Material. The thatch consists of the leaves of the cocoanut palm and the pandanus. In each case, the leaves are made into convenient sheets ere being attached to the framework of the roof.

The Cocoanut Leaf. The cocoanut tree is called pu niu, pu being a prefix denoting the trunk or tree. The green nut used for drinking is niu, whilst the mature nut used for grating is hakari. The leaf, consisting of a thick midrib with paired leaflets is nikau in Aitutaki and kikau in Rarotonga. The butt end of the leaf is the tumu, and the tip end, the kauru. The upper shining surface of the leaf is the aro, (front) and the under duller surface, the tua (back). The leaf midrib is haniu. It is somewhat triangular in cross section, Fig. 6. The base of the triangle is on the under surface, whilst the two sides carry the symmetrically-placed leaflets, which are usually called rau (leaf).

Figure 6.
Cocoanut leaf midrib, carrying leaflets.

A.—Upper surface. B.—Under surface.

The leaflet midrib is attached to the leaf midrib near its upper edge, whilst the leaflet attachment on either side of its own midrib descends vertically as two distinct attachments to the leaf midrib. The edges of the leaflets are thus close together at their origin, but gradually open out into a flat strip. For a little distance they form an inverted V in cross section, closed above and open below. See Fig. 6 A. and B. This structure is of importance in the various articles into which the leaflets are plaited.

Plaiting the Nikau Roof Sheets. The builder calculates beforehand how many sheets are required for the length of one row along the roof. Allowing for an overlap of a few inches, he cuts a stick to the required length of one sheet. The cocoanut leaves are cut off in even lengths page 8to this measure. They vary from six feet upwards. The leaf length is split down the midrib (kohae) and the midrib pared down to an even thickness.

To plait the sheet, the midrib strip must be towards the plaiter with the shiny surface (aro) of the leaflets upwards, or with the midrib down and the shiny surface towards the plaiter. The plait is a simple check, each leaflet passing alternately above and below each crossing leaflet. Each half of the split leaf length is dealt with in a slightly different manner.

In one of the two halves, when the butt end of the midrib is held towards the left, the leaflets slant naturally towards the right. On this half, the plaiting commences on the left and works towards the right. This sheet is called katau (right), from the direction of the plaiting, which is the normal technique.

Figure 7.
Cocoanut leaf sheet, Katau.

Commencing on the left in Fig. 7, the first leaflet is left in its natural position. The second is bent under it towards the left. The third is left in position and the fourth bent under it towards the left but to maintain the check stroke, it is passed above the first, 1. The next, 5, is left alone whilst the next again, 6, is passed under it to the left, and, to maintain the check stroke, it must pass over 3 and under 1. This technique is continued to the end of the sheet. Commencing with the first leaflet, every alternate one is left in its natural position directed towards the right. The second leaflet and every alternate one is turned to the left to provide the crossing elements. Each one passes under the leaflet on its left and then alternately over and under to continue the check plait. Each leaflet is pressed down with the thumb near its attachment to the midrib in order to flatten and open out the leaflet to its full width. The page 9leaflets directed towards the right are separated with the left hand, and the leaflet to be directed towards the left is placed in position by the right. When the leaflets directed towards the left have crossed about six of those directed to the right, the plaiting is of sufficient depth. Thus in Fig. 7, this requirement has been fulfilled by leaflet 12. For the next stroke, the right leaflets numbered 5, 9, and 13 are lifted with the left hand and the leaflet 14 turned to the left beneath them by the right hand. This continues the check stroke and maintains the same depth. When the last leaflet on the right is turned to the left, this part of the technique is completed. At the left end, the leaflets marked 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 project beyond the marginal crossing weft 1. On the right end of the completed sheet, a similar condition will be present, the free projecting leaflets being in this case directed towards the right.

On dealing with the second midrib strip, it will be found that when the midrib is towards the plaiter with the shiny surface of the leaflets uppermost, the butt end is to the right, and the leaflets consequently slant towards the left, Fig. 8.

