Ethnobotany of Kuta (Eleocharis Sphacelata) in Bay of Plenty and Northland, New Zealand
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ETHNOBOTANY OF KUTA (ELEOCHARIS SPHACELATA) IN BAY OF PLENTY AND NORTHLAND, NEW ZEALAND MIEKE KAPA Kuta You entice kuta as your dark green lengths gleam in the sunlight and toss the light amongst you- your tubular stems air-filled thrusting upwards through the water from roots tenuously attached to the lake bed. And as you mature you capture colour! creeping down from sky-yearning tips until you flash yellows and pinks greens, browns oranges and purples. And after harvesting- hung to dry in the darkness- how do your satin-soft strands transmute into gleaming coloured gold? Irresistible! Figure 1. Kuta, paopao (Eleocharis sphacelata ). Te Rito Maihi (2003) Kuta (also known to Mäori as paopao and scientifically as Eleocharis sphacelata) is a culturally significant wetland plant (Fig. 1), the stems of which were harvested and woven into items such as whäriki ‘mats’, maro kuta ‘a small apron drawn between the legs and fastened to the belt’ and kakahu ‘cloaks’ (Best 1899, 1906, 1907, 1909; Grey 1853). While the everyday use of items made from kuta (i.e., kakahu and maro kuta) is no longer common, the use of kuta as a weaving resource continues (Brown and Ellis 2007, Te Rito Maihi and Lander 2005). Weaving resources used by Mäori more frequently, such as harakeke (Phormium tenax) and wharariki ( Phormium cookianum), have been the subject of a considerable amount of Western scientific research. There have also been efforts to record associated mätauranga ‘traditional knowledge’ and tikanga ‘customary practices’, while the mätauranga of kiekie (Freycinetia 131 132 Ethnobotany of Kuta baueriana) and pïngao (Ficinia spiralis), both also used as fibre resources, has been recorded, although to a lesser degree. Kuta, however, remains a weaving resource about which there is little published research either from a scientific or Mäori perspective (Kapa and Clarkson 2009). This is of concern not only to weavers but also to ecologists because kuta is an important member of wetland communities which are currently under threat from habitat loss. There is also a growing commercial interest in kuta owing to its potential for use in phyto-remediation of contaminated sites and wetland restoration (Sorrell, Tanner and Sukias 2002, Tanner et al. 2007, Tanner, Champion and Kloosterman 2006). Efforts to restore kuta habitat would assist in the restoration of wetland communities, support phyto-remediation projects, and ensure the future survival and availability of this valued resource for weavers. In this article I survey published information and draw upon interviews with weavers and historians concerning traditional knowledge and practices pertaining to kuta. This information draws upon my Masters research that addressed gaps in the recording of traditional knowledge of kuta, as well as advancing scientific knowledge concerning kuta growth and germination. NAMES AND TRADITIONAL UTILITY OF ELEOCHARIS SPHACELATA Eleocharis sphacelata is commonly known in English as giant spike-rush, tall spike-rush, and bamboo spike-sedge (Andersen 1926, Beever 1987, Johnson and Brooke 1989). Mäori call Eleocharis sphacelata kuta or paopao: Ngäpuhi generally use kuta (Wehi 2007) and Te Arawa more commonly use paopao (T. Wirihana pers. comm. 2007). Best (1899) initially identified kutakuta or paopao as Scirpus lacustris (renamed Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani in Smith [1995]) but later acknowledged kutakuta and paopao as “the water plant E. sphacelata”, which he also identifies as kuwawa, wawa and kuta in his 1907 publication. The confusion between Scirpus lacustris and Eleocharis sphacelata and the identification of kuta is demonstrated by Andersen (1926) who names E. sphacelata as kutakuta, paopao and ngawha, and Scirpus lacustris as kapungawha, kopupu, kopupungawha, kuwawa, papao and wawa. Most recently Beever (1987) names E. sphacelata as ngäwhä, kutakuta and paopao. Kuta was used in the past primarily for soft and comfortable mats inside whare ‘homes’ since air pockets within the culm, the jointed stem extending out of the water, give the fibre a warm and spongy feel. Because kuta mats were not particularly durable, stronger flax or kiekie mats were placed on top during the day and laid underneath for comfort at night. It was also used for clothing, such as maro kuta, and for pötae taua ‘mourning-caps or wreaths’ worn by widows and near relatives during periods of mourning (Best 1899, 1906). In preparing the pötae taua the culms were peeled, then tied around Mieke Kapa 133 Figure 2. Kete made of kuta, held in the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira (AM 55462). the head and occasionally adorned with dyed fibres, birds’ tails, seaweed, birds’ heads and bills (Best 1899, 1906; Kapa and Clarkson 2009; Mead 1969). Recently recorded information of kete ‘kits’ (Fig. 2), hats and capes suggests that there have been other traditional uses of items made from kuta (Pendergrast 1984, Pendergrast and Brake 