Translation

"Regarding this matter of plantations of kumara, taro, and korau, which comprise the [cultivated] foods of former times, the site of a kumara cultivation ground was carefully chosen, that it might not lie in a damp situation, but at an elevated spot; that was one matter seen to. The second consideration was that the lay of the field should be toward the sun. The third matter attended to was that such a field should not lie at the base of a ridge (lest damage be caused by storm waters) Another thing to be considered was as to whether the field lay sideways on, or end on [to the sun, i.e., east or north-east. It was considered necessary to plant the kumara in rows running east and west, if arranged north and south the plants would not flourish]. Another thing to be noted is as to whether the remu [tail or rear end of the field] is up or down; the head of the field page 164should face the sun, and the remu should be at the western end. If the remu is high lying, the kumara will be seriously affected by dampness. If the head is high lying then the remu will be affected in a like manner. The field should be a fine open expanse of an even surface. It is then examined in order to see if its surface is somewhat rounded; if so, then that is the best of fields. The next best field is a perfectly flat one, fields of these two aspects are the only good ones for the kumara.

So much for the kumara. Now, another is the korau; that also is the sort of field wherein the korau flourishes and matures, as it also does in a flat plot. It is watery if planted in a damp place.

The taro will grow well in all situations, except right down in a hollow; in such a place it runs to leaf without substance, the taro are small and watery. Here ends the examination of the field.

Another matter to look into; if the soil is one matua [? stiff loam] that kumara field should be gravelled; gravel will improve it. The reason why persons dislike that soil is on account of the heavy work of carrying gravel. If a spot having one paraumu [a dark, friable soil] can be found, that is desirable, the work will be light, gravel will be carried only to put under the leaves, lest they suffer from mud and wet. If there be no one paraumu, and one haruru [a light sandy loam] can be found, that will serve well as a cultivation ground. The one tuatara is never approved of, it necessitates so much labour in pulverising, also another labour is carrying gravel for this soil. That is all as to the examination of the soil.

Treatment of the field is now considered; if it is situated in open land then manuka brush or second growth is cut and spread over the field, beginning at the head of the field and working towards the remu. It is left lying there, and when it is known that the kumara planting time is near, it is then set fire to, and a layer of charcoal and ashes covers the earth. It is not kindled on a windy day, lest the kota [residue of burned brush] be blown away to other parts, but during a gentle breeze; it is then set fire to. When burned off, then the ground is again covered with manuka, lest the wind blow the kota away; this is but a thin layer. This process is for one matua [loam], but was not employed for one paraumu or one haruru. [The first layer of brush, for burning, was laid in thick overlapping rows.]

page 165

The kumara storage pit is now examined, that it may be seen if the seed tubers have sprouted, or not. If not, then persons are told to put them in baskets, and then rotten wood was prepared, crumbled up and softened, and some placed in the bottoms of the baskets so as to cover the same, the kumara then being laid on it. The first layer being so placed, some of the decayed wood was sprinkled over them, when covered the second layer was laid in. This process was repeated until the the basket was full, but no more than four or five layers should be put in, or there would be too much weight, and the young sprouts would be injured. These baskets were then carried back to the store pit and there arranged carefully. Timber, perhaps two pieces, was placed beneath them [as dunnage]; on these the baskets were laid. One basket was not placed on another, the reason being lest the kumara be bruised, or the young shoots become thin and weak.

If, on reaching the store pit, it is found that the seed tubers have sprouted, or when they are put in the baskets, persons go and remove the covering of the kumara plot, the manuka or other material being carried to the bounds of the field. The reason why it was placed there would be foresight on the part of the owner of the field, where a strong wind is felt, westerly or southerly, now, that brush will serve as a breakwind for purposes of shelter. When it has been so disposed of, then they turn to the digging.

When the puke [little mounds in which the seed tubers are placed] are dug the bulk of the ground is not dug, but only the puke, which are formed up. The lines [of mounds] run from the head of the field to the remu [east and west]; they are not directed to the north or south, for if the south wind had play along the spaces between the lines of plants in the field then the leaves would be thrashed about, and the plants would not flourish. No strong wind comes from the east, the N.W. is the only wind, and that wind blows gently, unlike the south wind, hence the fear of the southerly gale. [Our informant has perhaps made an error here; the east wind is a gentle one, but not so the N.W. wind in many places. He may, however, be describing a local peculiarity.]

Planting began on the Ari [eleventh] night of the moon's age. No planting was done during full moon, nor yet on the Korekore days [21st, 22nd and 23rd nights of moon's age] for very poor crops would result.

