Story by Basil Keane

Main image: Feast at Matatā, mid-19th century

Food in Māori tradition

In the Māori creation tradition, Papatūānuku (earth mother) and Ranginui (sky father) were pushed apart by their children, the gods. Tāwhirimātea fought and defeated four of his brothers, who were the gods of the sea, the forest, cultivated foods and uncultivated foods. He then used them as food.

Food is noa (ordinary), as opposed totapu (sacred). Māori were careful that food did not infringe ontapu. For instance, sometohunga were sotapu that they could not feed themselves. Food can also be used to removetapu.

Hākari (feasts) were a way to demonstrate hospitality andmana. Sometimes hosts and guests competed to outdo each other with the biggest feast and greatest hospitality.

Traditional feasts

Hākari were held to mark events and rituals, including:

• the tohi ceremony, when a child was dedicated to a god
• tāmoko – the tattooing of a young person of rank
• marriage
• tangihanga (funerals)
• ngahuru, the time of the kūmara harvest in March
• the appearance of Matariki (the Pleiades) or Puanga (Rigel) in the sky – the Māori New Year
• the opening of thewhare wānanga (house of learning)
• the sealing of a peace agreement.

19th-century feasts

Hākari became huge in the 19th century. Some featured thousands of guests, with many tonnes of food. Food was displayed in huge stacks or on whata (stages), up to 30 metres high.

Kaihaukai were traditional feasts where tribes exchanged foods from their own regions – for instance, seafood was exchanged for food from the forest.

Poukai are a series ofhui (gatherings) held mainly in the Waikato. They were started by the Māori King Tāwhiao in 1885, as a harvest festival and a way to feed the needy.

Feasts in the 20th and 21st centuries

Traditionally, a hākari could be the sole reason for ahui. In the 2000s feasts were held at the end ofhui, but were not the only reason for them.Mana was still an important part of hospitality – it was important to feed guests well.

In the 2000s manymarae were concerned with healthy eating, and served healthy foods.