Best. — Maori Forest Lore. 231 



Art. XXXII. — Maori Forest Lore : Being some Account of Native Forest 

 Lore and Woodcraft, as also of many Myths, Rites, Customs, and Super- 

 stitions connected with the Flora and Fauna of the Tuhoe or Ure-wera 

 District. — Part II. 



By Elsdon Best. 



[^Read before the Auckland Institute, 18?A November, 1908.] 



Harakeke {Phormium tenax). 



The harakeke, or flax, as it is commonly termed, has never obtained to 

 any great extent in Tuhoeland, on account of its being essentially a forest 

 district. Only the inferior varieties of flax were here found growing, and 

 the better varieties were only obtained by means of cultivation. The 

 varieties which produce the better grades of fibre are alluded to as whitau 

 (sometimes hitau), while those which contain poor, weak, non-durable fibre 

 are termed harakeke maori, or common harakeke. 



The following are the names of the varieties of flax known to the Tuhoe 

 Tribe, which people seem to have imported some of the better varieties 

 from the Waikato, for purposes of cultivation, about six generations ago : — 



1. Oue. — This variety produces the best fibre, much prized in former 

 times for the manufacture of the better class of garments. It was not 

 indigenous to Tuhoeland, but was cultivated. 



2. Pari-taniwha. — Produces a good fibre, which, however, requires to 

 be steeped in water when scutched, or it assumes a reddish colour. After 

 being soaked a while it is taken from the water and hung up to dry and 

 bleach. 



3. Wharariki. — Sleeping-mats and such things are made from the green, 

 unscutched leaf. 



i. Bataroa. — Produces a fibre of medium quality. 



5. Ngutu-nui. — Nets and snares are made from the leaf of this variety. 



6. Huhi. — An inferior variety. Grows in swamps. 



7. Tutae-manu. — An inferior fibre. 



8. Awanga (or Aoanga). — Variegated variety. 



9. Taneawai. 



10. Ruatapu. — Formerly looked upon as being tapu, as its leaves, or 

 fibre, were used in dressing the hair of chiefs. 



11. Tukura. — A swamp-growing variety. 



The rataroa variety is also known as motu-o-ruhi. 



Shortland speaks of rongotainui, motuorui, and mangaeka as being the 

 names of varieties of flax {Phormium). The latter name is applied by the 

 Tuhoe people to the brownish-yellow strips of flax-leaf inserted in certain 

 Native garments, and which colour is produced by exposing the strips to the 

 heat of a fire. Such a garment is also termed a mangaeka. Shortland, 

 however, speaks of the word harakeke as though it were a specific term for 

 a single variety of flax, whereas it is essentially a generic term, embracing 

 all varieties. 



The atvanga variety is used in making baskets and mats. Colenso gives 

 tamure as another name of this variegated variety. Te rau o Papoua is said 

 to be a term applied to growing flax, while te rau o Huna describes the fibre 



