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Mōkihi: the rafts of Ngāi Tahu
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TitleMōkihi: the rafts of Ngāi Tahu
DescriptionMōhiki or mogi (rafts) are traditional Māori water-craft used by Ngāi Tahu to navigate waterways, harvest mahika kai and transport people and goods.
Although rafts and boats of modern materials like fibreglass and plastic have now replaced mōhiki, they are still made, fashioned from raupō or korari (flax stalks) naturally growing around water. Bundles of the plant are dried and lashed together in a particular formation that allows pockets of air within its' construction to aid buoyancy.
The process of gathering raupō and korari has wider benefit for the waterways in that the dead raupō is cleared at the same time as the live plants are cut, which allows water carrying nutrients to flush into areas to promote new growth. Harekeke (flax) and raupō play a critical role in addressing the water pollution caused by nitrates that enter the waterways through farming activities such as fertilisation and stock effluent. This why they are used for riperian planting along streams and rivers.
Constructing mōhiki also involves whakawhanaukataka (building and maintaining relationships) within the process, the bond of the community involved in making it, sitting and talking while they work, as well as passing on the traditonal mōhiki construction skills.
DescriptionMōhiki or mogi (rafts) are traditional Māori water-craft used by Ngāi Tahu to navigate waterways, harvest mahika kai and transport people and goods. Although rafts and boats of modern materials like fibreglass and plastic have now replaced mōhiki, they are still made, fashioned from raupō or korari (flax stalks) naturally growing around water. Bundles of the plant are dried and lashed together in a particular formation that allows pockets of air within its' construction to aid buoyancy.
The process of gathering raupō and korari has wider benefit for the waterways in that the dead raupō is cleared at the same time as the live plants are cut, which allows water carrying nutrients to flush into areas to promote new growth. Harekeke (flax) and raupō play a critical role in addressing the water pollution caused by nitrates that enter the waterways through farming activities such as fertilisation and stock effluent. This why they are used for riperian planting along streams and rivers.
Constructing mōhiki also involves whakawhanaukataka (building and maintaining relationships) within the process, the bond of the community involved in making it, sitting and talking while they work, as well as passing on the traditonal mōhiki construction skills.
Connections
More InformationRead more about mōkihi on the Ngāi Tahu websiteRead more about raupōWatch the Ngāi Tahu video about mōkihiSee the original record of the c1840s image of mōhiki in on the National Library websiteRead about mōhiki and mahinga kai expert Timothy Birmingham Te Maihāroa on Kareao from Ngāi Tahu Archives
Read more about raupōWatch the Ngāi Tahu video about mōkihiSee the original record of the c1840s image of mōhiki in on the National Library websiteRead about mōhiki and mahinga kai expert Timothy Birmingham Te Maihāroa on Kareao from Ngāi Tahu ArchivesAttribution
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Mōkihi: the rafts of Ngāi Tahu. Selwyn Stories, accessed 04/04/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/6691