Now in regard to spacing the mounds. The cord was stretched so as to lie over the site of each mound. The distance between page 166the rows was laid off with a measuring or spacing rod, and a peg (pou wharona) stuck in the ground at each end of a row to which the cord (aho tatai) was attached. A spacing rod, or teka, was also used in marking the position for each puke or mound in a row, a small stick being stuck in the ground where each seed tuber was to be planted. Thus all lines and mounds were equidistant from each other. The line was put away when all rows were marked, and the digging began, rows of little sticks marking the spots where each little mound was to be formed. In some cases the cord was knotted so that a knot marked the position for each mound, thus dispensing with the use of a spacing rod. The owner of the field would manipulate the spacing rod, and the pegs for stretching the line would be inserted. The work then proceeded and was continued to the further side of the field. When the head of the field was so marked off, then a move was made to the remu of the field and the process repeated, the same spacing rod being used. Thus all the pegs, each about two feet long, were inserted to mark the ends of the rows. The work of the teka whakaawa being done, then the teka ahu puke came into service; this was to measure the distance between the mounds, and a peg was inserted to mark the position of each puke, these being very small pegs; and so on until the whole field was marked off. The measuring line was a twisted cord made from dressed harakeke [Phormium fibre]. It was a tapu article, and, on the completion of the work, it was laid away in a house, or store hut. That cord was called an aho tatai, and some persons knotted it so as to accelerate the work of putting in the pegs. The puke in a row were one cubit apart from each other. Likewise the measuring cord used at the head of the field [to space the rows] was by some persons knotted along its length. This was an awa spacing line, the other was a mound spacing line. When this knotting method was employed the rod was not used.

Portions of the field were left on the southern, western, and northern sides as marginal deposits for weeds, but no such place was left at the head of the field [eastern side], lest the balmy hau tokihi be shut out; it was allowed to reach the plants and invigorate them.

Two men worked at each puke, the first being the wider of the ko whakaara, or breaking-up spade, with which three motions or insertions were made, but not deeper than the projection or foot-rest of the ko. It was inadvisable to go deeper, lest dampness result. The left foot was used to tread the foot-rest of page 167a spade, and the spade was used in a slanting position and thrust in towards the middle of the puke. It was then raised, and three such movements completed his work, which was repeated at all the puke. [The spade was thrust in about eight inches and the earth loosened. This was done in three different places on the circumference of an imaginary circle, each thrust being towards its centre, so as to thoroughly loosen the soil.]

When the man has finished the puke, has made his three insertions, he proceeds to another and repeats the process. Should it be a working bee, a company of volunteer workers, then three or four men might be assigned to the breaking up, and an equal number to form the mounds. The task of the latter (called a tangata tuahu) was to remove rootlets and weeds, to clear and work the soil, which he did with his hands and his implement [club-like clod breaker] to pulverise the soil, that is the clods or lumps. He then stirred and mixed the soil with his hands so as to mix the fire refuse with it. [He also, with his hands, formed the loose, worked earth into a small mound.] The first puke formed was tapu, and continued so. The product of it was not taken to the store-pit.

Before the above operations commenced, the priestly adept would have arrived at the field before sunrise, as also the seed distributors and planters, were it a case of a number of workers. The priest then began to intone his ritual, during which all must face the rising sun. The god to whom the invocations were directed was Rongomarae-roa, who was the child of Rangi and Papa [Sky Parent and Earth Mother] dedicated to those arts, that is in regard to cultivated foods. The priest repeated his ritual chants prior to the rising of the sun. On the completion of the recital the people set to work; the seed distributors seized their baskets and commenced their labours. The planters would then come forward, and the work would proceed; by that time the sun would have arisen. On the completion of the work the priest would again recite certain ritual matter.

When the work was over the invocations of the priest were postponed until morning, at dawn of day. They pertained to conciliation, and to the completion of the task of planting; they would cause the kumara crop to flourish, and prevent it being affected by any mischance. The first recital [at the commencement of the work] was to start the work and to cause the tasks of the seed distributors to be ably performed. That ritual was directed toward Rongo-marae-roa and Uru-te-ngangana, for page 168Uru was the first born of Rangi and Papa. The final ritual chant was directed toward Rongo-marae-roa only, and it gave him full control over that field. At that time also Tawhiri-matea [personified form of wind] was commanded to absent himself, as also was Tonganui-kaea [personification of south wind]. That demand was that the field should not be maltreated, that strong winds should not reach it, or frost, for from Tonganui-kaea comes the frost, from Tawhiri-matea the wind.

