Poha tītī (kelp bag)

Unique customs

South island tribes used the pōhā tītī as a unique way of preserving and storing tītī (muttonbirds). This pōhā has been made from a kelp bag that has been covered with strips of tōtara bark and placed inside a woven kete (basket). Made as recently as the 1920s–1930s, it is evidence of a tradition that still has strong relevance today.

The custom of collecting and storing tītī – widely known as muttonbirding – is practised by the people of Rakiura (Stewart Island), where they and their descendants have seasonal rights to gather tītī on 36 nearby islands.

Pōhā Tītī – he tikanga motuhake

Koinei te ahuatanga ki nga hapū o Rakiura he pōhā tītī, e tohu ai i ta ratau tahu i te tītī, a, ka waiho hei kai i tona wa. I hangaia te poha ki te rimurapa, a, uhia atu ki te kiri tōtara. I muri ka whiria he kete e ngawari ai te mau haere. No nga tau 1920–1930, ka hangaia tenei pōhā tītī, a, kei te mau tonu i a ratau te ahuatanga o te mahi pōhā tītī.

Kei te mau tonu i nga uri whakaheke nga tikanga mo te mahi tītī, a, he whānau he moutere, he whānau he moutere. Koinei te tikanga mai ra ano. He kaupapa nui te mahi tītī.