to the little use they make of this art, as they only cultivate very small patches of ground. They have only two implements, and these are very primitive. One is an implement shaped like a trowel, the other is also wooden and shaped like a grubber, and about 2 ft. or 3 ft. in length." The first of these was probably the paddle shaped tool termed a ketu, and the grubber the tima. Apparently this writer did not see the ko, the most universally used of all native agricultural tools.

The Rev. S. Marsden gives, in his journal, some account of the work of a party of natives in a northern cultivation. Some were breaking up the ground "with a sort of wooden spatula," or wooden spade, to plant their sweet potato. All these natives were extremely anxious to obtain iron hoes, of which Marsden had brought a supply. "They were ready to tear us to pieces for hoes and axes. One of them said his heart would burst if he did not get a hoe."

Fig. 19 (p. 61) shows No. 1962 in the Dominion Museum Collection. It is a ketu apparently of considerable age, and a good specimen of this class of tool. It is 2 ft. 6 ins. long, blade 2⅜ in. wide at its broadest part. This blade is fashioned as is that of a paddle, having one side flat and the other rounded, the edges being thin and centre of blade 7-16 in. in thickness. The side view shows a faithful copying of the peculiar curve of a paddle handle as it merges into the blade. The ribbed surfaces of this implement show that they have been scraped after the tool was hewn into form.

No. 1963, Fig. 19 (p. 61) shows a similar tool, of smaller size its length being but 2 ft.; a neatly made little tool made of manuka, and of considerable age.

Fig. 20 (p. 61) presents a form of ketu seen in wooden tools, but this is peculiar on account of its having been fashioned from page 67a piece of bone, presumably that of a whale, of which material the Maori made implements of various kinds. This specimen appears to belong to two different periods. The lower part, nearly 2 ft. in length, carries the signs of age and use, but to this has been spliced an extra piece of similar bone in order to lengthen the handle. This has been effected by means of a neat double scarf some 5 ins. in length, secured by screws, evidently a work of the steel age. The blade, however, and lower part of the shaft, are seemingly old. The full length is 2 ft. 8 ins., and length of blade 10 ins. The handle is oval in cross section. This tool is No. 463 in the Dominion Museum.

Hari Wahanui of Otorohanga says that he knows this implement as a pinaki, and that his people fashioned them from the hard wood of the maire (Olea sp.).

Fig. 21 (p. 59) shows two small ketu or wauwau, the kind used by persons engaged in loosening soil round the plants of kumara, and also in taking up crops. One is of the paddle shaped form, the other is simply a pointed round stick. These are from the Wairoa H.B. district, where both forms are termed wauwau. The small round implement was much used in taking up the potato (Solanum) crop before iron spades became plentiful among the natives. These are the smallest specimens of such implements in the Dominion Museum.

Wauwau is the name applied by the Tuhoe tribe to any pointed stick used in loosening earth, as in excavation of fosses. The Wairoa H.B. natives apply this name to the short paddle shaped tools called ketu, pinaki taru, and kaheru in various districts. The Tuhoe people use the term in the same manner. It was formerly used for cultivation work and in taking up the sweet potato crop. One from the Wairoa district is but about 15 ins. in length. They were often fashioned from mapara in the Wairoa district, that is from the hard, resinous heartwood of the white pine. A short pointed wooden implement, cylindrical and about a foot long was called by the same name at the Wairoa; it was used in digging up the potato (Solanum) crop. This is shown in the shorter specimen in Fig. 21 (p. 59), the other implement being a small form of ketu, that has been mislaid, hence its length cannot be given.

A form differing from the paddle-shaped ketu is shown in Fig. 22a (p. 68). In blade form this specimen resembles Fig. 20, and these implements do not present the symmetrical appearance that marks the shapely paddle form.

Ko.—In the ko we see the best known and (formerly) the most widely used of all native agricultural tools. Its peculiar form has led to the preservation of a considerable number in our museums and elsewhere. This was the last of the old earth working tools to be given up by the Maori, and the writer has seen it in use in the forest lands of Ruatahuna as late as the year 1900.

