‘E PÄKIHI HAKINGA A KAI An examination of pre-contact resource management practice in Southern Te Wäi Pounamu By Jim Williams A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Otago (Te Whare Wänanga o Otägo), Dunedin, New Zealand. July 2004 ’E PÄKIHI HAKINGA A KAI is a Käi Tahu whakataukï referring to the fact that: a featureless plain, at first glance, will appear barren but when searched, by one who knows how to look and what to look for, will reveal its foods. This is a metaphor suggesting that research, too, is only likely to be productive if the data is examined by one who knows “how to look and what to look for”. ii FRONTISPIECE Ko Te Taiao i kitea ai e Kai Tahu. (He mea tuhi e Hana Merenea O’Regan, 1995). Kei te whärangi e whai ake nei te whakapapa. iii Pokohärua-te-pö = (1) Rakinui (2) = (2) Papatüänuku (1) = Takaroa Täwhirimätea Täne mä Whakapapa Atua Nä Matiaha Tiramorehu (Hock. Ms 922) te whakapapa atua kei runga ake nei, ä, koinei te tirohanga atu ki te taiao o mätou o Kai Tahu, e kitea nei kei te whärangi i mua atu nei. E toru ngä wähanga: tö Papatüänuku te mana o te whenua; tö Takaroa te mana o te moana; tö Rakinui te mana o te raki me ngä mea katoa kei waenganui. Nö Rakinui te mana o Täwhirimätea; nö Raki räua ko Papa te mana o Täne mä. Nö reira, ka kitea te ähua wahine kei raro rä, me töna tae, arä he whero. Ahakoa he ähua rite tonu tö Takaroa me tö Raki, he rerekë anö hoki ëtahi o öna ähuatanga. Tö Takaroa te mea käkäriki; tö Raki te mea kikorangi hei tohu o tö räua nei ao. The above whakapapa is derived from a manuscript by Matiaha Tiramorehu (n.d.). It reflects the Kai Tahu view of nature, as represented in the drawing on the preceding page. The three sections are: Papatüänuku, below, red, the female form, representing the mana of the earth; Takaroa, the green, the mana of the sea; Rakinui, the blue, the mana of the skies and all things between earth and sky. Though the forms of Rakinui and Takaroa are similar, small differences can be seen. Other atua have domains within those mentioned: Täne and his brothers are within the mana of Raki and Papa, Täwhiri is within the mana of Rakinui. iv Rärangi Upoko (Chapters) Frontispiece iii List of Figures/Tables vii Tangohanga (Abstract) viii Ngä Mihi (Acknowledgements) x Glossary xii Preface xv 1 Timatanga Körero 1 1.0 Research Hypothesis 1 1.1 Tikanga 2 1.1.1 Methodology 3 1.1.2 Sources 6 1.1.3 Bodies of Theory 9 1.2 Aims, Outlines and Limitations 9 1.3 Themes 12 1.4 Structure 14 2 Ngä Täkata me Öna Wähi 19 2.1 Traditions 19 2.2 Migrations 21 2.3 Culture areas/Districts 28 2.4 Mäori Geography 33 2.5 Chronology 35 2.6 Attitudes toward the South 37 2.7 Comments on Sources 40 3 Ngä Pütake 54 3.1 The Natural World – Ecological Theory 54 3.2 Anthropological Theory 60 3.3 Diet 68 3.4 Indigenous Peoples 69 4 Tikanga Mäori 76 4.1 Mäori Values 76 4.2 Mäori Economic Models 83 4.2.1 Land Use 83 4.2.2 Mäori Society 87 4.2.3 Economics 88 4.3 Mätauranga Mäori 92 v 5 Te Wäi Pounamu 100 5.1 Seasonality 100 5.2 Foods 106 5.3 Storage 112 5.4 Placenames 113 5.5 Mahika Kai 113 5.6 Kaihaukai 125 6 Kaitiakitanga 129 6.1 Resource Management Techniques 129 6.2 Environmental Modification 131 6.3 Population Improvement 137 6.4 Sustainability 141 6.8 Discussion 147 6.9 Conclusion 149 7 Mahi Kai 154 7.1 Mahika Kai Data 155 7.2 Analysis 162 7.3 Management Regimes 184 7.4 Harvesting Practices 186 7.5 Early European Observations 187 7.6 Extant Foods 189 8 Hei Tauira 190 8.1 Tï Räkau 190 8.2 Tïtï 197 9 Te Ao Hurihuri 209 9.1 Introduction 209 9.2 Early errors 209 9.3 Changes in the post-contact period 219 9.4 Extant practices 220 9.5 Tribal Resource Management Plans 227 10 He Kupu Whakamutunga 228 11 Rärangi Pukapuka 240 Unpublished Work 240 Published Works 245 12 He Kupu Apiti 12.1 Baird Calendar 274 12.2 Ngä kai 276 12.3 Further examples 278 12.4 Kahu and Taiaroa lists 279 vi Rärangi Huahuatanga Figures Fig. 1.1 The Economic/Social/Cultural Triangle 12 Fig. 1.2 Structure of the Thesis 15 Fig. 2.1 Whakapapa of Primary descent lines 24 Fig. 2.2 Map showing Kai Tahu Geopolitical areas 32 Fig. 2.3 Cultural and Environmental phases 37 Fig. 4.1 Heirarchy of atua 77 Fig. 4.2 Oral Traditions Chart 93 Fig. 5.1 Lunar nights, Kaiköura and Rarotonga 105 Fig. 5.2 Seasonality Chart A 107 Fig. 5.3 Seasonality Chart B 108 Fig. 5.4 Wakawaka 119 Fig. 5.5 Nga Wakawaka o Te Aka o Tuwhenua 121 Fig. 6.1 Te Waihora 1848 133 Fig. 6.2 Matariki design 138 Fig. 7.1 The dimensions of kaitiakitanga 155 Fig. 7.2 Map showing key places