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Fishing Methods and Devices of the Maori

Kokopu, or Kopu (Galaxias fasciatus)

Kokopu, or Kopu (Galaxias fasciatus)

Here we have a species that was of greater value to the Maori than the grayling. It probably furnished, on the whole, a much greater food-supply, for it was found in streams and lakes wherein the grayling was unknown. Ruatahuna and Taupo are two such districts wherein the grayling was not found, but where several kinds of kokopu were numerous and very highly appreciated. The lack of eels in such districts was another reason why the local natives should feel grateful to the kokopu for his presence in the highlands.

Natives recognize a number of differing kinds of kokopu. The following are some of the names employed:—

Para. Koawheawhe.
Tarare. Ruao, ruwao.
Reretawa. Tatarāwhare.
Raumahehe (syn. maehe). Karekopu.
Kakawai.

The para is described as a striped fish often taken with the tarare, which is of a mottled appearance: this from Waiapu natives. Tirare is possibly another form of the name tarare. Tuhoe say that the para is the largest of the kokopu. Tarare were caught in a small hand-net called a koko, a word that carries the sense of "scoop" and were often found in holes in the rocky beds of streams, pokere kohatu page 217(Waiapu). The reretawa (Tuhoe) is encountered in shoal water, and is a sound sleeper, hence easily approached and caught. The rua-mahehe of Ruatahuna is known as maehe at Waikare-moana, and I have heard the Lake folk alluded to as te hanga kai maehe (the maehe-eating people). The kakawai is a black fish, and the ruwao a large form. Tuhoe say that koawheawhe are the young of the para.

The kokopu seems to be found in all districts, and both low and high-lying country. It is sometimes called the mountain-trout, but is also found down to what is practically sea-level. It is scaleless, and is occasionally taken up to 18 in. in length. It frequents still-water pools and the calmer reaches of hill-streams. It takes bait readily, and in the days of my youth we used to take it with hook and line, with a bait of earthworms or huhu (pine-grubs). The Maori never used the hook for taking these fresh-water fish in olden times; he took the kokopu by means of hand-nets and the bob.

The Tuhoe folk of the Ruatahuna district have ever prized this somewhat tasteless fish, simply because it was the only fish they had. When living among these natives I observed their methods of taking kokopu, and cull the following from a notebook of the "nineties": These fish are taken at night, and only during the dark nights of the moon. They are taken only when "asleep," if sleep it is, and at such times are found in quiet reaches (wahi to marino), heads up-stream and tails waving gently to avoid down-stream drift. These nocturnal expeditions up wild hill-creeks surrounded by dense forest, with a few native companions supplied with torches and hoop-nets, appealed to me long decades back, though I do not seem to yearn for them now. This task usually fell to the women in the Ruatahuna district. These fish are there taken during summer and autumn. When the frosts of winter come they are said to deteriorate in quality and to become a lighter colour, whereupon fishing ceases. Also, as winter comes on, they cease to lie out in the stream during the night-time, but conceal themselves. Natives told me that kokopu leave the calm reaches in the autumn and go to the rapids of a stream in order to spawn, but I have no evidence to offer concerning this statement. As a rule, they are much given to concealment in the daytime, but come out into mid-stream and the current during the night.

Our trout-seekers cannot, as remarked above, go a-fishing every night, but only during the hinapouri phase of the moon. On moonlight nights the fish are too shy to be approached. "Kaore e au te moe" ("They do not sleep soundly"), says the Maori. Thus they go out only on certain nights of the moon, and such nights are known to all the elderly folk. The Maori month being a purely lunar one, commencing with the new moon—or, rather, with the Whiro night, page 218when it is not visible—it follows that the named nights of the moon's age always present the same aspect, and so serve as a reliable calendar. The following is a list of the names of the "nights of the moon," as the Maori puts it (for he speaks of "nights" where we use the term "days"), together, with their value as fishing-nights. This applies to kokopu fishing only, for Tuhoe never had access to the sea:—

