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The Material Culture of the Cook Islands (Aitutaki)

5.—Hook And Line

5.—Hook And Line.

In pre-European times line fishing was the least important method of obtaining fish. The lagoon teemed with fish, which were quite adequately secured by means of traps and the methods already described There was therefore no incentive to a variety of hooks such as obtain in New Zealand.

In Rarotonga and Aitutaki, there are two types of hook that are of native origin. These are the toko and the matau kio.

(1.)Toko hook. The toko hook was made from a forked branch of iron-wood. The shape and dimensions of
Figure 267. Toko hook for barracouta.

Figure 267.
Toko hook for barracouta.

its various parts are shown in Fig. 267. Originally the point was made of bone, but there was no suspicion of a barb. The point now-a-days consists of a piece of curved iron. The hook was used for catching manga, barracouta.page 307
(2.)Matau kio. The kio hook is generally made from a metal nail. Though the material is European, the shape and origin of the hook are undoubtedly native. The right bait is the tentacle of the cuttle fish or octopus, heke, from which the suckers have been rubbed off. The bait is put on over the portion of the hook indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 268. It is tied on with the fibre, kua, of the large banana known as pu rehua.
Figure 268.Matau kio, metal hook for kio.

Figure 268.
Matau kio, metal hook for kio.

The hook is used for catching the kiokio and the paoa. Both fish are ground feeders. The frequent the white sand shoals, vehu, near the small islets in the lagoon, such as Motu-rakau. When a shoal is feeding, their whereabouts is indicated to the expert fishermen by the discolouration of the water. The canoe gets to windward and drops anchor quietly. A twenty fathom line is used, with a hook at either end and no sinker. A short length of hau pole, split at the top, is fixed in the mast hole of the thwarts or to the side of the gunwale. The middle of the line is hooked over the split in the short pole, thus giving two separate lines. Using both thwarts, the fisherman has four lines. Ground bait is first thrown out to attract the fish. When a fish takes the bait, the running line makes a sound that attracts the fisherman's attention. If two lines are engaged at the same time, the one which seems to have the greatest strain is attended to.

Makea Ariki, of Rarotonga, was of the strong opinion that the only true native hook in the Lower Cook Group was the toko hook for catching barracouta. As he pointed out the kio hook was a post-European development, rendered possible by the introduction of iron. The pearl shell hooks for catching bonito were only possible in Manihiki and the Northern Islands, where pearl shell could be obtained.