Best. — Maori Forest Lore. 467 



time, which causes them to last two seasons. If not so treated, then they 

 last only one season. 



The snares being fixed, the fowler proceeds to elevate the mutu upon 

 the hiici. He takes up one of the hohirikiri (rods) — one that has, we will say, 

 a porae perch lashed to it. The perch of this mutu, although curved, may 

 be said to be at a right angle to the upright part, hence it must be put on a 

 vertical hiivi, or pou tauru. The operator thrusts the rod up until the crotch 

 near the perch reaches the top of the hiivi, or permanent pole. He allows 

 the crotch to settle in the notch or fork at the top of the hiwi. Thus the 

 rod is suspended from the pole, and the perch, with its snare, projects above 

 the top of the hiwi pole. The lower end of the rod is within reach of the 

 operator on his platform, and the long cord also hangs down within his 

 grasp. The other rods and attached perch snares are then suspended from 

 their respective Jiiwi, the butt ends of the rods and the cords being within 

 reach of the fowler. 



When a bird settles on one of the perches, the operator seizes the cord 

 thereof and gives it a smart pull. The downward tug on the cord plucks 

 the loop snare from under the ngingita and jerks it quickly upwards to- 

 wards the hole through which the cord passes. But the descendant of 

 Tu-mataika is standing on the perch. He aha koa ! The saints cannot 

 save him. The tohe or looped cord catches him by the legs, above the claws, 

 and rudely yanks him up against the upright. That kaka is doomed to 

 swift, awful, and certain death. He will make no " hot-foot get-away." 



Having pulled the cord, the fowler grasps the lower end of the rod, and, 

 lifting it clear of the forked hiwi, takes it down. To keep the cord taut and 

 so prevent the bird's escape he either keeps the strain on the cord with his 

 hand, or fastens it round the base of the rod. He grasps the kaka by the 

 back of the neck, high up, to avoid being bitten by it, and kills it by biting 

 the top of its head, thus crushing the skull. 



The term whakakatohe means "to arrange the snares" — apparently a 

 synonym for whakatohe. 



This method of taking kaka is still employed at Maimga-pohatu, in the 

 interior. I saw a Native taking kaka in this way at Rahiti-roa a few years 

 ago. He sat on the ground at the base of the tree, smoking his pipe, waiting 

 for Tu-mataika to settle on a perch. His cords were very long, 50 ft. or 

 60 ft., so as to reach the ground. 



We have already shown how these fowlers utihsed decoy birds when snar- 

 ing kaka. The best decoy for the tutu method is a tarariki (or tatariki). 

 The best for the pae method is the tata-apopo, a male bird. Female and 

 common kaka are too timid to make good decoys. They become alarmed 

 when many birds collect, with much noise, to the spot ; they do not act as 

 they should, scratching the ground, or gnawing at a bone or something 

 similar. 



The pigeon and koko are taken by the above method, but not to the same 

 extent as is the kaka. The latter bird was principally taken by the above 

 tutu process, whereas pigeons were mostly taken by the tahei method and 

 troughs. The koko was taken by tahei on trees, but not on drinking-troughs. 



The mutu is termed a tumu by some tribes. 



No decoy birds are used in taking the pigeon and koko, for they would 

 be useless. The decoy kaka attracts others either by scratching the ground 

 and acting as though finding an abundance of food thereby, or by screeching, 

 or gnawing at a piece of bone provided by the fowler. These decoy parrots 

 were provided with a perch of hardwood, to which they were secured by a 