Mr. Colenso has left us the following brief paragraph on the agricultural tools of the Maori:—"Their implements of agriculture were made of hardwood, and were few in number. The principal one was a ko, a rude kind of narrow and pointed spade with a very long handle, to which, at about eighteen inches or more from the point, they fitted a small crooked bit of carved wood, as a rest for the foot. Much smaller implements of a similar shape were used for digging around the plants and for breaking the clods; these last they used in a sitting or squatting posture."

In Fig. 23 (p. 69) we see ten implements of the Auckland Museum collection. The two on the left, and that on the extreme right, would be termed kaheru by most natives, while No. 4 from the left might be termed either a kaheru or a cultivating ko. The other six are all ko, some of the breaking up type, others of the cultivating form.

It is clear that this primitive form of digging stick had a very wide range in former times, nor can this fact be wondered at when we note its extreme simplicity. It is identical with the old Highland spade. In Ure's Agriculture of Dumbarton, 1794, at p. 39 we read:—"The simplest and probably the first kind of agricultural instrument in the world is still in use in parts of Scotland. It is called the Highland spade. This rude instrument is a strong stick about 6 ft. in length; the shaft is round, and bended a little for the page 71sake of purchase. The head or lower part is about 14 ins. long, and 4 to 6 ins. broad. This is furnished with a plate of iron that covers the fore part about 6 or 8 ins. up, but behind it does not reach above 2 or 3 ins. The notch in which the foot is placed in time of delving is on the right side and is commonly very narrow." The iron shoe is of course a modern improvement. Another remark in Ure's work is interesting. He says that Highland spades are found to be of great utility in cultivating small pieces of ground on the declivities of hills, to which the plough cannot have access. "It is the common practice for eight or ten men and women to assemble with their spades for the purpose of digging a piece of ground, and it is amazing with what speed they accomplish their work. They begin at the lower extremity of the ground, and form themselves into a row at a convenient distance from one another. They cut with their spades a line in the ground, 9 or 10 ins. deep, and then, with one united effort, throw over at once a furrow or piece of ground about 18 or 20 ft. in length and 8 or 10 ins. in breadth." Now this is precisely the method adopted by the Maori in breaking up work, as when digging aruhe or fern roots, the rhizomes of Pteris aquilina var esculenta, so much used as a food supply in former times. By the combined effort of several men a mass of hard tenacious earth was thrown over in bulk by the leverage obtained from a number of ko driven into the earth, the tools being sunk to the required depth by means of a punching process, as we form a hole with a crowbar. The compact mass overthrown was then separated by using the tools in a similar manner, after which the smaller pieces were broken with lighter implements and pulverised with wooden clubs, while the roots were picked out and put aside. In Fiji, when preparing ground for the yam crop, three or four men worked together. Facing each other they punch their digging sticks into the earth in the form of a circle, and so by leverage loosen the enclosed mass of earth. The Maori seems to have preferred to work single handed, each man loosening and raising (but not overturning) a small area of earth for each puke or hill in which the kumara tubers were set. After ground had been once worked the ko could be inserted by means of pressure on the footrest.

Williams, in his Fiji and the Fijians tells us that the digging stick used by the natives resembles the handle of a hay fork in size and length, and is sharpened at one end. In using them the men work in threes or fours. He says "They drive them into the ground so as to enclose a circle of about 2 ft. in diameter. When, by repeated strokes, the sticks reach the depth of eighteen inches, they page 72are used as levers, and the mass of soil between them is thus loosened and raised." Apparently these Fijians used no form of footrest on their digging sticks.

Commander Wilkes wrote of Fijian methods as follows:—"The digging of the ground was performed with a long pointed pole, which they thrust into the ground with both hands, and by swinging on the upper end they contrived to raise up large pieces of the soil, which was quite hard."

The Zuni pueblo folk of New Mexico used a similar implement, but more primitive than the Maori ko, being a natural branch pointed and flattened, and having a projecting limb base for a footrest. The digging sticks of California were weighted with perforated stones.

