348 Transactions. 
The belt is worn with the sewn edge uppermost. At times the edges 
are not sewn together, and the belt is then used as a pocket for containing 
various articles. Best quotes the tradition of Taukata having brought 
the kao, or cooked and dried kumara, to New Zealand in such a belt. 
The Aotea tradition states that Rongorongo, the wife of Turi, brought the 
seed of the kumara in her belt from Hawaiki. From this historical 
incident arises the saying applied to the kumara in the Taranaki district, 
Te {айна о Rongorongo (The belt of Rongorongo). The width of the belt 
may be more than 24 in., some saying that it was made much wider so as 
to protect the abdomen from hostile thrusts on the battlefield. The uncut 
ends of the wefts tucked between the folds of the belt further thicken it 
and give additional protection. : 
Women's Belts: Tu. 
These consist of several plaited strands, as against the single wide 
band in the men's belts. The available information was collected by Mr. 
Elsdon Best (3) from the Tuhoe Tribe. He was fortunately able to get 
samples made for the Dominion and Auckland Museums, and thus save 
i in., and 49$ 1n. 
respectively. The number of strands varies, being usually about ten. In 
five. 
The karetu wefts are plaited into a continuous braid, the length of which 
depends on the length of the belt and the number of strands required. Thus 
pattern, the technique of which will be described when dealing with ropes 
of the loops are stretched apart the total length of the braid is divided up 
into a number of strands of the required length for the belt. 
