Tihei: Prized weaving resource hard to find

Harvesting paopao at Lake Ngutu and Tangonge wetland, Te Rarawa. Photo / Tyne Nelson

The following is an excerpt from Aggie Nukus' Statement of Evidence for the Ngāti Kahungunu Wai 262 hearings in 2000. The statement is made in regards to weaving resources;

"It is very difficult to get other natural resources we need for our arts. It is not only the flax which has disappeared from its natural environment. Many other plants have also gone. One example is paupau, similar to a bull rush, and which we use to make sleeping mats. This has all gone".

The plant that Aggie is referencing is the Giant Spike Sedge (Eleocharis sphacelata). Depending on where you come from, this plant is given the names "paopao", "kuta" or "ngāwhā".

Paopao is one of the giants of Aotearoa New Zealand's freshwater flora when it comes to length - in suitable deep water habitats, it can grow longer than 4 metres from its base, providing most of the stem is underwater.

It is a prized weaving resource for a multitude of reasons; the fact that you don't need to hapine (soften) the fibre to work with it (as you do harakeke), its length and soft, spongy characteristic means it is a wonderful material for making tāpau/takapau (sleeping mats), and it has a range of natural colours.

Living in Omahu, Aggie Nuku was surrounded by Oingo Lake, Runanga Lake and Lake Ohiti - all freshwater lakes that paopao would inhabit. However, with only 2 per cent of wetlands remaining today (compared to original numbers) paopao has become scarce.

Paopao has been recorded historically on Te Mata Peak in a wetland that once existed there, and was once in Lake Tutira (it was decimated when carp were introduced to manage the invasive aquatic weed hydrilla), yet, some remnant populations can still be found throughout the rohe.

Of course, beyond its usefulness to us, paopao plays an important part in freshwater ecosystems. The dense mats of rhizomes and roots in its beds help to stabilise bottom sediments and therefore assist in maintaining good water clarity. The tall hollow stems efficiently pump oxygen down to the rhizomes and sediment, and transport waste gases up from bottom sediments and release them back into the atmosphere.

• The above is an extract from Te Pūtake o te Wao Nui – A place-based review of traditional ecological knowledge by Tyne-Marie Nelson, supported by Predator Free HB.