Maori heritage

Kumara, or sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), were brought to New Zealand centuries ago by early Polynesian settlers. Native to tropical Central and South America, their presence in the Pacific supports the view that there was extensive sea travel in early times.

Maori found kumara best suited to warmer, subtropical parts of the country, initially growing varieties with bushy tops and long, slender tubers. Sprawling plants with chubby tubers came later and are the mainstay of today’s commercial production.

From descriptions by Abel Tasman’s men in January 1643, it is clear Maori vegetable growing was a sophisticated industry. This was confirmed during Captain James Cook’s first and second voyages to New Zealand 140 years later, with the accounts of Joseph Banks and William Monkhouse detailing what was grown near Gisborne and the way kumara were cultivated on what

Monkhouse called ‘‘little molehills’’.

Horticulture was a serious business, the difference between survival and starvation. It was overseen by major gods, including Rongo, whose special responsibility was kumara, and Pani, the goddess of vegetation and legendary mother of the first kumara.

Special tools were developed and formal ceremonies took place at planting and harvesting time, with mature, undamaged tubers stored for winter use.