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HĀKARI OLIVER STEAD
DESCRIPTION
REFERENCE
The stage erected to contain the food at the feast given by the native chiefs, Bay of Islands, September 1849, c. 1849 Watercolour, 302 × 477 mm
Collection of Alexander Turnbull, part of album E-320-f (B-030-007)
MAKER / ARTIST
Cuthbert Clarke (1819–1863)
Hākari — occasions for celebratory feasting and entertainment — were often of a grand scale in the nineteenth century, as shown by this depiction of the event held by Te Tai Tokerau iwi in the aftermath of the Northern War of 1845–46.
Hākari — an occasion for hosts to provide their guests with sumptuous food and entertainment — is a vital part of manaakitanga in te ao Māori, uplifting and maintaining the mana of hosts and guests alike. Many kinds of events can be celebrated with hākari, including marriages, the naming of children, tangi, the resolution of conflicts and the reciprocation of previous hospitality. In the first half of the nineteenth century some hākari were conducted on a huge scale. Such events often featured elaborate scaffolding-like stages, also called hākari, some of colossal size, on which food was arranged. This one, with flags flying proudly, towers over a marae at Kororāreka in the Bay of Islands in September 1849. It was recorded as being around 45 metres high, made from 160 kauri spars bound with torotoro vine. Some hākari were much lower, but could be up to 3 kilometres long. Such events could be attended by thousands of people from various iwi. The greatest hākari stages could hold staggering amounts of produce as iwi adopted new farming methods, crops and domestic animals. Tonnes
MUP004 History 101 200x250 272pp f_a.indd 40
of potatoes, beef and pork would be presented, along with traditional staples such as eel and dried fish. After the formal welcome for the guests, the leader of the host group would indicate to each group of guests which portion of food they were to receive at the feast. The food was not intended to be eaten all at once, but rather to be distributed among groups to carry back to their homes. In time the guests might host a reciprocal hākari. Once the stages had fulfilled their function, they were
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