80 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



force them to enter the latter, when the entrance is blocked 

 up and the fish taken. Sometimes, instead of the ditch, a 

 wall of stones is built in shoal water. 



Fish-hooks do not enter into this article, inasmuch as 

 they were not used here. They were made of tough woods r 

 as manuka and tanehaha, and also of bone. They were used 

 for sea-fishing. Puioai, tauremu, and papaivai are names 

 applied to the fish-basket used here. It was tied at the 

 side of the fisher by means of a cord round the waist. 



The fresh- water mussel, or kakahi (Unio menziesii, Gray), 

 was formerly an article of food here, but is not sought for 

 now. A smaller variety, and lighter coloured, the tairaki, 

 is found in Waikare-moana, and the natives inform me that 

 extremely large kakahi are found in the old lake-bed at Te 

 Pa-puni. The natives grope in the mud of lagoons with 

 their feet and pick up the mussels with their toes. But in 

 suitable places, such as Eoto-iti, an instrument termed a heki 

 is used. It is a kind of rake and net combined, with stones 

 fastened to it to make it sink into the mud. The following is 

 a song connected with the mussel : — 



Tane rou kakahi — e 



Aitia te ure 



Tane moe i te whare 



Kurua te takataka 



Ara ra e ! ki Rotorua ra 



Kia kinaki ai ki te kumara 



Ara ra ! ka reka ra 



Ki te umu tahanga nui. 



The above haka was sung as a heriheri kai/-~ during the 

 meeting of the Kotahitanga at Eotorua. A somewhat different 

 version of the above appears in Grey's " Maori Proverbs,' * 

 page 82. 



Fishing-nets. 



Besides the various kinds of nets already mentioned, the 

 following were used in lake and river fishing : — 



Kaharoa : A very large net, also known as riritai. As 

 much as 14 maaro in length (kumi maioha teroa). The maaro 

 is the fathom of the Maori. This net required four men (kai 

 whakakau) to manipulate it. Much used in tidal rivers. 

 The word whdkau describes the stretching of a net across a 

 river — ka whakautia te kaharoa. 



Korohe : A large net used for many kinds of fish. 



Purangi : A net about 4 fathoms in length. It was set 

 across a river and allowed to remain some time in position 

 before being drawn. The expression " Te kawau moe roa" 

 is applied to eel-pots, and such nets as are left in the water, 



* A song while food is being carried to visitors. 