Figure 8.
Cocoanut leaf sheet, Maui.

In this case the plaiting commences on the right and works towards the left. The sheet is consequently called maui (left). The first leaflet, 1, is left in its natural position and every alternate leaflet from it. The second leaflet, 2, and every alternate leaflet from it, forms the crossing elements by being bent to the right. They pass under the leaflet immediately on their right and continue the check stroke by passing over and under the leaflets they cross. A similar depth of plaiting is maintained to that of the katau sheet. This is the only instance in which plaiting page 10departs from the orthodox technique of working from right to left. In this case, it is the right hand that separates the naturally-directed leaflets, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11, whilst the left hand turns back the leaflets that pass between. The leaflets are so coarse and the work so comparatively brief on each sheet, that this left-handed method leads to no complications.

One sheet is now placed on top of the other, midrib margins together and shiny surfaces upwards. The free

Figure 9.
Double cocoanut leaf sheet.

A.—Plaiting commencement of end.

B.—Finish of end plait.

leaflet ends, beyond the first crossing leaflet, are made to coincide and the two leaflets treated as one element. On the left end of the sheet, the free leaflets projecting to the left have to be turned back to the right to form a side edge to the sheet. The work commences with the lowest leaflets. Thus treating Fig. 7 as a double sheet, the lowest leaflet, 2, (with the one corresponding from the sheet below) is turned over at right angles towards the right. To continue the check technique, it must pass above the leaflet it first crosses, namely 4, and thence pass under 6 and over 8 as shown in Fig. 9 A. The other free leaflets, 4, 6, and 8, are successively dealt with in a similar manner and then to prevent the side margin from unravelling, the leaflets 8 and 10 are knotted together, Fig. 9 B.

The other end of the two sheets are dealt with similarly, the right projecting leaflets (2, 4, 6 and 8 in Fig. 8) being turned back towards the left and 10 and 12 knotted page 11together. Remember that the leaflets throughout are in pairs, one from each sheet. The two sheets are thus connected together by the plaiting of the ends as shown in Fig. 10. For thatching operations, they are treated as one sheet.

Figure 10.
Nikau roofing sheet.

The above is the usual treatment of the nikau leaf. Single sheets may be used for rough shelters made in a hurry, but it is not good craftsmanship. For good houses, the leaves are usually soaked in sea water to rid them of beetles and so prolong the life of the roof. They are allowed to dry before plaiting. It makes the plaiting slightly more difficult but forms better thatch.

The Pandanus Leaf. The pandanus grows plentifully on Aitutaki and the islands in the lagoon. It is generally referred to as hara. The tree is strictly speaking puhara and the leaf, rau hara. To avoid confusion, however, the term rau hara is restricted to the leaf of the finer species of pandanus used in plaiting floor mats. The leaf of the thatching pandanus is thus referred to simply as rau (leaf) and the house thatched with such material as hare rau.

The leaves selected are the dry leaves below the green ones of the younger trees. They are longer and wider than those of the older trees with a mature stem. The upper shiny surface of the leaf is termed the aro (front) and the under duller surface, the tua (back). Near the stem attachment, the upper surface of the leaf is concave. As in the case of the nikau, the leaves are first soaked in sea water to kill the bugs, and then dried.

Sewing the Pandanus Sheet. In the nikau sheet, nature has provided a midrib to which the leaflets are attached. In the pandanus, the leaves are single, and man page 12had to provide an artificial midrib and a means of attaching the separate leaves to it to form a sheet of thatch.

Figure 11.
Pandanus tree (on right).

The representative of the nikau midrib was provided by a wooden strip prepared by splitting the aerial roots of the pandanus tree. These aerial roots can be seen at the base of the pandanus tree shown in Fig. 11. They are called kaihara. The split strip is seen in Fig. 19. They vary from 2 feet 6 inches to 4 feet in length. On occasions, the cane known as teka was used.