In describing the pursuits of a native of Rarotonga, John Williams says:—"The substitute he used for a spade in tilling the ground was an instrument called the ko, which is a piece of iron-wood, pointed at one end."

The ko was also used in the Tongan Group. Cook writes as follows concerning it:—"The instruments they use ... are nothing more than pickets or stakes of different lengths, according to the depth they have to dig. These are flattened and sharpened to an edge at one end, and the largest have a short piece fixed transversely, for pressing it into the ground with the foot. With these, though they are not more than from 2 to 4 ins. broad, they dig and plant ground of many acres in extent."

Ellis, in speaking of Tahitian agriculture, says:—"The chief, and almost only implement used, was the o [the Tahitian has dropped the "k" since the ancestors of the Maori left those shores], a stick sharpened at the point, and used in loosening and turning up the earth. Formerly they hardened the end with which they penetrated the soil by charring it in the fire. An implement of this kind is still their greatest favourite ... They are not very fond of English spades, hoes, etc. The spade, they say, takes up too much earth at once, and, besides the stooping required, is a heavier load than they like to lift repeatedly." The writer makes no mention of a foot rest on the Tahitian implement, and the modern one, described by him as pointed with iron, has none.

Elsewhere Ellis says:—"The o-o [?koko] is the principal implement of husbandry which a Hawaiian farmer uses. Formerly it was a sharp pointed stick of hardwood; it is now usually pointed with iron. The best are made with broad socket chisels, into which page 73they fix a handle 4 or 6 feet long."^* We thus see that the ko was known far and wide among Polynesians. It must have long been used and known by the same name, for the Maori must have brought the name from eastern Polynesia to New Zealand centuries ago.

Cook describes the ko of New Zealand as follows:—"To till or turn up the ground they have wooden spades, if I may call them so, made like stout pickets, with a piece of wood tied across near the lower end, to put the foot upon to force them into the ground." Again he wrote:—"We had not an opportunity to see any of these husbandmen work, but we saw what serves them at once for spade and plough: this instrument is nothing more than a long narrow stake sharpened to an edge at one end, with a short piece fastened transversely at a little distance above it, for the convenience of pressing it down with the foot. With this they turn up pieces of ground six or seven acres in extent, though it is not more than 3 ins. broad, but as the soil is light and sandy it makes little resistance."

In Du Clesmeur's Journal of the voyage of the Marquis de Castries under Marion Du Fresne, we read:—"The tool they use to till the soil with is a large stick about 6 ft. in length. The thick end is pointed; 3 ft. above this is a piece of wood projecting, upon which they press the foot, so that they use it in the same way that we do a spade." This was written in 1772.

The Rev. S. Marsden wrote in 1819:—"They have another wooden tool about seven feet long, pointed like a hedge stake, and a piece of wood lashed on about two feet from the ground to place the foot upon to aid in thrusting the instrument into the ground. They call this tool koko. With their hands they pull up all the weeds, then cover them over with the spatula or wooden spades as they proceed in digging."

This term koko seems misapplied here, but early writers on Maori matters had a curious habit of doubling words, as in kiwikiwi, patupatu, etc.

Marsden also describes the industry displayed by a blind native woman in cultivation. She worked away with a kaheru as rapidly as did the other workers, and, as she pulled up weeds, placed them under her feet, that she might find them quickly when a place was prepared to bury them in.

The following note on the ko was supplied by W.B. whose able papers on Maori life have been widely read and appreci-page 74ated:—"As the ko was the most widely applied soil loosening tool the Maori had, its shapes and the various woods it was made of will be of some interest. The ko was used with foot-tread for a spade to mull up refractory earth, and without foot-tread to loosen earth in post holes. For use to work up rootless soil, the agriculturist, being also an artist, made his ko of matai, preferably of ancient windfalls with every vestige of sap rotted off, and partially earth buried, for this wood dried hard, and instead of furring kept a clear polished surface. Such a tool he took pains to finish with a view to style, and ornamented the helve with carving, besides nicking in a well-worked notch for the foot-tread, and lashing it thereto with a neatly laid muka [Phormium fibre] sinnet. Of course such a finished ko was reserved for friable soils only. For root-bound new clearings he made a rougher tool of manuka or maire, and whereas his ko of matai was up to six inches in width the other might be anything from three inches, with no pretensions to finish. The ko for sinking post holes had no foot-tread, it was a plain sapling ricker, spatula shaped at one end." It should here be noted that, in many cases, no notch was made in the blade of a ko to accommodate either the footrest or the lashing thereof, the rest was lashed firmly on to the plane surface. Cords of Phormium fibre were rarely used for this purpose, but the aka heretofore described was preferred.

