Hi,
Recently someone told me about ancient Maori home construction whereby half of the home was built underground. I have searched online but couldn’t find anything resembling such structures.Can anyone verify this type of structure among the Maori? If there are such structures like the ones recently publicized in the Netherlands 6 Amazing Homes Dug Into the Earth
I would be interested in knowing. I look forward to your feedback.
davidmich
I stand to be corrected here, but my understanding is that a whare is a basic dwelling built at ground level. There were some food storage buildings on stilts (pataka). Kumara were stored in underground pits. Obviously there were some variations including caves on occasions and war trenches. (Maori were the first in the world to develop trench warfare during the Musket Wars.) But I would be surprised to learn of any significant number of Maori dwellings constructed below ground level. Too damp and not comfortable or conducive to good health.
There was a volcanic eruption in 1886 that buried a Maori Village, not unlike Pompeii (though on a much smaller scale). Here you can see some images that may be the source of the misinformation.
Thank you both for your helpful replies. Very helpful indeed!
davidmich
A rua kai (food storage pit) is generally dug down or in to a hill (cite).
The haka Ka Mate (made famous by the All Blacks) tells the story of Te Rauparaha, a chief, who was being pursued by his enemies and hid in a rua kai. When the pit cover was removed, he feared death, until he recognised a friendly chief (called the Hairy Man in the haka), and then he ascended into the light from the dark.
Are these ‘rua kai’ still used today, even for traditional purposes? Are they well preserved?
davidmich
There may be a few well-preserved examples, like these here (the images include a mix of burial caves as well as rua kai).
But I will say that it is very unlikely that anyone uses a rua kai in a traditional sense, these days. There are maori who still live a culturally traditional life (revolving round a marae and wharenui (meeting house - literally big house). But they live in western houses with modern amenities, power and heating.
I guess the point would be - “why”?
Most societies are not known for excessive work for no purpose (unless you count Easter Island). In fact, a hole would be counter-productive in a land of significant rain. It takes a lot of work to dig a large hole, especially before metal shovels. i don’t see the point - insulation value is not that important.
(The only exception that comes to mind, the interior indians of British Columbia would IIRC build partially buried homes with a domed tent roof covered with dirt and other material - as insulation during the snowy cold winters. Not applicable in NZ).