The old-time Maori, a careful and observant student of nature and all matters connected with food-supplies, soon ascertained the parts of the lake where the various foods were most plentiful and most easily procured. These spots became the fishing-grounds, carefully marked and jealously guarded by the various subtribes and families. They were given names, and the most famous were alluded to in song and story. Such were Kaiore, te whare o te koura, o te toitoi (the home of the koura and the toitoi), and Te Taramoa, where nets were drawn and tau were set. Patua-i-te-rangi, in a lament for Te Ao Karewa, who was drowned in the lake, sang as follows :—

E hine e Pare, e Pare kinokino kia au ki to kuia,
E kore korua ko to tungane e puta i Te Ponui-a-Rerenga.
E kukume ana te au o te taua ki o papa.
Na Ngati-Whakaue te riri i tuku atu kia hoki,
Kia ata noho e te tangata,
Kauaka e rere ki te tau poito.
Ki ta ia tangata kupenga ra.
Piki ake ra e hine
Ki o taumata e rua ki Taupiri ki Te Rewarewa,
Kia marama koe te titiro
Ki te moana ki o whaea,
E moe ake ra Te Ao i tona whare kinokino,
I te whare kai a te tangata, ko Kaiore,
Ko Kaiore tukunga porohe ki te parenga ki Te Taramoa.
Puruatia o mawhiti, he puru whare no Te Whakaruru e …

From the fourth line this may be translated roughly as follows :—

It was Ngati-Whakaue who turned back those seeking strife,
And (advised) that man should live in peace—
Not to meddle with the tau kept up by floats
Or with the nets of other men.
Ascend, O little maid,
The two summits, Taupiri and Te Rewarewa,
That thou mayest clearly view
The lake and your elders,
Where Te Ao sleeps in her house of death,
The house of the food of man, Kaiore—
Kaiore, where the toitoi traps are set in the direction of the shore, towards Te Taramoa.

Te Moari was famous as Te Moenga o te Kokopu (where the kokopu sleeps). The big drag-nets were used on this ground. Of the kakahi grounds the most famous of all was Tahunaroa, another famous one being Te Rau Tawa.

Landmarks.—Some of the grounds were located by sighting conspicuous objects ashore and getting a cross-bearing between two sets. The Tahunaroa ground, for instance, was picked up as follows : A line was taken from a large cabbage-tree on the lake-shore near Owhatiura to a small clump of trees known as Te-Rau-o-te-Huia, situated on the hills at the back of Owhata. Keeping on this line, the canoe paddled forward or back until a certain conspicuous slip in the Arikikapakapa Reserve, near Whakarewarewa, was in line over the top of some small islands, known as Motutere, n the lake-arm at the back of the present Sanatorium. The canoe was now on Tahunaroa, and down went the pole with the absolute certainty of striking bottom.

Other marks were the natural objects in the water, such as rocks. Such a one was Patuwhare, a rock off the shore of Mokoia, out from the

bath of Hinemoa. It is said to have split before the fall of Mokoia to the Ngapuhi under Hongi, thus giving ominous warning of impending disaster.

Tumu.—As, however, the grounds were not too deep, the commonest marks were posts called tumu. They served the double purpose of marking the ground and for the fastening of one end of the tau of aka vine which carried the fern bundles intended to trap the shelter-seeking koura and toitoi. They also marked ownership, and hence were often named after ancestors. The best woods to withstand the water were rewarewa (Knightia-excelsa) and kaponga (Cyathea dealbata). As most of the grounds were marked in this manner, the number of tumu in the lake was very considerable, and served to mark the boundaries of the various subtribes and families. They were especially numerous around Mokoia. The launches and punts used for carrying sulphur up from Lake Rotoiti were responsible for the disappearance of many. Such a plebeian fate befell Hinewhata, famed for having given breathing-time to Hinemoa in her famous swim to Mokoia, whither she was lured by her love for Tutanekai and guided by the music of his koauau.

Hinearanga marked the famous Kaiore ground already alluded to. Te Taramoa was also the name of the tumu which marked the Taramoa ground. Others were named Morewhati, Te Kopua-a-Tamakari, Te Moari (still standing), and Hinerimu.

Many tumu were carved, such as Te Roro o te Rangi, carved on the top to represent a human figure. It may still be seen. Tu te Whaiwha is still standing, but the part above water-level was knocked off. It is about 6 in. in diameter, and is surmounted by a modern sign. Rongomai was carved, and originally stood near Mokoia, but it developed wandering propensities (he tumu haere), and is looked upon as a taniwha.

Between Waimihia and Ngongotaha once stood four tumu, named. Irohanga, Te Huka, Potangotango, and Te Kaea. The origin of these names is interesting. In the genealogy given below the descendants of Tamarangi went to Waikato, whilst those of Kaimataia remained at Rotorua.

Te Kaea made an eel-weir in Waikato and named the paepae (one of the beams) after Manawa. The news reached Manawa, and, not to be outdone, he immediately named four tumu in the lake after Te Kaea and his three brothers.

The tumu against which the entrails of Kakara, wife of Ihenga, were caught was called Hakaipuku. Some tumu were forked, to distinguish them from others : such were Tapaeo and Nga-kuha-o-te-Hauwhenua.

From the above it will be seen that the tumu in the lake were used like surveyors' pegs in modern times : they marked off the parts of the lake that belonged to the various families and subtribes. Undoubtedly more of the lake was pegged off than the part in the immediate neighbourhood