It seems probable that some of the tools termed kaheru in some districts, and in this narrative, would be called ko by the Tainui tribes.

The form of ko used by the Tuhoe tribe is a long tool, seven to eight feet long, and even longer, made of maire, a very hard wood, or of akeake. It is pointed at the bottom end and hence it is easily forced into the ground, the tapering point can be inserted between roots where a wide bladed implement would be useless. See Fig. 23a, p. 77.

There are some roughly made and ill finished specimens of the ko in the Dominion Museum collection that would not have been approved by the implement makers of Maoriland in former days. These are modern and hastily made forms. The following is a description of the general form of this implement, as formerly made. Length from 6½ to 10 ft. The widest part, about 12 ins. or 16 in. from the lower end, about 3 or 4 in., from which part it tapers to a point at the lower end, and also, very gradually, towards the upper end. The implement is somewhat flat, being page 75wider than it is thick, for the greater part of its length. The face or front of the tool is somewhat narrower than the back thereof, hence a cross section would not be rectangular. The longitudinal edges are rounded off somewhat for the handgrip, or the edges are chamfered. In many cases these edges were chamfered at intervals only, below the upper hand grip, possibly also above it, the spaces between such chamferings being ornamented with small notches. This bevelling off of the edges was deepest in the centre, and ran out to the sharp edge at either end, like a shallow crescent in form. The upper end of the implement, for perhaps 6 to 8 ins. is carved into a curious crescent form, terms whakamarama or whakaaurei, both of which terms describe its shape. This is too high up to be of any use and, apparently, is merely for the purpose of ornamentation. It is said to be an extremely ancient form, the upper part of a ko having been fashioned in this shape from time immemorial. This crescent-like part is sometimes called the whakataumiromiro, the origin of which name is to be found in the myth of Maui who, when he followed his mother Taranga to the under world, assumed the form of a miromiro bird, and settled on the top of a ko as the folk of that region were working in their cultivations. Mr J. White applies the name hukui to the upper end of the ko.

The upper end of the ko was not always carved into the peculiar crescent-like form mentioned above. An illustration at p. 237 of Hamilton's Maori Art shows a variety of forms. Mr. John White states that the carving was sometimes in the form of a fish, or lizard, or a human form. In Fig. 24 (p. 76) a number of these designs are shown. The two on the extreme right of the upper row are such as were carved on specially adorned implements used by a priestly expert when planting the tapu first seed, as explained elsewhere. Curiously enough I have no good specimen of the common form of crescent shaped whakamarama, of which I have seen many on the east coast of the North Island, and in the Bay of Plenty district during past years. This is the result of leaving the securing and preparation of illustrations to the last moment, a highly unscientific procedure.

Some of the old ko reclaimed from swamps have their upper ends fashioned into a symmetrical lanceolate form. See Fig. 24 (p. 76) for such a design.

The peculiar rectangular and perforated design is occasionally seen. The fine one of this type in the Dominion Museum is said page 76to have been used for ceremonial purposes, as by the priestly expert conducting the ritual pertaining to planting. It was obtained in the Maketu district. It is highly probable that this extraordinary device possessed some symbolical significance. See Figs. 25-26-27 at p. 78.

