During my time in Wellington, I’ve become a big fan of the tūī. These birds can be found all over New Zealand, but Wellington has a particularly large population of them due to its proximity to the Zealandia ecosanctuary1. Their calls punctuate my days, and the birds can be seen flitting past my window. Tūī are not only beautiful birds, but excellent mimics. I’ve never heard one speak human words, but I’ve heard them making a large range of calls.
As with many native New Zealand birds, the Māori people have various legends associated with the tūī. Historically they have also both kept tūī as pets, and have used them as a food source. In this blog post, I’m going to give an overview of the relationship between the Māori people and the tūī.
Tūī Legends
In one legend, the tūī was appointed as a guardian of the door to the twelth heaven by the offspring of Rangi (the Sky Father, also known as Ranginui) and Papa (the Earth Mother, also known as Papatuanuku)2. One of the birds tasks was to conserve the mana (the supernatural force in a person3) of the sacred number twelve. In this effort the tūī was to be assisted by the huia (a New Zealand native bird which became extinct in the early 20th century), the moon, and the young children of Punaweko (the personification and origin of all land birds). The tūī was given the twelve feathers which make up the white ball-shaped ruffles on its neck as a symbol of its important status.
When Tāne (god of the forest, son of Rangi and Papa) visited the heavens he brought back a flock of tūī to our world. In a slightly differing version these were given to him by Rehua (personification of the star Antares, child of Rangi and Papa). Rehau gave the tūī a whetū (star) around its neck to remind everyone of its origin4.
In another story5, Maui Mua (the eldest of Maui’s sons), taking the name and guise of Rupe (the personified name for the Kererū or New Zealand pigeon), turns himself into a pigeon and visits Rehua. Rehua unties his headknot and shakes tūī from his hair, which Maui Mua is invited to eat. He refuses as he knows that all parts of a god are sacred, especially the head. He asks if he can instead take some of the birds to live in the forests below, which Rehua agrees to.
The behaviours of the tūī are also subject to legends. A fattened fully grown tūī may be referred to as a kōkō. This name is said to6 mean “pecking”, referring to the tūī behaviour of pecking at their chest area to spread accumulations of oil throughout its feathers. Legends say that this pecking is done to reduce the bird’s weight so that it would be light enough to make its journey back to the spirit world of Hawaiki.
Keeping Tūī
Tūī have historically been bred and tamed by Māori. The pure black tūī known as the pāpua was said to be the best to train- one without the white neck feathers. When breeding tūī only the males were chosen for training, preferably the youngest of the clutch. Otherwise, tūī could be captured from the wild. The winter months of June and July are said to be an ideal time for this as the heavy frost induces the birds into a deep sleep. There exists a Māori proverb: “He kōkō whakamoe, ka mate te tangata”. Man perishes when sleeping like a tūī.
Various tactics are said to be employed in the training of a tūī. According to one author the bird’s throat must first be opened up more than usual; the glottis would gradually be enlarged through the use of an oiled plug7. Alternatively the tongue of the bird could be split, allowing it to speak more freely.
The aim of the bird’s training was to give it a loud and deep authoritative voice. During its training a young tūī would be kept in an isolated house away from other people. Lessons would preferably take place near a waterfall, as it was believed its booming sounds would be learnt by the tūī.
Tūī would be taught a large range of words, proverbs, axioms, and even genealogies and the words of incantations to be said during the planting of crops. If the bird talked during the night, this was regarded as an evil omen and death would meet any planned war parties.
Although kept as pets, tūī are recognised as having great mana. They are able to communicate with the gods, and have the power to kill humans through witchcraft. Several stories exist of people being killed so that their tūī could be stolen. Tūī are also said to have a sense of foresight. Because of this, spontaneous utterances of the bird were carefully heeded. If a tūī announced that a guest would come in the morning, all efforts would be made to prepare for the arrival of the guest.8
An important role for the tūī was greeting guests generally. The birds were not only taught speeches which they would repeat to guests, but could also be used to avoid social faux pas. It is impolite to ask a person directly who they are, even if you cannot remember. A tūī however can ask rude questions with impunity. They could also be used to cause breaks in monotonous conversations9.
A different role for a captive tūī was that of messenger. A captive bred bird would be kept between two locations, learning to associate both of them with food. When a message needed to be sent the bird would be starved for several days, and an aho-ponapona (knotted chord) attached to it. When the bird was released it would fly to the second location to seek food. After it had time to record the same starvation and release practice would be used to send the bird back to the first location.
The tūī, with its iridescent plumage and remarkable vocalizations, holds a unique place in Māori culture. While the practice of keeping tūī as pets has largely faded, the bird’s cultural significance endures. Even as I’m writing this in the middle of the capitol city, a tūī is sat outside the window reminding me of the wonderful natural world within New Zealand.
References
- More info on Zealandia ecosanctuary: https://www.visitzealandia.com/ ↩︎
- This story comes from Murdoch Riley’s book “Māori Bird Lore”; he does not provide his own source of the story. ↩︎
- More detailed explanation of the concept of mana can be found here: https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?keywords=mana ↩︎
- The Story of Tūī on Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research: https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/tools-and-resources/education/the-story-of-tui/ ↩︎
- Again from Murdoch Riley ↩︎
- By Murdoch Riley ↩︎
- Another Murdoch Riley claim without any provided citations ↩︎
- This is noted in a range of books, including Riley’s and in one called Forest Law of the Maori https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/webarchive/20210104000423/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BesFore-t1-body-d2-d6-d13.html ↩︎
- By Murdoch Riley ↩︎