Māori

Traditional Māori food

Fern

The Māori word for food is kai. Traditional kai involved food-gathering with extensive cultivation of the kumara (a sweet potato). Kai was and important part of festivals such as Matariki when people would gather to share entertainment, hospitality and knowledge at feasts.

For some Māori the first new moon after the rise of Matariki signalled the start of the New Year celebrations. The Moon (marama) is central to activities of harvesting kai on the land and at sea.

Eels (tuna) were a favourite food of the Māori along with the many fish species found around our coastline. Another prized food was titi, or muttonbird, which was preserved in a process known as poha titi.

Library assistant Mary Brown explains the process that Maori used to preserve titi, or muttonbirds.

Pōhā Tītī

Tītī - is the Māori name for the Muttonbird or Sooty Shearwater.
Pōhā - is the vessel used to preserve the muttonbirds.

The harvest of Tītī from islands surrounding Rakiura (Stewart Island) is of great economic, social and cultural importance to Ngāi Tahu. Some families still continue to use the age old traditional method of preserving Tītī using the pōhā.

The interior partitions of broad sheets of bull kelp are separated by hand and then inflated to make large containers in which the Tītī were placed.

When the hot fat retained from cooking the birds is poured in and allowed to set, the flesh of the birds inside the pōhā is preserved for a very long time. The pōhā are protected with a covering of bark from the tōtara tree. A small woven kete is used to support the bottom of the pōhā.

Kai moana (food from the sea) was important in the traditional diet, and remains so today. Many species of fish were caught on lines or in nets, and shellfish such as mussels, pāua, pūpū and pipi were gathered from the shore.

Kai moana rather than meat was the main source of animal protein, fats, vitamins and minerals. Seafood was also used in social occasions as it demonstrated hospitality (manaakitanga) and generosity at hui or tangi. There is a highly organised set of customs (tikanga) to manage the way seafood is gathered and handled.

Putting down a hangi

The hangi is the most widely used method of tradtional cooking for Māori. “Laying” or “Putting” down a hangi involves digging a pit in the ground, heating stones in the pit with a large fire until they are white hot, placing baskets of food on top of the stones, and covering everything with earth for several hours before uncovering (or lifting) the hangi. Here is a quick synopsis from Genuine Māori Cuisine:

  1. Foods are prepared into three sections (and then everything goes in together)
    • meats
    • vegetables
    • fish or puddings
  2. Stones are heated until they are white hot
  3. Food is placed on top (watered down slightly)
  4. Food is covered with leaves then buried under dirt
  5. The food is then steam cooked under the ground, with pressure from the leaves and soil
  6. The Hangi must simmer for at least two to three hours and then food removed from the pit and served

Other seafood eaten includes eel and whitebait taken from inland or estuarine waters. Another source of protein was birds snared in the native forests.

In terms of cookery, Māori still follow the traditional Polynesian practice of cooking for large numbers in a hāngi. This earth oven or pit uses hot stones to create steam in which to cook wrapped food.

(information from Te Ara and Ministry of Fisheries)

Massey University is looking into the origin of the kumara. Researcher Mr Clarke is analysing the DNA of the Polynesian kumara to trace the movements of pre-European Polynesians.

We recommend: Māori & New Zealand food resources

Our online resources:

Browse the resources in our libraries

Our Internet Gateway recommends:

* Birds as Food
Article from the 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand
* Fishing and Eeling
Article from the 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand
* Food safety practices in preparing and cooking a hangi He whakatairanga i nga ahuatanga mahi mo tunu hangi
From the New Zealand Food Safety Authority.
* Natural Foods
Article from the 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand
* Te Mahi Kai
Education resource from Auckland Museum on traditional Māori food gathering. Years 1-10. PDF
* The Art of Agriculture
Chapter on growing food and agriculture from the Elsdon Best book The Māori As He Was : A Brief Account of Life as it Was in Pre-European Days
* Traditional Cooking Techniques
Information on traditional methods of cooking including instructions on how to put down a hangi (earth oven)

See also:

Kawhia Traditional Māori Kai Festival
A festival celebrating the taste experience of Traditional Māori Kai from the sea and the land
Why are there (almost) no Māori Restaurants? Māori food as cuisine, commodity and ingredient
Social Science Research Centre project by Susannah Wieck
Recipes
from the Māori food website
Māori food article from Te Ao Hou in English, and in Māori
Māori food
A selection of NZ History.Net website articles