70 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



Kaui : A cord on which anything is strung or suspended r 

 as kaui tuna, kaui kokopu, and kaui tiki. 



Eel- weirs {pa tuna and pa tauremu) . 



On this subject I have practically no information to give, 

 inasmuch as eels were, and are, very few in these parts, and 

 hence weirs were not used inland, although they w r ere so at 

 and below Eua-toki. 



Eel-weirs are made by erecting a sort of brush fence in the 

 bed of the river, and constructed often in the form of a capital 

 W with openings at the two lower acute angles — 1 \ 3 /^ 3 / 1 - 

 Sometimes only one open space is thus left. To these out- 

 lets are fixed nets, knowm as rohe and purangi, in which 

 eels and other fish are caught. The two lines of fence 

 marked 1 above are termed paihau (wings). The middle part 

 of the weir, marked 2, is called the tuki. The spaces marked 3 

 are occupied by the whakareinga (or whakatakapau) , which 

 are a sort of hurdle made by wattling fern or manuka brush, 

 and which are staked down on the bed of the stream between 

 the tuki and each paihau, extending as far as the open space. 

 These are to prevent the water scouring out a hole in the bed 

 of the stream. The fences are made bv driving into the 

 river-bed rows of stakes, termed matia, and wattling or tying 

 fern or manuka brush to them in such a manner as to make a 

 close fence ; hence fish must pass through the spaces left open 

 in going up or down stream. 



The hinaki, or eel-basket, is still used by the natives in 

 many parts, in rivers and also lakes and lagoons. The shape 

 of this eel-pot is well known to most of us. The funnel- 

 shaped entrance is termed the akura, and to the inner end of 

 it is fastened a small piece of netting, called a rohe, which 

 prevents any fish from passing out through the entrance. 

 Eel-pots are made of small tough roots or twigs, such as- 

 slender manuka twigs, placed parallel and fastened together 

 with fibrous rootlets, &c. The tough twigs of the kai, or young 

 matai tree, are also used, as are the tough creepers known as 

 tonakenake. 



The different outlets of an eel- weir often had special names 

 assigned to them. The large posts of the weir were some- 

 times carved in the most elaborate manner, and the weir 

 generally was quite a permanent affair, although the fences 

 would occasionally need repairing or renewing. The taumaha, 

 or first-fruits ceremony, performed over the first-caught eels of 

 the season, was the same as that for birds, save that the name 

 of Tangaroa was used instead of that of Tane, the former 

 presiding over fish and the latter over forests and birds. 



The following is a charm repeated to cause eels to come 

 and be caught at an eel- weir : — 



