This book is packed with suggestions on pukao modes of play, the equipment to use, games whakapapa and an in-depth glossary. It is also liberally illustrated with 30 full-colour photographs.
Rituals were once performed daily and seasonally to remind us to be grateful and honouring of te taiao (our environment). When practiced these rituals carried values & attitudes through time as permanent markers and time capsule rongoa.
Even in ancient times some would question the value of such protocols, such as with pukao-rangi or whakamahuhu, which led Rongomai to despair of his brother Rongoatu who wanted to cease such atua honouring cultivation practices.
Pukao then is the game form of our ancient kumara cultivation practices which required tohunga and assistants to choose the best kumara seed tubers by means of tiri-rangi, literally by ‘planting kumara on top of posts’. Hence the kumarama (small stringed ki or balls) used in the game to represent the carefully wrapped seed kumara which would otherwise easily bruise. The koro-ki is the second type of throwing implement used in the game, a cleverly woven and knotted ball, with which chiefs would communicate with each as a precursor to cultivation ceremonies and harvests.
Pukao is therefore derived from an ancient legacy which the authors believe can once again be utilised by educators and facilitators to help in the provision of hauora and physical activity practices available to our tamariki and rangatahi today.