mentioned in Ch. 7 156 Fig. 7.3 Frequency Histogram of all foods 163 Fig. 8.1 Whakapapa of Tï 193 Fig. 8.2 Pöhä 201 Fig. 9.1 Schematic of wakawaka at Wairewa 222 Tables Table 5.1 Folk plant taxonomy 109 Table 5.2 Indigenous fish in 1840 110 Table 6.1 Traditional Marine Conservation Measures in The Pacific 148 Table 7.1 Frequency and seasonality of common foods 164 Table 7.2 Approximate composition of shellfish 166 Table 7.3 Approximate composition of finfish 167 Table 7.4 Habitats of major foods collected 175 Table 7.5 Co-occurrence of major foods 177 Table 7.6 Ngä kai 178-180 Table 8.1 Composition of nutritive values 194 vii 025 Whakaräpopototanga ABSTRACT Traditional Management practices For Natural Resources, In Southern Te Wäi Poumamu “He aha, he aha, He kai ma taua? He pipi, he aruhe, Ko te aka o Tuwhenua: Ko te kai e ora ai te tangata. Matoetoe ana te arero, I te mitikanga, Me he arero kuri au." Pao, (Shortland,1851, P. 202). Life was difficult in Te Wäi Pounamu before European contact. Food collecting had to return more calories than were expended in the efforts of acquisition. Areas where food was available were conserved as well as enhanced and were exploited seasonally in such a way as to optimise each season’s take. It is suggested that the absence of kümera cultivations south of the Opihi river, prior to the introduction of the potato towards the end of the 18th Century, was clearly reflected in Mäori life-style and social structure. Hapü were resource based rather than regional, and the resources of various hapü might be intermingled over a wide area or indeed, in some cases, shared (see: Anderson, 1980). The “orthodox” view (Anderson, 1980, etc.) is one of “Hunters and Gatherers” who exploit available resources. I argue that the resources were, in fact, managed with a view to sustainable and optimal harvests in the future. I shall apply Harris’ (1987:75) optimal foraging theory in an endeavour to show that there are signs of the quality of life as a result of a low per capita human energy input into food production. This is principally evidenced by the foods eaten just for pleasure (kai rëhia) and the time available for optional activities. Accordingly, kai and the practices to control them differed from the often better documented food resources of more Northern parts of Te Wäi Pounamu and Aotearoa. Nevertheless, the absence of horticulture in the south and the concomitant peripatetic life-style did not result in a lack of stewardship of resources. Based substantially on the analysis of a series of mahika kai1 lists, collected from elders early in the contact period, and details of traditional practices that have been handed down, this thesis argues that by 1780, when Captain Cook introduced European goods, southern Kai Tahu had in place effective procedures and practices for the sustainable use of renewable resources. Initially an enduring "pre-fleet" influence will be proposed, based on Archaeological, Linguistic, Ethnographic and Traditional evidence (e.g. whakapapa). This, in conjunction with the absence of kümera, led to a distinctive life-style in the South. 1 Places where food was regularly harvested. viii Chapters: 1. Introduction: Outlines the basic hypothesis and backgrounds the area under discussion and the antiquity of the people in the South, their independent development over a number of centuries leading to a unique lifestyle, only recently modified by the "Classic" Mäori. It also contains some initial definitions and philosophical underpinnings. 2. Provides the background to the area under review and summarises what have others said: academics and other Mäori. The contemporary public perception is also set out. 3. Details the bodies of theory to be examined: the current anthropological view of hunters and gatherers (particularly Optimal Foraging Theory); ecological theory; indigenous peoples; in-so-far as they are relevant to Mäori Resource Management. 4. Explains Mäori values, especially Resource Management principles: kaihaukai, karakia, rahui, rangatiratanga, tapu, wakawaka, etc.; land and resource use and approaches to knowledge. Particular attention will be paid to social and cultural factors. 5. Applies the factors from Chapter 4, to Te Wäi Pounamu. 6. Describes the management of resources, outlines the types of food preserve and their foods, together with descriptions of techniques pertaining to allocation, growth, husbandry, harvest, preparation, distribution, storage and the complementarity of dietary items.