Naturally West: kiekie, a traditional bush survival food

If you happen to get lost in the Waitākere mats. The aerial roots were gathered to bush without food at this time of year, use as a binding material for implements kiekie, the sole representative of the and for making fish traps and sandals. pandanus family in Aotearoa, is one Some Auckland place names have of the most palatable, nutritious and significance to the kiekie plant, delicious native wild foods you could Tāwharanui on Auckland’s east coast console yourself with. literally means “the abundant flowers

If it is in flower you can pluck the outer of the kiekie vine” while Maungakiekie white flower (actually leaf bracts) known (One Tree Hill) translates as “Mountain as tāwhara to savour, hopefully at an of kiekie”. optimum ripeness when it apparently In Māori tradition, kiekie and harakeke tastes a little like pear or pineapple with (native flax) are regarded as long lost the aroma of vanilla. brothers. Harakeke left home to live with

If you were stranded in autumn you Wainui (the mother of waters) while could seek out the kiekie for its fruit Kiekie in flower displaying the edible bracts. © L. Jensen. kiekie stayed with Tāne (the god of the instead of the leaf bracts forest) piggy-backing on his shoulders wherever he went.

The outer dried leaves can be used as fire starters, in the same way as Kiekie is most commonly found suspended in the canopy of our kouka or cabbage tree leaves make great kindling when tied together mightiest trees. Where it is independent of a tree host, kiekie becomes in a knot. an impassable mass of tangled roots, a bane to bushmen and trampers

Māori used kiekie to make cloaks called peia, which is also another around the country, unless of course it is in flower! Māori name for the plant. Weaving kiekie cloaks was known as “making a saddleback nest” as these birds were often found nesting in the >> Open Studios Waitākere set to inspire, Continued kiekie leaves. from page 14

The sweet-tasting fruits and the succulent tāwhara were a highly Hassan is 32 and largely self-taught, making her command of the esteemed delicacy of Maori, often gathered using a forked stick. The medium all the more impressive. Last year she was selected for a bracts were made into juice, jelly or eaten as is. In some areas of the scholarship in classical painting at Studio Escalier in Angers, France, country these flowers were fermented to produce an alcoholic liquor. where she spent three intensive months studying classical oil painting The fruit too was regarded as a delicacy, and early Pākehā settlers and colour theory. Early works have won the Lysaght Watt Trust Award, made it into a jelly which tasted like preserved strawberries. Taranaki, National Emerging Artist Award, Titirangi, and Impressions

Māori protected the edible parts of the kiekie from rats and possums, National Art Award, Nelson. which are also partial to tāwhara. The presence of these pests may Simon Ward is a sculptor who works predominantly in ceramics and account for the absence of that part of the flower around ripening cast glass He is best known for his playful interpretations of iconic fruits encountered today in the bush. New Zealand candy. His work seeks to inspire a sense of childlike

The following whakataukī (proverb) recognises the significance and excitement, oscillating between nostalgia and pop-culture, and often previous abundance of two of the most desirable food resources to playing with scale. Māori: “I've always found that not only do people have a better understanding He whā tāwhara ki wā, he kiko tāmure ki tai for the process after visiting the studio, they often find a deeper The tāwhara leaf on land, the flesh of the snapper offshore attachment and meaning to the art itself. That's why I think the Open

Kiekie leaves were used widely for plaiting and weaving for mats Studios Waitākere weekend is so important to West Auckland as a and temporary baskets for holding food. In some Māori communities, whole,” says Simon, who will have some special works for sale that are however, kiekie was a tapu plant and not used for food baskets or floor not usually available to the public.

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