When a number of persons were engaged in planting the sweet potato crop the upper part of the ko was adorned with feathers. These were attached to a piece of pliant supple-jack cane (Rhipogonum scandens) lashed in the form of a bow just below the carved upper end of the implement. Bunches (putoi) of feathers were secured to this, as also long feathers streamers (puhi). This was an old East Coast custom according to our old contributors, Hori Ropiha and Tuta Nihoniho. Fig. 28 (p. 79) will give the reader some idea of the appearance of these long implements when so adorned. The bow-like attachment was probably longer than is shown in the sketch, and the attached feathers had a more pendulous aspect. On the streamers also the feathers would be more numerous, closer together.

This implement is forced into the ground by pressure of the foot of the operator on a foot rest or piece which is lashed on to the face or front of the tool. This foot rest is known as the teka, takahi or hamaruru. There are several forms of this projecting foot-piece, as will be seen by noting the illustrations thereof. One is a short, thick piece of wood, often carefully fashioned and embellished with carving. A hole is made in it to pass the lashing through. The end next the shaft of the implement is square and flat, so that it butts evenly against the face of the shaft and has a fairly large bearing thereon. The upper surface of the teka is usually straight and flat, or somewhat rounded, but occasionally one is seen with an upright projection at the outer end, as though to contain the foot, to prevent it slipping off. Another form of foot rest is page 81an elbowed form, hewn from a bent or crooked stick, or from a piece of a tree branch having a smaller branch growing therefrom at the desired angle. This form of teka resembles the wooden elbows used by settlers in making a wheelbarrow, but the upper part is more at right angles to the shank or upright part. This shank is placed against the face of the shaft and securely lashed thereto. It has a much longer bearing face on the shaft than has the first mentioned and shankless rest. Fig. 29 (p. 79), shows two of these rests of a plain form, one elaborately carved, and one the carving of which has not been completed. Fig. 30 at p. 82 shows three carved specimens.

The best material for lashing is a certain species of climbing plant (aka), the pliant, tough stems of which are used for this purpose. The aka tea, so much esteemed for lashing fences, &c., is deemed inferior for this purpose. Cords of flax (Phormium) fibre were sometimes used for the purpose, but were much inferior to above mentioned items.

In most cases no groove or slot was made in the shaft to accommodate the foot rest or its lashing. In some tools one sees a slight chamfering of the edges where the foot-rest is secured. In very few implements do we see the foot-rest fashioned from the same piece as the shaft, that is both cut out of the solid. The old and long specimen of ko in the Auckland Museum provided with three foot-rests cut out of the solid is not only an abnormal form, it is also absolutely unique. See Fig. 30a at p. 85. The only work in which such an implement could serve a useful purpose, so far as the writer can conjecture, would be such a task as working down the batter face of an escarpment. In other forms of work the lower step would come into contact with the earth ere the upper one could be used, and so block all progress. An admirable replica of this interesting implement is in the Dominion Museum (No. 2028).

The foot-rest of a breaking-up tool is fixed somewhat high on the shaft, about 16 in., or sometimes higher, according to the nature of the soil and the requirements of the user. One well-made ko in the Museum collection has the foot-rest lashed on over two feet above the point or lower end of the tool. This rest could be moved to any part of the shaft and there relashed in a very short time. It was probably so secured according to the depth to which it was proposed to loosen the soil. Wood was the material usually employed for making these foot-rests, though they were occasionally fashioned from the bones of whales, as also from stone, as shown in our illustrations.

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Though the detachable foot-rest of these tools were generally made of wood, yet a few of stone and bone are known. A fine stone specimen is No. 1544 in the Dominion Museum collection. (See Fig. 32, p. 85). This is one of the best finished stone artifacts we have, and a great deal of labour must have been bestowed upon it. The shank or upright part is 4¼ in. long and quite flat. The horizontal part or "tread" is slightly more than 5½ in. in length, and has a raised outer containing rim symmetrically formed. The upper surface of the footrest is somewhat convex transversely and concave longitudinally; the sides and under part are flat and smooth. The shank shows a worked depression to accommodate the lashing by means of which the teka was secured to the shaft. The implement shows a fine finish, the surfaces having been smoothed by grinding. The "tread" is 1⅞ in. wide at its inner end, narrowing to 1⅜ in. at its outer end; thickness in middle 1¼ in. The material is greywacke; weight 2 lbs. It will be observed that the upper surface of the foot-rest is not at right angles to the shank, but trends downward somewhat. In some specimens the foot rest is level when the rest is in position, in others it trends upward. This specimen was obtained at Mokau.