1. Whiro .. .. Good fishing-nights
2. Tirea .. .. Good fishing-nights
3. Hoata .. .. Good fishing-nights
4. Oue .. .. Good fishing-nights
5. Okoro .. .. Poor nights for fishing. Kokopu do not sleep soundly.
6. Tamatea-tutahi .. Poor nights for fishing. Kokopu do not sleep soundly.
7. Tamatea-anana .. Poor nights for fishing. Kokopu do not sleep soundly.
8. Tamatea-aio .. Very poor fishing-nights. On the Ari night the light of the torches will alarm the fish, which are restless, and so they dart away. (Ka aho te rama, ka rere te ika, ka torohihi haere.) On the Huna night the fish are concealed (huna).
9. Tamatea-kaiariki .. Very poor fishing-nights. On the Ari night the light of the torches will alarm the fish, which are restless, and so they dart away. (Ka aho te rama, ka rere te ika, ka torohihi haere.) On the Huna night the fish are concealed (huna).
10. Ari-matanui .. Very poor fishing-nights. On the Ari night the light of the torches will alarm the fish, which are restless, and so they dart away. (Ka aho te rama, ka rere te ika, ka torohihi haere.) On the Huna night the fish are concealed (huna).
11. Huna .. .. Very poor fishing-nights. On the Ari night the light of the torches will alarm the fish, which are restless, and so they dart away. (Ka aho te rama, ka rere te ika, ka torohihi haere.) On the Huna night the fish are concealed (huna).
12. Mawharu .. .. Very poor fishing-nights. On the Ari night the light of the torches will alarm the fish, which are restless, and so they dart away. (Ka aho te rama, ka rere te ika, ka torohihi haere.) On the Huna night the fish are concealed (huna).
13. Maure .. .. Very poor fishing-nights. On the Ari night the light of the torches will alarm the fish, which are restless, and so they dart away. (Ka aho te rama, ka rere te ika, ka torohihi haere.) On the Huna night the fish are concealed (huna).
14. Ohua .. .. Fishing impossible; moonlight too strong; fish cannot be approached.
15. Atua .. .. Fishing impossible; moonlight too strong; fish cannot be approached.
16. Hotu .. .. Fishing impossible; moonlight too strong; fish cannot be approached.
17. Turu .. .. Fishing impossible; moonlight too strong; fish cannot be approached.
18. Rakau-nui .. Fishing impossible; moonlight too strong; fish cannot be approached.
19. Rakau-matohi .. Fishing impossible; moonlight too strong; fish cannot be approached.
20. Takirau .. .. Fishing impossible; moonlight too strong; fish cannot be approached.
21. Oika .. .. Fishing impossible; moonlight too strong; fish cannot be approached.
22. Korekore .. Fishing impossible; moonlight too strong; fish cannot be approached.
23. Korekore-piri-ki-te-Tangaroa .. Fishing may be successful after midnight. (Kia kaukau ki te ao.)
24. Tangaroa-amua .. Favourable for fishing. In No. 23 of the Appendix is given another list of these names, but it contains little concerning fishing. Nights 8, 12, 23, 24, 25, and 26 are said to be good for fishing; while 15, 16, 17, and 21 are but fair; others are unfavourable.
25. Tangaroa-aroto .. Favourable for fishing. In No. 23 of the Appendix is given another list of these names, but it contains little concerning fishing. Nights 8, 12, 23, 24, 25, and 26 are said to be good for fishing; while 15, 16, 17, and 21 are but fair; others are unfavourable.
26. Tangaroa-kiokio .. Favourable for fishing. In No. 23 of the Appendix is given another list of these names, but it contains little concerning fishing. Nights 8, 12, 23, 24, 25, and 26 are said to be good for fishing; while 15, 16, 17, and 21 are but fair; others are unfavourable.
27. Otane .. .. Favourable for fishing. In No. 23 of the Appendix is given another list of these names, but it contains little concerning fishing. Nights 8, 12, 23, 24, 25, and 26 are said to be good for fishing; while 15, 16, 17, and 21 are but fair; others are unfavourable.
28. Orongonui .. Favourable for fishing. In No. 23 of the Appendix is given another list of these names, but it contains little concerning fishing. Nights 8, 12, 23, 24, 25, and 26 are said to be good for fishing; while 15, 16, 17, and 21 are but fair; others are unfavourable.
29. Mauri .. .. Favourable for fishing. In No. 23 of the Appendix is given another list of these names, but it contains little concerning fishing. Nights 8, 12, 23, 24, 25, and 26 are said to be good for fishing; while 15, 16, 17, and 21 are but fair; others are unfavourable.
30. Mutuwhenua .. Favourable for fishing. In No. 23 of the Appendix is given another list of these names, but it contains little concerning fishing. Nights 8, 12, 23, 24, 25, and 26 are said to be good for fishing; while 15, 16, 17, and 21 are but fair; others are unfavourable.