Figure 12.
Au tui implement.

To attach the leaves a wooden implement named au tui is used, with the dry midribs of cocoanut leaflets. The au tui is made from the heart of iron wood, toa. It is about 10 inches long and pointed at one end. The handle end is about ½ inch wide, Fig. 12. The blade is flattened as shown in Fig. 13, where A. shows part of the blade on the flat and B., the same part on edge.

Figure 13.
Blade of au tui implement.

The various steps in the technique of making a rau sheet were called out during the demonstration given to me so I quote them as they occurred. A short stake was driven firmly into the ground. This was the rakau oro rau, the stake for rubbing the leaves. The worker seated himself behind this stake with a bundle of pandanus leaves on his right. Beside him were the split rods of kaihara, the au tui implement and the cocoanut leaflet midribs which were also termed nikau.

Stages of Making Pandanus Sheet.

(a.)	Ka oro te rau, (The leaf is rubbed). Picking up a leaf with the right hand, the operator passes the butt end (tumu) horizontally in front of the upright stake with the front (aro) surface towards him. Seizing the butt end with the left hand the anterior surface of the leaf is rubbed against the stake Figure 14. The leaf is rubbed. page 14 by drawing it from side to side for about two feet of its length from the butt end. This opens out the leaf, which has closed in on drying. The leaf is turned and the back or tua surface rubbed in a similar manner. See Fig. 14.
(b.)	Ka tatua te rau (The leaf is girdled). The rubbed leaf is slipped to the ground with the tua surface uppermost. As it is slipped down, the butt end is brought round the stake and passed under the other part as in Fig. 15. The right big toe is placed upon the crossing place, X, to keep the girdle (tatua) from coming apart. Figure 15. The leaf is girdled. The next leaf is rubbed (oro) and slipped down to join its fellows in a girdle round the stake. The big toe makes way for each additional leaf and then resumes its position above it.
(c.)	Ka tapeka te rau (The leaves are tied). When a sufficient number of leaves have accumulated at the foot of the stake, a piece of hibiscus bark, kiri hau, is passed right round the leaves where they cross and the bundle thus formed is tied (tapeka). The bundle thus formed is lifted up over the top of the stake and laid aside. The above three processes are continued until a sufficient number of bundles have been prepared. What really happens is that other workers are carrying on with the other stages. A bundle of material so tied is a tupe. The rubbing stake is now abandoned.
(d.)	Ka tatara te rau (The leaves are unfastened). This is merely the unfastening of the kiri hau strip that kept the tupe together.
(e.)	Ka hakatika te rau (The leaves are straightened). On untying the bundle, the leaves remain bent from the girdling process. They are picked up in lots of half a dozen, held together at the butt ends, flicked out page 15and then drawn from side to side across the bent knee with the back surface towards the knee. This takes the kink out of the leaves and constitutes the act of straightening (hakatika). With the straightened leaves neatly arranged with the back surfaces uppermost and the butt ends towards him, the kai hara strips, nikau midribs and the au tui needle beside him, the thatcher begins to assemble his material into a sheet.
(f.)	Ka tui te rau (The leaves are sewn). A leaf is picked up with the butt end to the worker and the back surface upwards. About 11 inches from the butt end a kaihara strip is laid transversely across the leaf, Fig. 16a. The butt end of the leaf is bent (hahati—Maori whawhati) over the strip and doubled Figure 16. Bending pandanus leaves over wooden strip. back on itself, Fig. 16b. Holding the doubled over leaf and the wooden strip together with the right hand, a second leaf is placed against the strip, so as to overlap the first leaf as in Fig. 16c. The second butt end is doubled over the wooden strip and maintains the overlap of about half an inch. Holding the two leaves together in position over the wooden strip with the left hand, the au tui needle, with its long diameter along the length of the leaves, is pushed up through both layers of the first leaf on the right side of its midrib. It is carried across and pushed down through the half inch overlap of the two leaves, thus passing through four layers. It is then brought up again through the two layers of the second leaf on the right or near side of its midrib, Fig. 17a. The long diameter of the needle splits readily through the longitudinal grain of page 16 Figure 17. a.—Au tui implement used to sew pandanus leaves together. b.—Cross section through au tui. the leaves. In a cross section, the au tui lies as in Fig. 17b. The needle is now given a half turn which puts the long diameter of the shaft of the implement at right angles to the long axis of the slits it made in the leaves. This opens up the slits as shown in the cross section, Fig. 18b., and allows room for the leaflet midrib Figure 18. a.—Leaflet midrib passed alongside of au tui. b.—Cross section. to be passed alongside of the needle. The needle stays in position and enables the right hand to pick up the midrib and pass it through the openings made for it, Fig. 18a. The needle is withdrawn and the leaflet midrib keeps the leaves in position in relation to the wooden strip over which they are doubled, and also, by passing through the overlap of the leaves, it maintains the overlap and prevents any subsequent leakage of rain between the leaves. page 17 Figure 19. The leaf is sewn. The next leaf is added in exactly the same manner as the second. The right edge overlaps. See Fig. 19. The needle is passed down through the overlap and brought up again through the new leaf on the near side of the midrib, Fig. 20. The needle is twisted and the leaflet midrib pushed on through the fresh holes. Figure 20. Pandanus leaf sheet, adding third leaf. Two or three leaves may be placed in position before the needle is used, but for each leaf the procedure is the same—down through the overlap and up on the the near side of the leaf midrib. When the end of the kaihara strip is reached, the last leaf added may overlap the previous leaf by more than half an inch in page 18order that the left edge of the leaf may exactly coincide with the end of the wooden strip. After passing through the overlapping edges of the last two leaves, the needle must pass through the two layers of the last leaf beyond its midrib. Thus the first and last strokes of the needle are to fix the edges of the marginal leaves and prevent them flapping open. The line of the midrib stitching is about 3 inches from the doubled over margins of the leaves. It is kept straight and true by keeping the needle the same distance from the tip of the left thumb which holds the leaf butts down as the needle is passed through the overlap. On the other side, the left fingers are holding the leaf overlap against the thumb. If the nikau midrib runs short, another is used. They are stiff and strong and there is no need to join them. Any extra length is pinched off at the edge of the last leaf.

