NZ Food Timeline

Food Sources: Maori Culture

Cultivated plants: The ancestors of the Māori brought edible plants from their homelands, including kūmara, yams, taro and tī pore (Cordyline fruticosa), a species of cabbage tree.

Wild plants

New Zealand was originally covered with dense native bush, and its ferns, vines, palms, fungi, berries, fruit and seeds became important foods. 

Animal foods

The introduced kiore (Polynesian rat) and kurī (Polynesian dog) were valuable and highly regarded food sources.

Food-gathering places

Each tribe had its own named fishing grounds and diving rocks protected by kaitiaki (guardians). These sites were very important, and in some cases tapu (sacred) to the tribes which relied on them for their survival. In the 21st century many Māori continued to catch their local delicacies at these sites.

Drinks

Māori drank fresh water and, for medicinal purposes, tonics made from seaweed, berries, fruits and leaves steeped in water. They used no alcohol or tobacco and did not regularly consume any stimulants, although special plant concoctions are known to have been drunk by warriors preparing for battle.