The kokopu was sometimes taken by bobbing, a method that has already been explained in dealing with eels. Some fishers used a two-pronged matire, or fishing-rod, for kokopu, as represented by a forked stick; to each of the prongs a line was secured, and each line had a bob at its lower end. This is a Waiapu item.

We have already given one charm recited by fishermen when fishing for eels and kopu. The following seems to have been used by trout-fishers only, and was given by Ngati-awa of Te Teko:—

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He Whakaatu i te Whakawai o te Mounu.

(Drawing attention to the allurement of the bait.)

E kai e te kokopu i tana kai
Ki te uruti, ki te uruta
Ki taku wahine kotungatunga koratarata
Hei konei, e kopu, kopu nui, kopu roa
E hi ana, e rawe ana,
Tongia, tongia mai i runga, tongia mai i raro, tongia mai nga taita.
E hi ana, e rau ana, tongia.

The following is a charm recited by persons fishing for fresh-water fish. The karawaka is a small fish resembling inanga; what putore may denote I cannot say:—

E te putore E! Takitakina mai
E te karawaka E! Takitakina mai
E hi te tai timu, e hi te tai pari
Warowaro kai mai ki taku toke
Kanohi karapa, to kai he maunu.

The form of hand-net used in taking the various kinds of kokopu (Galaxias) should perhaps be termed a scoop-net. The following description is that of such as are used by the Tuhoe Tribe, of which there are two forms. The first kind of these nets is that used by women, who do most of the fishing for kokopu. To construct this net, a piece of green supplejack is procured, bent into an oval form, and the ends lashed together. A cord, termed the tautata, is secured by one end to one side of the oval hoop, in the centre, and the other end is passed round the opposite side. Then by pulling the cord the two sides are brought to within 8 in. of each other, thus, flattening the oval. The cord is so secured, and keeps the net-hoop from spreading or opening out. Another piece of supplejack (kareao or piritia—Rhipogonum scandens) is bent in two places so as to form three sides of a square, two upright ends being about 18 in. in height, and the base or bottom part about 2 ft. in length—that is, of the same length as the oval hoop that formed the upper part of the net-frame. The two ends of the titoko, or three-sided item, are lashed to the ovoid hoop (termed the tutu), and this completes the framework of the net. The ends of the titoko are bent and doubled over the ends of the tutu, and lashed in that position. A net is then made to fit this frame. It is made by netting narrow strips of undressed Phormium leaf, the mesh (mata) being about ¾ in, in length. As in other net-making, a small flat piece of wood is used as a mesh-gauge (papa kupenga). It is, as with us, used in order to ensure regularity in the size of the mesh. The stick is moved along as the work progresses. page 220The net is made to fit the frame tightly, and is kept distended in a wedge-shaped form by the tutu and titoko. The cord rib round the upper part of the net is tied to the hoop, save a space left free at one side, where the manipulator inserts her hand to grasp the hoop when using the net. This style of hand-net is known as a kupenga titoko.