It takes a considerable number of sheets to make a good roof. The builder calculates beforehand how many sheets are required to each row along the roof length. He decides on the distance between each layer or row and from the length of the kaho of the roof framework, he gets the number of rows. He can thus get the total number for both sides of the roof. The ends of the house have also to be considered. When he gets his grand total, that number of sheets has to be made before the thatching commences.

Thatching the Roof.

General. The kaho rods of the roof framework extend longitudinally between the ridge-poles and the wall plate. The roofing sheets are laid horizontally across the kaho and attached to them by tying with sinnet braid, kaha.

The sheets overlap each other to turn the rain. The thatching commences near the lower ends of the kaho and then works upwards. In this connection there is a fable concerning an argument in ancient times between Te Hakatauira and Te Hakataiti as to how the roof thatching should commence. Te Hakatauira is the personification of youth and inexperience. Compare with the Maori Tauira, a student or neophyte. Te Hakataiti represents age and knowledge. Said Youth: "Let us start from above and work downwards." "Nay," replied Age, "let us commence at the bottom and work upwards." But impetuous Youth, page 19scorning the opinions of Age, commenced his house roof in his own way. When he completed the upper row of sheets, he found that he had to lift up the lower part of the material to enable him to push the upper part of the succeeding layer beneath. Each succeeding layer pushed the preceding one upwards and made the component leaves stick out in an untidy manner. The roof took longer to build. When completed, it was unsightly to behold and—it leaked. But Age, in spite of age, finished long before his youthful opponent. He had no upper layers to raise up out of the way of his work. Each succeeding layer was laid evenly and neatly above the one below. The overlap fell naturally into position. On completion, the roof presented an even slope, and it did not leak. Since then thatching has always commenced from below.

