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2.2.2 Traditional Maori horticulture
Pre-European Maori were a strong horticultural people, utilising the land
which they occupied for food production. Roskruge (1999: 5) describes the
importation and cultivation of foods other than taewa by the Maori including:
kumara (Ipomoea batatas), aute or paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera),
taro (Colocasia antiquorum), hue or gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris) and uhikaho or
yam (Dioscorea spp.). The success and survival of these species to modern
times is indicative of the traditional importance and effective management of
these foods, and others, to Maori.
Early Maori did not possess metal tools, and were heavily reliant on physical
labour. Furthermore, Maori horticulture was heavily reliant on traditional
management practices to succeed. The main points of early taewa
management systems as described by Roskruge (1999: 13) included:
rotational planting on fresh ground each year, the selection of preferred sites
for cropping, the use of the best quality tubers for seed, non-use of fertiliser
except for ash, non-use of irrigation, incorporation of sand or stones into the
soil, pest management, harvesting and grading of produce, as well as the
storage of produce.
Maori used their adept skills in horticulture to produce respectable yields
annually and to maintain quality seed for future use. Extensive areas were
gardened on an annual basis in order to produce sufficient of each foodstuff
for their own use and to undertake manaakitanga, hospitality towards others.
Travellers, visitors and participants in hui (meetings and gatherings) were
always fed well from the stores of the host people. Jones (1989) describes
Cook’s astonishment to observe 150-200 acres of crops under cultivation
when he landed in Tolaga Bay on his first voyage in 1769 and yet he believed
the population associated with these gardens to be only around 100 people.
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