Fig. 86—Kupenga kokopu, or kupenga titoko scoop-net for taking kokopu. B. Osborne, photo

Another form of scoop-net used in taking the kokopu is that known as a kape, which style is, or was, used by men. It differs from that first described in form, and the net is made of dressed Phormium fibre, not the raw leaf. It does not narrow at the bottom in wedge form, nor is the tutu oval or curved in any wise, but carries sharp angles, two being obtuse and two acute, hence one end of the frame and net is wider than the other. This net is fastened to the end of a short pole, the free end of which is held by the fisherman. The narrow end of the net is toward the operator, and to this narrow end is attached the mouth of the ngake, a small net which serves the purpose of a fish bag or container, for when a fish is scooped up in the main net at the end of the pole the operator raises the outer end of his pole-handle and causes the fish to slip down into the ngake, or bag, where it remains until the fisher quits work or the bag is emptied. Not having seen this form, it follows that the description may be somewhat incorrect. Apparently the kape is not now used.

These net traps must be used at night; it would be a vain task to endeavour to take the wily kopu with them during daylight. The Tuhoe folk use the hard heart-wood of white-pine for torches; it is termed mapara, and is split into small strips, a number of which are page 221tied together and lighted at one end. The torch is called a rama, and rama kokopu denotes taking trout by torchlight, as the expression rama tuna is applied to taking eels in a similar way.

These Tuhoe women when engaged in taking this fish wore no lower garments in days of yore; nowadays they hitch up their dresses well over the half-mast line, and many young women seen in our streets these days are dressed (or undressed) passing well for kokopu fishing. Each operator carries her hoop-net in the right hand and torch in the left, while to her waist is secured her tauremu or puwai (fish-basket). The advance is slow, for the fishers are barefooted, and also do not wish to scare the fish. Should any individual chance to have a puhorei.e., encounter an unlucky sign or token of ill success—then she will probably refrain from attempting to take fish and confine her activities to carrying a torch. There are many, many puhore in this sin-stained world, as you will find out when you go a-fishing and fowling with Maori folk. For instance, if as you advance you run your head into a spider's web, then that is a puhore: you will have very poor luck in your fishing. Again, if you indulge in the pernicious habit of speaking of fish or game you are going in quest of as though already caught, then you will have the worst kind of luck: such an act is styled a toitoi-a-kewa. The idea is that if you speak of fish or gams in such a manner, then the fish or birds may hide themselves—i.e., be forewarned and so avoid your net, bob, trap, or snare. If it is absolutely necessary to allude to such creatures, then you do so by using a name or expression not commonly employed, just as you style the root of the perei (Gastrodia) maikaika when you are in search of it, for if you called it perei you would never find it. The term tuhira denotes something closely akin to the toitoi-a-kewa—namely, the covetous desires of a person too indolent to join in a fishing or fowling expedition; while tumanako denotes a desire for something not at hand. All such conditions and thoughts affect the success of a fishing or fowling party, hence it was necessary to avert in some way these evil influences. This was effected by means of what is called a tuapa, a name that denotes what may be termed a luck-post, and also a simple ceremony performed at it. A wooden post would be set up at some place near a village, and at this post the tuapa ceremony was performed—a ceremony that is said to have warded off ill luck, to have rendered innocuous such pernicious influences as toitoi-a-kewa, tuhira, and tumanako, and so to have ensured good fortune. Such a place had not the intense tapu of a tuahu, but the belief seems to have been that it possessed sufficient power to render effectual the simple rite performed at it. Prior to going forth, say, on a fishing expedition for eels or koko-page 222pu, our neolithic fishermen would proceed to the tuapa post, detach a fragment of wood from his torch, touch his hoop-net or fish-basket with it, and then cast it at the base of the post, repeating as he did so the following charm: "Nga puhore nei, nga tumanako nei, nga tuhira nei, ki konei koutou putu ai; arai puhore, whakawhiwhi ki te tamaroa" ("Ill luck, thwarting desire, and covetous indolence, lie ye here; ward off ill luck and cause man to acquire"). Fowlers and rat-snarers performed a similar ceremony at the tuapa, or luck-post.

