Puanga and Kai
Ngā Kai
o te Tau
There are three principal kai during Te Tau o Puanga (the Puanga Period) they are:
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Kererū – wood pigeon
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Piharau – lamprey (blind eel)
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Wānanga – kai for the mind
It is said by elders that Te Tau o Puanga was from the fruiting of the miro tree (as a primary food source for kererū) to the end of the run of the piharau.
Wānanga
The final kai is wānanga.
Wānanga time was traditionally during winter when there was less work to be done. Night was often the time that wānanga were conducted and as the winter nights are long, it was an ideal period to learn. These long nights are the origins of the phrase – ngā pō roa o Takurua.
Traditionally, wānanga would be specialised. Those in the wānanga were expected to learn and master both the practice and intellectual scholarship.
This website provides a whole range of information to help with wānanga. We will also have recordings, books and videos in the near future.
For now, check out the following information on Puanga:
Ngā Pō Roa o Takurua
Te Manu Nui o te Tau
Kererū
Winter was the birding season. The miro tree fruits at the end of autumn and in winter, providing its crop of juicy berries to ensure the kererū were fat during the winter months. In addition, the kererū are known to get “drunk” on miro berries and were therefore easier to catch while the berries were ripe.
The kaiwhiria (porokaiwhiria – pigeonwood) is the next tree to fruit, followed by the raurēkau. Between these three trees, kai was plentiful and the birds were fat throughout winter.
This taki as part of the whakakao (collection of tūpuna manuscript resources) provides a description of Te Pua Tāwhiwhi o Tautoru – the blossoming snare of Tautoru, where Puanga gets her name. A pua tāwhiwhi is a bird snare and in tūpuna narratives, Tautoru was a famous bird snarer. The name, Puanga, comes from Te Pua Tāwhiwhi o Tautoru.
Mātaia te rangi ko Te Pua Tāwhiwhi o Tautoru kei runga
Kei roto mai ko te Tuke o Tautoru
Kei raro mai ko te Tātā o Tautoru
Tītika tonu mai ko te Aho o Tautoru
Ko te tari hō Rupe kei raro
Tēnei te tauira ka ū, ka mau
Ko te manu nui nō wai?
Ko te manu nui o Rupe i herea e Tautoru
Ka whiwhi, ka rawe e hai!
Gazing upon the Ensnaring Flower of Tautoru above
Within the snare is the elbow
Under the snare are the lashings
The trap line is upright
While the spear of Rupe is below waiting
For this is the trap that holds
For this is great bird of who?
The great bird of Rupe that was caught by Tautoru
To be celebrated.
Te Ika Nui o Te Tau
Piharau
The piharau is an ancient fish and is one of our key delicacies. Because it is tapu, many whānau and hapū have clear rules around catching and cooking the piharau. Its small size means that it is eaten whole, including skin and bones.
During winter, the piharau return home, migrating inland from the ocean. They arrive in north Taranaki first, around early winter. Whānau in Taranaki catch piharau using the whakaparu method made out of ferns. Ferns are placed in the rapids with stones holding the ferns down. The ferns create a calm spot where the piharau hide and are then caught.
The pihirau continue on south to Pātea where whānau also use the whakaparu method. By mid to late winter, they arrive in Whanganui, where whānau use the utu piharau method to catch piharau on the Whanganui. Utu piharau are a staked fence that are built above the main flow of the awa. They are used to catch pihaurau during winter floods.
The taki tells of how the piharau arrive in the region and how they are caught and cooked.
Mātahi te huka-o-te-rangi
Tau mai te matao-o-te-rangi
Ko ua nui, ko ua roa, ko maru nui, ko maru roa
Ko Takurua-nuku, ko Takurua-rangi
Ka kau nei taku ika
Ka kau, ka whai taku ika i Te Tahi
Ka kau, ka pārara taku ika i Te Rua
Ka kau, ka kaihau taku ika i Te Toru
He piha ngōngō, he piha ngāngā, he piha piharau
Ko te ika nui o te tau ka tātaka i te whakaparu
Ko te ika nui o te tau ka rērere i te utu
Ka rapa te harihari
Hei! Hei! Hei!
As the first snow falls upon Taranaki
The cold settles andnd the rains start to flood
The rivers come black with piharau
As winter sets in
The piharau searches for its place to swim
It pursues the current of Whaitara in the first month
It spreads out along the coast to Pātea in the second month
It fasts throughout this period as it finally reaches the Whanganui in the third month
For it is a sucking fish, it is the sacred piharau
That swims and coils into the whakaparu
That swims and hits the utu
And are grilled with glee
For us to enjoy
