Traditional Māori tools
What the pre-European implements tell us about Māori horticulture.
Ground preparation was never a solitary task. Teams of ohu (workers) were assembled, and they approached the task of opening the ground.
Quite literally, as the day draws to a close, the workers on the ka¯heru (wooden spade) often hurry or hasten their job, trying to finish the task before dark. The result was often a broken ka¯heru – hence this whakataua¯k¯i, he ahiahi whatiwhati ka¯heru (it’s evening that breaks the spade), is a metaphor for caution and also to remind us that extended working in the late evening is discouraged for a variety of reasons, tiredness being the primary one. The tools of management for traditional Ma¯ori horticulture were somewhat broader than those used in other systems. The primary tool is whakapapa – the relationship of the gardener, their wha¯nau or wider tribal grouping to the resource and this includes the spiritual association. Second to this is tikanga (practices) – literally the right ways of undertaking a task, emanating from generations of experience and knowledge. These are followed by the physical tools such as the wooden and stone implements of old and more recently, the metal tools and beasts of burden introduced during colonisation.
The modern introductions impacted heavily on Ma¯ori horticulture, and included axes and the array of garden tools we are now familiar with supported by draft animals to assist the human labour component in gardens.
But we are interested in the implements of old. Producing crops was a subsistence activity for Ma¯ori, with a huge impact on survival, well-being and the ability to trade. To achieve all of this, there was a very organised approach to working the gardens, both in the organisation of people for different jobs and the appropriate tools for each job.
Let’s take a look at the tasks of the ma¯ra ku¯mara, from breaking the ground open in the early spring to harvest in midautumn.
Ko¯anga is one of the names for the spring season comprising the lunar months of Mahuru, Whiringa-a¯nuku and Whiringa-a¯-rangi (September-OctoberNovember). This is the digging and planting season and the term ko¯anga is in reference to the ko¯, a traditional digging implement.
Ground preparation was never a solitary task. Teams of ohu (workers) were assembled, and they approached the task of opening ground from full cover to a standard of readiness for planting. After clearing vegetation, the green waste was burnt and ash returned to the fields. The big task was to open the ground and prepare a planting bed suited to the foods of choice. The ku¯ mara is the food of gods and planting required even more preparation to be at a standard suited to its status.
There were two main implements for digging the ground – the ka¯heru in various forms and the ko¯ for secondary application.
The ka¯heru is most like the modern spade and aside from breaking ground it was also used for hilling up the ku¯ mara plantations. These tools were made of native hardwoods such as maire or ma¯nuka and had square or triangular blades up to around 600mm in length. They were particularly effective on the heavy ground still wet from recent winter months and would do the rough work in the new field.
The early work on any field was done in a furrowing fashion, breaking the soil in rows. Another implement
Producing crops was a subsistence activity for Ma¯ ori, with a huge impact on survival, well-being and the ability to trade.
known as the takoko was most like our present-day shovel. It was similar in stature to the ka¯heru but the blade is described as being “dished”. This was really just a variation of the preferred tools and applied mostly for shifting soil.
The ko is a digging stick, familiar to many cultures, and has a long handle – at least 2m long – leading to a narrow blade with a bevelled edge which was used in a similar way to the spade but has a footrest lashed to it for added downward pressure. This implement was the primary tool for secondary finishing of the garden bed, and was quick and effective, especially where the working party were consistent.
Working the land to songs and chants kept the young men focused on their tasks. After several passes with the ko¯ the final preparation would be left to the women with a shorter and smaller version of the ka¯heru.
Of interest also are the grubber-type tools which were made to various lengths to suit the soils they were used in. The most familiar name for these types of tool is timo or timotimo, and the handle was much the same length as the blade. The timo was used in a crouched or bent position so the short handle was all that was needed.
Following the ground preparation in early spring, the crop was planted mid-spring with all the necessary inputs including alignment to the maramataka (Ma¯ori lunar calendar).
Maintenance was about supporting the crop first, clearing any weeds or sprouting fern or similar issues, especially in newly cultivated land.
Crop maintenance was then regularly undertaken to maintain a fastidious appearance of the garden. Maintenance was about supporting the crop first, clearing any weeds or sprouting fern or similar issues, especially in newly cultivated land.
A number of narrow blade implements were known to be used, the most familiar being the ketu and tipi.
The ketu is described as a small paddle-like tool similar to the present-day trowel and used for tillering the soil. (Tillering is an old-fashioned term that is synonymous with forking over the soil, loosening the topsoil.)
The tipi was the smallest of the tools available and used for working around the crops. It was very similar to the Dutch hoe now used. In Nga¯ti Porou they have a history of using a scraper type tool called a paretai which had two ends, one for loosening soil and the other with a hollow which supported earthing up around plants. There are many variants, between tribes, of these tools which achieve similar results.
Pride was paramount in the presentation of the fields; straight lines of planted mounds (not rows) called puke, and no pest or disease issues were allowed to establish. The summer or raumati months (Hakihea, Kohita¯tea and Huitanguru: December, January and February) therefore were often laborious depending on the timing of the crops or the size of the area planted.
Pride was paramount in the presentation of the fields; straight lines of planted mounds (not rows) called puke and no pest or disease issues were allowed to establish themselves.
But by midsummer the crops dominated the fields and physical labour input was minimal. From midsummer, the emphasis for the community was on harvesting and curing wild crops, berries and foods outside of the ma¯ra ku¯mara in preparation for the winter.
The end of summer leads to ngahuru (autumn). This is the harvest and garden clean up season. Ngahuru comprises the months of Poutu¯-te-rangi, Paengawha¯wha¯ and Haratua (March, April and May). In most districts the harvest was mid-season, allowing crops to mature but getting them out while the ground was still dry.
In traditional times, some specialist implements were used to break open the ground without damaging the produce, the most familiar being the ko¯ which we have already introduced and the ketu and wauwau. The ketu is a shorter spade type of implement with a rounded blade and the wauwau the same structure with a thinner pointed blade.
In harvesting the crop, the task was to loosen the soil to get to the ku¯mara that was growing in the puke and then to manually pick them out of the soil to minimise damage. It was important not to damage the skin in any way as this would affect the ability to store the crop over the winter and spring periods.
Garden implements were invariably made from local hardwood timbers, especially maire (Nestegis spp.), ma¯nuka and ka¯nuka, akeake (Dodonaea viscosa) and mata¯i or other podocarp trees. For the lashings of foot stands and other additions to these tools, they usually used the tough stems known as aka. These stems were from puawa¯nanga, also known as po¯a¯nanga (native clematis).
Wooden tools were supplemented by stone tools which were occasionally used as pounders to break up clods or even the end blades on the end of long handles, for example as the digging end of the ko¯.
When the settlers arrived, nails and chisels which were introduced, followed by spades, hoes, pickaxes and other European implements. Ma¯ori were quick to embrace these additions to their gardens and even applied names such as keri whenua (earth-digger) for the pickaxe. The garden rake was called rakuraku, in reference to its scraping action. These new tools along with working beasts such as oxen and horses transformed cropping systems and land preparation. They allowed wha¯nau, hapu¯ and iwi to become more commercial in their horticultural activities and produce crops for the new settlements, and hence their entry to the new economics of Aotearoa; cash for kai ahead of bartering for food exchanges. ✤
In most districts the harvest was mid-season, allowing crops to mature but getting them out while the ground was still dry.