Fletcher. — Edible Fish, dec, of Taupo-nui-o-Tia. 261 



modern times, with potatoes. They were sometimes dried in the sun by 

 first threading them on fine strips of flax and hanging them up in the wind 

 and sun to dry. When sufficiently dry they were placed in the storehouses 

 for future use. 



The following story tells how a place famous for its kohopu was discovered 

 in Taupo Moana over three hundred years ago. A man named Kopeke 

 w'as living at Tu-tete, on the eastern side of Taupo and north of the 

 Hine-maiai River. One morning in early summer he noticed a number of 

 shags going away out on the lake seeking food for their young. They went 

 away out beyond any shallow known to the Maoris, and Kopeke knew there 

 must be some spot out there where it w^as not too deep for the shags to 

 get fish. One calm morning Kopeke and his men went out to see if they 

 could find the spot where the shags had been fishing. They came at last 

 to a shallow spot which they called Popoia-nga-oheohe. It is otherwise 

 known as " The roof of the house of Horo-matangi." A net was tried, and 

 in a very short time they got a very large haul of kokopu. The right to 

 fish on that reef was retained by Kopeke and his descendants right up to 

 the present time. The right is given in the proverb, " The fish in calm 

 water are for everybody ; the fish in the current are for Kopeke." 



After heavy winds koko-pu were cast up on the beaches in large numbers 

 and gathered and used for food. The larger varieties were afiiicted by a 

 small parasite in the shape of a thread-worm about 1| in. long. 



Inanga. 



Inanga were caught in two different ways. One way was by means 

 of a Jiinaki. Hinaki for this purpose were not very large, nor were they 

 made so strong as the hinaki-tuna. The general shape was the same, but 

 the material used was a strong species of rush that grows among manuka 

 {Leptospermum) in dry situations. 



When using a liimiki a suitable place was chosen on the edge of a stream. 

 Experience and judgment were shown in selecting a suitable spot on the 

 river-bank, for unless a good spot was chosen no fish would be caught. 

 A trap was mad^ at the place selected by driving in a few pieces of mamika 

 or other suitable stakes at a slight angle out into the stream. Any light 

 material was interlaced between the stakes to form a barrier that the fish 

 could not pass. At the narrow place the hinaki was securely fastened 

 with the mouth in the narrow gap. The young fish ascending the river 

 would crowd into the place prepared for them and pass on into the hinaki ; 

 their further progress was blocked, and there was no return. The wily 

 fisherman would examine his trap at frequent intervals and enjoy the fruits 

 of his cunning. This method of catching inanga was practised from the 

 beginning of September to the end of January. The young of the kokopu 

 would be caught with the inanga and would be reckoned under the general 

 term inanga. 



In Dominion Museum, Bulletin No. 2, page 56, there is a plate showing 

 " a small fish-trap (set), Tongariro River." On page 67 we are informed 

 that the trap is for eels and small fish. For " eels and small fish " read 

 " inanga.'' 



The other method of catching inanga was by means of a net. This net 

 was known as a kupenga, and it was used in almost the same way as the 

 seine or large drag-net of European use. The length of the inanga net 

 varied from 50 to 100 yards, and its depth from 6 ft. to 8 ft. The diagram 

 given on page 72 of the Bulletin quoted above gives a fair idea of an inanga 