If the first kokopu seen by a party of fishers be taken, the fact is viewed as a good omen for the evening's work; if it escapes, then a poor catch is foretold—indeed, I have been informed that the party might return home without making any further effort on that night. The first fish caught was not retained by the person who took it, but cast aside (not into the stream). This was really an offering to the gods, and the act might or might not be accompanied by such a brief remark as, "Ma —" ("For —"), the name of a so-called god being mentioned. It would be deemed a puhore were the first fish cast back into the stream; presumably the deity would not be able to catch it.

These fish-netting folk proceed up-stream in a straggling manner, each person selecting his or her own route, but when returning they work down abreast, and so endeavour to take fish during the up-stream march. It is said that the para is, for some reason, attracted by the muddied or disturbed water in the rear of the up-stream march; possibly it finds some form of food among disturbed stones, and some of these inquisitive para are taken by the returning fishers, albeit the creature is by no means asleep.

As to the method of using the kupenga, or hoop-net: As observed, the kokopu seeker carries torch in left hand, net in right. Wading slowly up-stream, carefully avoiding the making of any undue disturbance of the water, she sees a fish before her, with head upstream, in mid-water, stationary save for gently-waving tail. She now lowers the net gently into the water, with entrance to left, and brings the mouth of it near to the fish, on its right side. Then, balancing herself on her right foot, she brings her left foot slowly up on the left side of the fish, and with it just touches the fish. Like a flash that fish darts to its right to avoid the threatened danger on the left, straight into the mouth of the net, which is now lifted from the water, and the fish is transferred to the puwai, or fish-bag, another unit added to the long list of victims of misplaced confidence. The fish-bag used is a form of basket, and is known as a tauremu, papawai, and puwai;it is carried strapped to the waist of the fisherwoman.

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Upper parts of traps shown with lowering-line attached to cross-arm A. Hamilton, photo

Fig. 87—Pouraka traps for kokopu, Lake Taupo. B. Osborne, photo

Side view of pouraka

page 224

The method of using the other form of net has been described above. My Tuhoean fishing companions termed it a kape, but it had gone out of use in my time.

Kokopu are often cooked in small baskets called tapora, formed by plaiting leaves of mauri or kokaha (both Astelia), or some similar leaves. The Tuhoe natives line these little open-top baskets with young fronds of the ferns called rereti and mauku (Blechnum lance-olatum and Asplenium bulbiferum), from which the tuaka, or midribs, have been removed. The fish are not gutted, but placed whole in the receptacle, packed neatly in, and covered over with some leaves used as food, such as are termed puwha. The tapora is then confined with a tie and is placed in the steam cooking-pit. When eaten, the whole package is placed before the diner, who eats the steamed fern-leaves and puwha as well as the fish. To preserve this fish for future use they are dried on a rack over a fire, the ahi rara ika, as explained under the heading of "Eels." The kokopu were not, however, cleaned prior to that drying process, as eels were. The kokopu is liberally endowed with small bones.

The papauma is another fresh-water fish that may be placed under the general heading of kokopu. I am not aware how widespread this name is, and I may have mentioned it by another name. The Waiapu natives told me that this fish proceeds to the sea in the autumn, and was then taken. It is marked with bands of different colours, while the para is striped and was often taken with the tarare, a fish having a spotted or blotched appearance. The papauma, they remarked, was taken with the bob. A short rod, about 2 ft. in length, having several prongs to which bob-lines were secured, was used, as this fish was taken in the shallow waters of rapids. At such places the fisher might construct a puwhara, or small stage on which to sit.