In No. 1944, Fig. 32 (p. 85) we have a smaller and rougher specimen of a stone foot-rest the surfaces of which have not been smoothed by grinding. In this case, the upward trend of the rest forms a somewhat acute angle with the shaft when in position. Length of tread 4½ in., with a very slight rim on outer end: length of shank 3½ in. Width of tread l⅝in. Weight l lb.

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No. 1, 1573 of Fig. 33 (p. 86) is a wooden teka made from a piece of heart of matai (Podocarpus spicatus), and is of plain workmanship. Length of shank 6 in. Length of tread, including outer raised rim of l¼ in., is 6 in. The tread is 1¾ in. wide, convex transversely and concave longitudinally. The pierced hole is to receive the lashing.

No. 2 is a bone teka in the collection of Mr. W. H. Skinner. It has been made from the porous vertebrae of a whale. See Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 15, p. 94. The tread is 7½ in. long and 3 in. wide; a hole for the lashing appears. This specimen is from Cape Egmont. It is here shown as the second specimen of Fig. 33 (p. 86).

A very plain form of "tread" is seen in Fig. 34 (p. 84), which comes from Rotorua. Its upper surface is quite flat, and 5 in. long. Its bearing surface on the shaft is small, being but 2¼ in., and the width of the rest is 3¼ in.

We have in Fig. 35 (p. 85) a somewhat common form of foot-rest, with regard to the carved design; the grotesque figure supports the "tread" on its back. This specimen shows signs of use. It has a flat tread of 6 in. and a bearing surface 3¾ in. deep and nearly 3 in. wide. This has been hollowed out slightly so as to fit closely on to the face of its shaft. The carved figure is the usual grotesque human form; its arms being stretched backward and upward to support the tread as it were. It is provided with two holes for lashing, instead of the usual one, and both show signs of wear from the chafe of the lashing material.

A native correspondent informs me that a ko would be hewn into form, and then allowed to season for some time, in order that the wood might become harder.

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There were really two forms of this implement, the strong breaking-up tool, and a lighter form used for cultivation purposes, soil loosening. It is the former kind that was made the longest, and that was often adorned with carved devices.

The following description of the ko, and the method of using it, is copied from an interesting paper by Archdeacon Walsh. On the Cultivation and Treatment of the Kumara by the Primitive Maoris, which was published in Vol. 35 of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute:—

"In breaking up new land the principal implement used was the ko, a kind of long handled spade consisting of a pole of hardwood sharpened to a wedge shaped point, and furnished with a foot-rest or tread (hamaruru) lashed to one side with flax sinnets from about 12 in. to 18 in. from the bottom, according to the depth the land was to be dug. Both the foot-rest and the handle on the top of the shaft were often elaborately carved, as may be seen in the case of some excellent specimens in the Auckland Museum. Armed with this implement, a number of men formed in line a few feet apart across the plot that was to be operated on, and, keeping time to a song by their leader invoking a blessing on their labour, drove the ko into the ground so as to make a continuous cut about 1 ft. or 18 ins. back from the face, according to the nature of the soil. This done, they used the implement as a lever and hove the whole sod over together, with a loud shout of Huaia!, when they started afresh on another piece. Meanwhile the women and children followed up, breaking the clods with small wooden instruments of various patterns and clawing out the fern root and rubbish with their fingers."

I also insert here an extract from a paper, by the late Mr. T. H. Smith, entitled On Maori Implements and Weapons, that may be found in Vol. 26 of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute:—

"The ko was the principal implement used in such agriculture as was known to the Maori. It is composed of a shaft of hard wood, generally manuka or maire, from 7 to 9 feet long, flat at the lower end, and brought to an edge at the sides and foot. Five or six inches from the bottom is an attachment, which is movable, called a teka or takahi. The shaft is held with both hands and struck into the ground; and, the left foot being pressed upon the projecting takahi, or spur, it is driven down as far as necessary, and by lowering the shaft the sod is turned. The ko was used in planting the kumara; also in digging aruhe (fern root) ... I believe the implement page 88generally used in digging fern root was shorter and smaller than the exhibit specimens of the ko in our Museum, but similarly shaped."