Now, when a man goes planting he must stand so that he faces the rising sun, and also the row of mounds. His work commences at the head [? remu] of the field, but he stands in the awa [space between the rows of puke] so that the row [i.e., the one he is to work on] is on his left side. Now, the seed tuber is in his left hand: he thrusts his right hand into the mound, just below the summit thereof, on the side towards the head of the field, that is the eastern side. He thrusts the seed in so that it slants downward, and its head [the sprouting end] cants upward toward the sun [i.e., the east]. The soil is then heaped up over the seed, but so that the head, the part with the sprout, is not too deeply buried. With that his work is done, and he moves on to another mound to repeat the process, but ever keeping the row on his left side.

A different person carries the seed tubers, which are contained in small baskets. Only one seed tuber is put in each mound; they are carried in the basket, and he counts the mounds in the row so as to take the proper quantity of seed for that row. The cause of such action was the desire not to take too heavy a load, lest the young shoots of the seed be broken; hence, if the row of mounds was a very long one, then the seed tubers were placed in two baskets. Before the planting began, one of the baskets would be carried to the middle of the row, and there placed in the awa [space between rows]. The bulk of the seed would be lying on the margin of the field at the head end, packed in baskets. These baskets were kept open by means of a wooden spreader, lest the sprouts of the kumara be broken. The seed distributor deposits the seed tuber on the left side of the mound, in the awa on the left side of the row. This task he carries out from the head right along to the remu of the field; the planter picks up the seed as he requires them.

Expert males only were selected for these tasks, not women, lest one such be unclean, which would grievously affect the kumara. Likewise in the lifting of the crop, and conveying it into the storehouse, men alone were employed. No work was performed before page 169sunrise; this refers to planting; not until the sun glow was plainly seen were kumara planted. Kumara were planted on fine days only, lest the soil be injuriously affected; never on wet days, lest the soil became puddled and unsuitable for covering the seed.

Gravel was spread under the leaves of the kumara, lest they be injured; if they became so, then the kumara did not flourish. Should no gravel be obtainable, then herbage was used, so placed that the leaves [runners in leaf] rest upon it. Should a storm appear, it injures the kumara, its growth will not be vigorous, it degenerates. In the case of a stiff loam the gravel was mixed with the soil in order to make the soil of the puke more open. If not so treated the soil cakes or solidifies; the gravel alone improves it and allows access to invigorating air, while the sun warms the interior of the mound. The one tuatara was treated in such a manner, but not the one haruru or one paraumu; in which cases gravel was brought to put under the leaves only; brought in baskets. Those baskets were made of scraped harakeke [Phormium], in form like a bag, and having two handles. Having arrived at the field [carrying a basket of gravel] the carrier retains his hold on one of the cord handles with his right hand, puts his left hand under the bottom of the bag, and strews the gravel along the mounds, or rather between the mounds, but not in the awa. [The connected swag or pack straps, kawe, of Taranaki were not used on the East Coast. The kete taritari kirikiri, or gravel carrying basket had two handles about one foot long. A handle, tau, was brought over each shoulder and gripped in either hand. A small heap of gravel was deposited between each two mounds, and half of the heap was scraped to one mound and half to the other.] The human hand spread it over the mounds, that of the person who formed the mounds. The breaker up was the first, the mound former the second, the distributor of the gravel the third, the planter of the kumara the fourth. In former times, that person, the planter of the kumara, did not partake of food in the morning, but when the sun began to decline, and hunger was felt, then the work was adjourned to another day. If he could finish the planting on the one day, he could work on. The others were allowed to eat.

Now, if it was seen that the field was getting covered with weeds, then the cultivators of the field proceeded to clean it. All harmful things, weeds and hard clods, were all cast on the borders, that is the sides of the field, or on the remu [rear end] of the field, but not at the head, such procedure being followed so as to allow the entrance of cool invigorating air and warmth. Enough on that point.

page 170

After that no weed was allowed to grow, and constant attention was paid to the work, such as loosening the soil of the mounds, until the spreading of the runners. When they began to run, such work ceased, lest the leaves and runners be bruised. Then the labours of these persons were confined to spaces not occupied by runners, and the inter-row spaces. On account of these labours no weeds were seen in a kumara plot, except on the margins.

Should rain ensue an examination would be made to see if the runners were prostrate on the mounds. If it was seen that they were clinging to the soil, in such cases where no gravel had been spread under them herbage was thrust under them, herbage of a soft nature that had been collected and dried. If pools of water were observed lying between the rows a digging stick would be procured, thrust into the ground, and worked about, to cause the water to sink in.

The only tapu performances were planting and the ceremony that concluded the planting. No marginal spot of the kumara plot was utilised as an eating place for the workmen, that is woman were not allowed to kindle fires or cook there, nor would persons eat there; workmen must go aside for some distance to partake of food.

Travellers would not trespass on a kumara plot, the only persons allowed there were the workman who tended the kumara and the whakaepa process, which is the gathering and disposal of the weeds.