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Categories Ako reo | Learning Languages Taputapu Mara Maori | Maori Gardening Tools HC37

Taputapu Mara Maori | Maori Gardening Tools HC37

A collection of taputapu māra Māori | Māori gardening tools.

These tools were created for a Matariki exhibition in He Puna Manawa (Tauranga City Libraries CBD) in 2023.

Ka tohu a Matariki i te tīmatanga o te huringa hou o te rui, te whakatō, te whakatipu, me te
hauhake. Matariki signals the beginning of a new cycle of sowing, planting,
growing, and harvesting.
Ko te mana whenua o Tauranga he haumāuiui mahi māra i āwhinahia e ngā oneone mōmona me te rangi mahana. Tauranga mana whenua were accomplished gardeners assisted by rich soils and a warm climate.
Ko te whetu Tupu-ā-nuku e ārahi ana i te whakatipu kai ki te whenua. Ko ngā tipu pēnei i te kūmara i ora ai te Māori, i whakamahia hei hokohoko me ngā Pākehā o mua. The star Tupu-ā-nuku guides the growing of food in the earth. Plants such as kūmara sustained Māori and were used for trading with early Pākehā settlers.

Kō
Ko te kō rākau te nuinga o ngā taputapu ahuwhenua a te Māori. He rerekē te rahi me te āhua i runga i te oneone e mahia ana.

Wooden kō are the most widely used of all Māori agricultural tools. Their size and shape vary depending on the soil that is being worked.

Kāheru
Ka whakamahia te kāheru mō te wetewete i te oneone, te ngaki tarutaru, me ngā momo mahi e pā ana ki te ngaki. I mahia te kāheru mai i ngā momo momo rākau, i ētahi wā he kōiwi, he kōhatu rānei.

Kāheru are used for loosening soil, weeding, and the various tasks associated with
cultivation. Kāheru were made from a variety of woods, and sometimes bone or stone.

Timo/Toki
Ka whakamahia a Timo me te toki ki te wetewete i te oneone.
He maha ngā wā i mahia ai a Timo mai i te peka marau, he mata me te kakau porotaka. Ko te Toki he kōwhatu i mahia hei toki, ka mau ki ngā kakau.

Timo and toki are used for loosening soil. Timo were often made from a forked branch, with a blade and
a round handle. Toki are fashioned from stone into adzes and fastened to handles. This toki is a type 2A stone adze, quadrangular in shape, very smooth with symmetrical sides and no signs of flaking. Minor chips along cutting edge, evidence of technique used to cut the stone on right hand edge. This particular example shows evidence of the method used to cut the stone.

Ketu
He rite te āhua o te ketu ki te hoe iti, ka whakamahia hei
wetewete i te oneone, hei ngaki i ngā māra me te hiki i ngā maara pēnei i te kūmara me te rīwai.

Ketu resemble small paddles and were used to loosen soil, weeding and lifting crops such as kumara and potatoes.

These tools are to touch and handle, however are not for use in a school garden.

> Learn more about māori gardening tools here https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/maori/maori-gardening-tools

Aotearoa Histories Curriculum links

Years 1-3 Kōwhiringa ohaoha me te whai oranga | Economic activity

Living and working

The ways different groups of people have lived and worked in this rohe have changed over time.

Explore examples of:

how the first people who lived in the area provided for themselves and others (for example, with food, shelter, clothing, technology, tools, work, and trade and exchange)
how groups who have lived in the area at different times have provided for themselves and others (for example, with food, shelter, clothing, technology, tools, work, and trade and exchange).

Years 4 - 6 Tūrangawaewae me te kaitiakitanga | Place and environment

Adapting to new environments

People adapted their technologies and tools to the new environment of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Explore examples of:

the technologies and tools Māori brought to Aotearoa New Zealand (for example, hunting and fishing tools and techniques, weapons, clothing, food and gardening practices)

food production – for example, a phase of hunter-gathering, then the resumption of gardening as the main source of food production (adapted to the new environment, based around kāinga, and following a lunar calendar with the new year beginning in winter when the stars of Matariki rose before dawn)

Date: 21st century replica

maximum dimensions

Kō: 1010mm length, 120mm width

Kāheru: 320mm length, 62mm width

Timo: 360mm length, 160mm width

Toki: 490mm length, 170mm width

Ketu:1000mm length, 110mm width

subject area: Social Science, Science, PE and Health, Technology

subject themes: plants, gardening, Aotearoa Histories, māori, tools, agriculture, Matariki

handling collection number: HC37

Why not also get your hands on...

Toki and timo, children's gardening tools HC38 https://www.handsontauranga.co.nz/products/toki-and-timo-childrens-gardening-tools-hc38/