The process described by Archdeacon Walsh was that practised in breaking up new land. Regarding Mr. Smith's remarks on the shape of the ko, it is not the case that the sides were always brought to a sharp edge; many carried square edges or sides. The breaking-up tool was not feather edged, neither was the point thereof wedge shaped.

Angas speaks of seeing the ko in use at Orakei, near Auckland, in 1844—"We passed through a native plantation where the inhabitants were busily employed in planting their crops. They were using the ko, a wooden instrument somewhat resembling a spade, with which they root up the matted fibres of the fern below the surface of the soil." Again, at Taupo, Angas notes the use of the ko. "We came out … into a potato ground, where a number of natives were at work, digging between the felled kahikatea trees with their wooden spades or digging implements, which are called ko."

In the account of Rutherford's sojourn among the Maoris, published in 1830, we read—"The only agricultural implements, however, which the natives possess are of the rudest description; that with which they dig their potatoes being merely a wooden pole, with a cross-bar of the same material fixed to it about three feet from the ground. Mr. Marsden saw the wives of several of the chiefs toiling hard in the fields with no better spade than this." A foot-rest secured three feet up the shaft sounds somewhat unusual.

Banks speaks of the ko, in his Journal—"We had not an opportunity of seeing them work, but once saw their tool, which is a long and narrow stake, flattened a little and sharpened; across this is a fixed piece of stick for the convenience of pressing it down with the foot. With this simple tool, industry teaches them to turn pieces of ground of six or seven acres in extent. The soil is generally sandy, and is therefore easily turned up, while the narrowness of the tool, the blade of which is not more than three inches broad, makes it meet with the less resistance."

Now, if we compare these remarks with those quoted from Cook's account given on p. 73 we note a similarity of expressions that shows one to have taken his data from the other.

The wooden "hoe" depicted in Polack's Manners and Customs of the New Zealanders may have been intended to represent a ko, but really resembles no Maori tool.

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Forster, in his Observations, &c., in speaking of Maori customs, &c., remarks—"They have all a passion for ornaments, and dress; and they decorate the most common tools of husbandry, or their arms, in a curious manner with volutes and scrolls, not altogether without taste."

In Crozet's Voyage (1771-1772) we note the following:—"I have already mentioned that the fern root is the basis of their food. This root naturally grows very deep in the soil, and in order to dig it up they have invented a sort of pointed spade very much like a lever pointer at one end, to which they have fixed transversely a piece of wood, strongly bound with cord, which serves as a foot-piece, while they work the lever at the other end with their arms, to send it deeply into the ground, and are thus enabled to raise large clods. As this lever has only a certain breadth at the end which is pushed into the ground, two men join together to work it to lift the same clod. This sort of spade very much resembles a stilt on which the step is placed at about two and a half feet from the bottom."

Again, in speaking of the gardens of the Maoris, wherein they cultivated kumara, taro and gourds, Crozet adds—"In the cultivation of these crops they make use of the same instrument of which I have just spoken, sharpened and trimmed so as to form a sort of spade."

In his Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand, Vol. 1, p. 315, Nicholas remarks—"I saw some men and women busily engaged in digging up potatoes; and the instrument they used for the purpose was very rude and imperfect. This wretched substitute for a spade, was a pole about seven feet long, terminating in a sharp point, and having at the distance of three feet from the extremity, a piece of wood fastened at right angles as a rest for the foot."

In regard to the ko being "merely a wooden pole with a cross bar," a reference to the illustrations and description of this implement will show that it was a carefully made implement, much labour being expended in the manufacture thereof from hard timbers.

Some of the ko of former times seem to have had special names assigned to them, as was often the case with weapons.