Figure 21.
Au ato thatching implement.

Thatching Implement, Au ato. For attaching the pandanus leaf sheets, an implement named au ato is used. It is made of heart of iron wood, see Fig. 21. The implement figured is 9¾ inches long and the dimensions near the point are shown in Fig. 22.

Figure 22.
Point of au ato.

The Cocoanut Leaf (Nikau) Roof.

Reference to Figs. 3 and 4, show that the manuae or iniki is a horizontal pole attached to the lower ends of the kaho on their outer or upper surface and well to the outer side of the line where the wall plate (rape) meets the framework of the roof. A few inches above the manuae and parallel with it is the first line along which the midrib page 20portions of the nikau sheets are attached to the kaho. The thatcher, armed with sinnet braid, stands inside the house whilst an assistant from outside places the sheets in position. A length of sinnet braid is securely tied to the lower end of the kaho. With the nikau sheet in position, the sinnet is passed up from the inside and over the midrib edge on the right of the kaho. The sinnet is passed diagonally down on the outside of the sheet, pushed through between the leaflets just below the midrib and pulled into the interior on the left of the kaho as shown on the left kaho in Fig. 23.

Figure 23.
Attaching nikau sheet to kaho.

A.—From the inside. B.—Cross section.

a.—Kaho. b.—Manuae. c.—Nikau midrib. d.—Sinnet lashing.

The sinnet braid is then passed over and through its own loop to make an overhand knot, as on the right kaho in Fig. 23A and 23B. Fig. 23B also shows the reason for the manuae. It throws the lower ends of the sheets out clear of the walls and prevents the rain dripping down them. One sheet may cover two or more kaho, but the procedure on each kaho is identical. The loop the sinnet braid makes on the outside of the kaho is shown in Fig. 24.

Figure 24.
Outside of Nikau sheet attachment to kaho.

a.—Kaho. c.—Nikau sheet midrib. d.—Sinnet lashing.

The next row of nikau sheets is placed a few inches above the first. The sinnet braid is simply carried up from the lower sheet, passed over the midrib on the right of the kaho, pulled through on the left and tied with an overhand knot as before. This proceeds upwards along the kaho, Fig. 25.

Figure 25.
Sinnet lashings of nikau sheets.

Where few men are employed, the width of one or two sheets may be worked upwards to the ridge-pole before the next lot is tackled. When the sinnet braid works out, another length is knotted to it.

The sheets along the same row are overlapped where they meet, generally over a kaho. The overlap of the sheets on the outside makes a good thatch.

On the outside, it is only the free ends of the leaflets that are seen, but inside the parallel lines of the midrib edges of the sheet with the narrow strip of plaiting showing between and the regular lashings running up the kaha give a very pleasing effect.

The Pandanus Leaf (rau) Roof.

The thatching of a rau roof is a more complicated proceeding. It is usually made a family matter with a host of workers. A thatcher is told off to each kaho on one side of the roof. Outside there are as many carriers as it takes sheets to form a complete row along the roof. Each attends to his own section of the row. In the rau roof of the house used as a hospital at Arutanga, the kaho were 1 foot 7 inches apart and there were 62 rows or layers of thatch on either side, the rows being about 2 inches apart.

The method of attaching the rau sheets to the kaho is similar to that used with the nikau. The sinnet braid is tied to the lower end of the kaho. The sheet is placed against the kaho. with the tua or back surface of the leaves to the outside and the doubled over edge of the leaves above. Thus the butt ends of the leaves are also to the outside. The sinnet braid is passed over the upper edge of the sheet to the right of the kaho. It has to be brought back through the sheet below the kaihara strip contained in the upper doubled over margin and to the left of the kaho. But the rau sheet in this upper part forms a continuous surface through the overlaspping edges of the leaves having been sawn together. The sinnet cannot be pushed through between the leaves by hand as in the case of nikau. It was for this contingency that the au ato implement was invented. The point of the au ato is pushed through the leaf from the inside, on the left of the kaho and below the kaihara strip. The long axis of the implement is held vertically so as to split between the longitudinal fibres of the leaf and not cut them unnecessarily.

