Best. — Food Products of Tuhoeland. 83 



wooden lid (kopani), and sometimes merely with leaves of the 

 rangiora shrub. The hand is thrust through the narrow 

 opening on the top of the calabash in order to procure the 

 food within. The term ngutu iti is often applied to these 

 vessels on account of the small opening. 



Water was, of course, the universal drink of the Maori, 

 and he has quite a fine taste therein. In olden times, when 

 a bowd of drinking-water was fetched from the creek, and 

 before handing it to the drinker, a few green fern-fronds were 

 plucked and laid on the surface of the water, thus, to the 

 Maori mind, rendering the w r ater much more attractive. As 

 my informant put it, "Even were the person not thirsty, yet 

 he would drink of the water so prepared, the appearance of 

 the leaves being so attractive" — He momona nona ki te wai 

 pena, ko aua otaota i tukuna ki roto i te toai hai whakainu atu. 



Before proceeding to speak of divers customs, &c, per- 

 taining to food and the cooking thereof we have a few modern 

 items to place on record, albeit they do not rightly belong to 

 this paper, which is supposed to treat of the food-supplies of 

 a non-agricultural people in -pre-pakeha days. However, the 

 word is " Kohia nga maramara o Matatua"- — while yet the 

 daylight is with us ; and the shades of night are swiftly ap- 

 proaching. 



When the potato and maize were introduced into New 

 Zealand by the early navigators those food products made 

 a great change in Maori life and domestic economy. More 

 especially was this effect caused by the potato, which can 

 be easily grown in all districts, and produces much food 

 with a minimum of labour ; and more especially did those 

 tribes benefit from its introduction who are located in high- 

 lying districts. Hence it became possible for the denizens 

 of Tuhoeland to cultivate food, and swiftly they took ad- 

 vantage of it. For the first time the realm of Tane was 

 invaded by the stone axe and fire, for by these agencies 

 were the clearings made at Euatahuna. Potatoes were ac- 

 quired before intertribal warfare ceased, and it is astonish- 

 ing to see the remote places in the wild back country where 

 are the signs of former cultivations. Potatoes are now the 

 main food of these people, and for some months of each 

 year they have little else to eat, being too indolent to culti- 

 vate any variety of foods. In fact, when they speak of kai 

 (food) they mean potatoes ; to any other article of food the 

 distinctive name is applied. In like manner the term puihi 

 (bush) stands for wild pigs only. When a native says that 

 he is going to hunt puihi he means that he is going pig- 

 hunting. 



The Tuhoe people first acquired potatoes in the time of 

 Tangata-iti, of whom we give a genealogy : — 