A fine collection of ko in the Auckland Museum shows specimens from five to twelve feet in length. Some of them have practically no blade, but simply round shafts. One shows its upper end carved into a curious double crescent form. It is interesting to note the persistence of this crescent-like form, and one cannot help wondering as to what its origin was. Colenso alludes to a two faced human page 90figure carved on these tools, and Blyth comments on this in his paper on The Whence of the Maori (See Transactions of the N.Z. Institute, Vol. 19, p. 436). Tuta Nihoniho, of Ngati-Porou, stated that among his folk the upper end was often fashioned into the form of a tongue and hence this part was called the arero. The crescent form was styled wahaika. The teka was sometimes adorned with carving; occasionally it was cut out of the same piece of timber as the shaft, but was usually a separate piece lashed on with aerial roots of the kiekie. The bow-like piece of cane fastened to the upper part of the shaft had bunches of feathers of different colours attached to it, as also two streamers of feathers, resembling those on the stern-piece of a canoe, though smaller. These notes refer to the Waiapu district.

No. 2008 is a very long ko in the Dominion Museum, being 11 ft 6 in. in length. It is shown in Fig. 36 (p. 86). It is a fine old specimen, made of hardwood, probably manuka, and looks as though it had been swamp buried. The blade is somewhat under 3 in. at its widest part, but is 1⅝ in. thick. The back is almost flat, the face is convex transversely. The flattened blade gradually merges into the round upper part of the shaft. The blade carries a long point admirably suited for the punching method of forcing it into a stiff soil. The side view shows the peculiar curve noted in so many of these tools, a peculiarity that imparts additional strength to them. The foot-rest is wanting in this specimen which is essentially a ko whakaara, or breaking-up tool. Such implements, said Tuta, were not used in ordinary work in cultivations, but principally for two purposes, the breaking up of stiff soils, to a considerable depth in seeking roots of bracken (Pteris), and in excavating fosses, &c., when forming fortifications. Some had stouter shafts than the above, and, in stiff soils, such implements were manipulated by two men in the "punching" process of driving them into the soil. When it was a difficult matter to work the tool to the desired depth, two cords were fastened by one end to its upper part, and two men grasped these and put their weight on them, which much expedited the work of the two controlling the long shaft. The implement was then forced backwards and downwards, two pulling on the shaft and two on the ropes, and in this manner, several of such tools being so used, masses of stiff soil were torn away and turned down, whereupon they were broken up and pulverised with smaller implements, and the fern roots picked out.

In Fig. 36 (p. 86) it will be observed that the upper end is carved into the form called arero (tongue), though perhaps page 91lanceolate would describe its shape better. There is no sign of the chafe of a foot-rest on any part of the shaft.

No. 1911 in the Dominion Museum is a kaheru-like form. It is 7 ft 6 in. long and was dug up from a swamp on Mr Hickson's property at Tauranga. The handle is rounded and the blade is 7 in. at its widest part, the teka being about 3 ft from the lower end. A smaller tool of similar design and a spear were found in the same swamp. This tool has been mislaid since it was described.

The ko, ketu, kaheru and patupatu (clod breaker or pulveriser) were the tools mostly used in cultivation work.

In No. 461 in the Dominion Museum we have a ko of modern make, but good form, of the size used in planting operations. It is 7 ft 3 in. long and l¼ in. thick. The blade, or lower part is 2¾ in., wide across the face at its broadest part, and 3¼ in. wide across the back. The edges of the face are rounded, those of the back sharply defined except in three places where they have been chamfered off so as to form shallow hollows 6 in. long; at such places the foot-rest was lashed on; the one attached occupying the lowest of these positions, at 18 in. from the lower end. The foot-rest is one without a shank, and projects 5¾ in. The upper end shows the common crescent form. This implement came from Taupo. No illustration is available.

A digging implement resembling the Maori ko was used in Peru, as shown in the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1918, p. 488. The writer terms the implement a "foot-plow".

In Linton's work on the Marquesas Group we learn that the natives of those isles used a digging stick in former times that must have resembled a very short form of ko, though apparently no step or footrest was attached to it. However, this is not assured, inasmuch as the natives have not preserved much knowledge of some of the implements of their forefathers.