1987). Although no participants who were involved in my study had used kuta specifically for insulation, Reimarie Kapa (Ngäti Rehia, hapü of Ngäpuhi), during an informal discussion in April 2007, stated that his whänau used kuta and raupo (Typha orientalis) bundled up as insulation within the walls of their whare. TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING KUTA Ethnobotanical research is intended to provide information that covers all aspects of the relationship between people and plants within a particular community and place. This comprehensive body of information is also referred to in literature as “traditional ecological knowledge” (TEK) and is based on accumulated observations, knowledge and practices (both physical and spiritual) concerning their natural resources by indigenous peoples (Williams and Baines 1993). TEK is typically found among societies that are dependent on the natural environment for survival. Hence the accuracy of their knowledge, aimed at ensuring sustainability, is of critical importance (Berkes 1999, Huntington 1998, Parlee and Berkes 2006), as is the ability to memorise this information and hand it on from generation to generation. 134 Ethnobotany of Kuta Here in New Zealand TEK comprises mätauranga and tikanga accumulated and adapted over the past 800 years or so by the descendants of the Eastern Polynesian settlers. It comprises a unique body of knowledge which has been recorded in waiata ‘song’, whakatauki ‘proverbs’, whakapapa ‘genealogies’, whakairo ‘carvings’, püräkau ‘storytelling’, and in karakia ‘prayers’—all of which demonstrate the close relationship of Mäori with their environment. TEK use is predicated on the principles of respect and reciprocity which over time has led to the development of a conservation ethic. This ethic is enforced by the use of tikanga by experts who act as kaitiaki ‘guardians’ to ensure the protection and sustainable use of resources for the group and for future generations (Roberts et al. 1995). Such people are found today among those who still retain a close connection with traditional resources, for example, weavers. With the support and blessing of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa (Mäori Weavers of New Zealand) I interviewed five weavers between September 2007 and July 2008. The five people are regarded by their peers as experts in their field, some in the art of raranga ‘weaving’ and others in the collation of historical weaving patterns.1 An important principal of kaupapa Mäori research is the acknowledgement of the participants’ expertise by naming them in this research. One elder, however, did not wish their name to be used. In all cases, the research participants spoke about their own experiences; the majority chose not to speak on behalf of their hapü or iwi. Table 1. Research participants’ name, age, regional affiliations and relationship with kuta/paopao harvest and use. Mieke Kapa 135 All the people with whom I spoke had learned their craft or practices pertaining to the use, harvesting, preparation and conservation of kuta from elders in their hapü or from weaving peers. “I mean life then was totally different to what it is today. The young people had nothing else to do so you are trailing after the older lot, whatever they were doing…. the thing is when the older women are sitting down we like to stick our noses in and have a hakinohi [‘nosey, sneaky look’—MK]... and as time went on we sort of cotton on to how the thing was done” (Participant 4). Discussion with the participants, the oldest of whom was 79, focused primarily on their personal experiences and knowledge of kuta over the last 70 years. Tribal affiliations are noted to identify the area from which the knowledge was presumed to have been derived (Table 1). TIKANGA ASSOCIATED WITH KUTA HARVESTING Generally harvesting was undertaken before the cooler waters of late winter and completed before new growth appeared in spring. “When you go out for kuta you start off in the months of April to August. No earlier, no later. From April to August… they are mature then. So those months are spent collecting as much material for weaving, say for big marae’s eh” (Participant 4). Tina Wirihana remembers her father going out when the water was cooler, and thought that perhaps the time to harvest was indicated by the first appearance of Matariki (Pleiades) in June. The two participants from Te Rarawa, Northland, talked of their harvesting site as Lake Ngatu and would not harvest from any other location because of the abundance, quality and tradition pertaining to kuta at that site. “That place has been there for centuries, hundreds of years and it has always been known as a kuta place, nothing else… it’s got a value” (Ross Gregory pers. comm.). Other participants, though, lamented that sites have been lost and quality harvesting areas have suffered because of increased pollution, the drainage of swamp and lakes for farmland, and the recreational uses of waterways. The process for harvesting kuta was generally described the same way by all participants. Harvesting was a group endeavour.