Te Rangi Hiroa. — Maori Food-supplies of Lake Rotorua. 445 



canoe, and the other to the stern. The hauling-rope of the drag canoe 

 was paid out from the stationary canoe. This brings up an incident that 

 occured after the fall of Mokoia to the Ngapuhi under Hongi. The 

 Ngapuhi, anxious to sample the famous Tcoura of Rotorua, ordered some 

 of their prisoners to accompany them to the fishing-grounds and drag for 

 koura. A fishing-ground near the mainland by Te Ngae was selected 

 by the prisoners. A large canoe containing the captors was fastened to 

 the turuturu. One can imagine, in the light of what subsequently occurred, 

 how carefully and firmly that turuturu was thrust in by the prisoners. 

 The prisoners entered a small canoe with a dredge-net, and, paying off 

 the rope, paddled off towards a point on the mainland. There were no 

 Ngapuhi on this canoe, as, being unskilled, they did not wish to be in the 

 way of the workers. As the canoe paddled away, its speed gradually 

 increased, and on the end of the rope being reached, instead of pulling 

 up, the rope was cast overboard and the canoe driven for shore at full 

 speed. The Ngapuhi, with yells and threats, started to uproot the turuturu, 

 but before they could get going properly the fugitives had landed and made 

 their escape. 



Dr. Newman, in his article " On Maori Dredges,"* quotes Mr. L. Grace 

 as stating that at Lake Taupo, when using the hao, or toothless dredge, 

 the rope was tied to a tree on the bank and the canoe then rowed out to 

 the full length of a many-fathomed rope. In Lake Rotorua, where the 

 fishing-grounds were some distance from the shore, the turuturu took the 

 place of the tree. 



Best mentions the paepae as being used to catch koura in the lakes by 

 being dragged along the bottom. But though his article deals with the 

 food-supplies of Tuhoeland, this remark follows after mention of fern being 

 used to catch koura at Lake Rotoiti, and I take it to apply to the Lakes 

 District and not to Tuhoeland. 



(4.) Kapu, Mangakino, or Dredge-rakes. 



It is curious that the kakahi, or fresh- water mussel, whilst the least 

 appetizing of the lake food-supplies, is the most important in story, song, 

 and proverb. For instance, there is an old saying — Tane moe whare, kurua 

 te takataka ; tane rou kakahi, aitia te ure (Man drowsing in the house, 

 smack his head ; man skilled in dredging kakahi, marry him). There is no 

 exhortation of a similar nature applied to men skilled in netting koura, 

 toitoi, manga, or kokopu, and we must conclude that the prize for relish 

 was awarded to the kakahi. 



The dredge-rake may be described in three parts — the wooden frame, 

 the net, and the pole or handle. 



(a.) Kapu, Mangakino, or Wooden Frame. — The wooden frame carries 

 the teeth of the dredge-rake, and to it are attached the net and the handle. 

 It is called kapu or mangakino, and gives its name to the whole apparatus. 

 Both Hamilton and Newman call it a roukakahi. This is a misnomer, as 

 I shall point out later. The kapu, or mangakino, is always made of manuka 

 wood, so as to stand the strain. By consulting the diagram it will be seen 

 that it is made in two pieces and then lashed together above and below 

 in the mesial line. Each part consists of a horizontal bottom beam, a 

 bend, and an ascending upper arm. 



* Trans. N.Z. Inst, vol. 37, p. 138, 1905. 



