Pōhā are traditional Māori bags made from southern bull kelp, which are used to carry and store food and fresh water, to propagate live

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater env ...

, and to make clothing and equipment for sports. Pōhā are especially associated with

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Poi ...

, who have legally recognised rights for harvesting source species of kelp.

Construction

Blades from southern bull kelp (rimurapa in Māori) species such as '' Durvillaea antarctica'' and '' D. poha'' (named after the pōhā) were used to construct the bags. The kelp blades have a 'honeycomb' structure,Maggy Wassilieff
Seaweed - Bull kelp’s honeycombed structure
''Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand'', Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Updated 2 March 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2010. which allows them to be split open, hollowed out (pōhā hau) and inflated into containers. Inflated blades are hung out to dry and then deflated and rolled up for transport. Tōtara bark can be used to cover and protect the bags.

Uses

Transport

Pōhā are used to transport food, fresh water, to enclose food within an oven, and to transport and propagate live seafood such as

(including

toheroa ''Paphies ventricosa'', or toheroa (a Māori word meaning "long tongue"), is a large bivalve mollusc of the family Mesodesmatidae, endemic to New Zealand. Distribution It is found in both the North and South Islands, but the main habitat ...

sea stars Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish a ...

and

pāua Pāua is the Māori name given to three New Zealand species of large edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs which belong to the family Haliotidae (in which there is only one genus, '' Haliotis''), known in the United States and Austr ...

in a process referred to as whakawhiti kaimoana. Pōhā were often used to carry and store muttonbird (tītī) chicks. Pōhā form an airtight seal and food can be safely stored inside them for up to two or three years.

Clothing and sport

Members of

used inflated pōhā to protect their bodies (like a wetsuit) while foraging for seafood, and stories by

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori culture, Māori society. In Māori-language, Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and ...

indicate that pōhā were used for surfing in a sport called kauai or kaukau.

References

External links

A Seaweed Pantry - Tales from Te Papa episode 100, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (YouTube video)Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Story: Te Māori i te ohanga – Māori in the economy: Pōhā containersMāoritube Pōhā (Bull Kelp Bags) – Ngāi Tahu Mahinga KaiPōhā - Ngāi Tahu Mahinga Kai (direct link to video on YouTube)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pōhā Polynesian culture Māori culture