506 
PUA BREAD. 
most striking coincidences in words expressive of the first 
peaceful arts of mankind, whilst the terms connected with 
the chase or war are mostly peculiar.” 
The process of making bread from the pua is curious, both 
on account of the patience required to collect sufficient for the 
purpose, and for the religious rites connected with it, showing, 
most clearly, how very much pinched for food the aborigines 
formerly were, and the great stress they laid upon religion 
in aiding their efforts to procure it; the number of terms 
applying to the process, is a proof of the value once put 
upon this article of food. 
The first thing done, was the erection of a shed near the 
swamp, from which the pollen was to be collected, the pro- 
cess of gathering it always commenced at daybreak ; for when 
the sun began to shine, the feathery seeds blew about, they 
had then to discontinue their work until the evening, this 
gathering of the flower heads of the raupo was continued for 
several days, until a sufficienty of pollen was obtained, they 
then cut a quantity of flowers of the hahalio (arundo Aus- 
tralis), which being laid upon a mat in the shed, the pua was 
heaped upon them, and daily carried into the sun to dry, 
and again returned in the evening, lest it should become 
damp with the dew, parties of from fifty to sixty men, 
women, and children, often assembled for this work ; each 
family having its own division (tuakoi) of the shed to attend 
to ; when the process of collecting was finished, they went 
into the forest to procure the bark of the hinau {eloeocarpus 
hinau), which they stripped off the trees in large pieces, 
twelve or fourteen feet long, these were doubled up so as to 
make a bag, a small hole at one end being left open to form 
a mouth, while the sides were sewed with flax ; being set on 
their ends, they formed long bags, almost as tall as a man, 
which were propped up by poles, they then took the mats 
(tapaki), which had been previously plaited by the women, of 
split flax, and spread them on the ground by the side of the 
bag (pu), part of them stripped the flower from the stem : 
this process was called uhu ; a quantity being shred, it was 
put into bags, which had been plaited with great care 