Figure 26.
Attaching the rau sheet (from the outside).

A.—Hooking the sinnet braid with the au ato.

B.—Sinnet braid drawn through.

a.—kaho. b.—Sinnet braid. c.—Au ato.

d.—Kaihara strip. e.—Rau sheet.

With the hook or barbed point of the au ato, the sinnet braid is caught, Fig. 26A, and drawn through to the inside, Fig. 26B. The whole length of the braid is drawn through and an overhand knot made as with the nikau sheet. The braid is carried on up the kaho as before, Fig. 27.

Figure 27.
Attachment of rau sheets to kaho (from the inside).

Where the ends of the sheets meet on the same row, they are carefully adjusted. There is a slight overlap, but the edges of the doubled part of one marginal leaf are separated and the edges of the other placed between so that one is enclosed by the other in exactly the same manner as the individual leaves in the sheet. The ends of the kaihara strip offer no difficulty as there is plenty of space for both between the doubled over edge and nikau stem that sews the leaves together. Thus on the inner side of the roof, the joins of the ends of the sheets cannot be detected.

The above is the individual detail, but in actual construction, a whole row of sheets goes on together. Thus each thatcher stands beneath his kaho, with sinnet and au ato implement. On the command, "Homai te rau" (Bring the leaf), the carriers outside place the sheets in position on the kaho. The thatchers judge the required distance above the manuae and all pass the sinnet over the sheet on the right of the kaho, pass the au ato through to the left, draw in the sinnet and make the overhand knot. The thatchers nearest the ends of two sheets arrange the overlaps. The full row is finished. A fresh row of sheets is placed above the last and the thatchers, who have been holding the sinnet taut after the knot, again tie them in a similar manner. The distance between the rows has been arranged as one, two or more finger breadths, and as the thatcher adjusts the upper edge of the sheet, he measures the distance between it and the lower edge with his fingers.

If some of the sheets look askew, the command goes out, "Paoro te hoe." The free meaning is "Straighten the page 24line." The thatchers adjust the sheets so that the line of the upper margins of the rau sheets is perfectly straight and horizontal. As the work ascends the kaho, the thatchers ascend a scaffolding that has been erected inside the house. The scaffolding is called pahata. Compare with the Maori whata, which is without the prefix pa. The carriers outside have each a long pointed pole. As the thatch rises out of reach, the point of the pole is stuck into the middle of the outer surface of the sheet, just below the kaihara strip, and the sheet is lifted up into position. Thus with calls for the leaf and straightening the line, the work goes quickly on. When one side reaches the ridge pole, the work is commenced on the other side in the same manner. For the appearance of the rau leaf on the outside, see Fig. 2. On the inside, owing to the closer arrangement of the rows, the appearance is even more pleasing than in the nikau roof.

Sinnet Lashing. There are three terms used in the lashings of a house:—

• Hahau. This is the ordinary lashing of the framework of the house, such as the kaho to the tarawa and the tarawa to the oka. It is the same as the Maori lashing word hahau.

• Ato is the lashing of the sheet to the kaho by the overhand knot described above. From it, the thatching implement with the barb gets its name of au ato as against the barbless implement for sewing the pandanus leaves together, which is named au tui. Thus au is the implement, whilst ato and tui are the qualifying adjectives taken from the technique in which the implements are employed. Compare the Maori au tui, a curved bone bodkin used to pin the borders of a garment together.

• Takaki. Where the kaho cross the horizontal tarawa of the framework, the sinnet cord lashing the thatch to the kaho passes round the tarawa as well. This lashing then ceases to be ato and becomes takaki. The lashings were worked to form ornamental bindings of various patterns. What they were could not be ascertained.