Hue - gourds on display at Whanganui Regional Museum

Hue on display at Whanganui Regional Museum.

In Māori oral tradition, the hue is the personification of Hine-Pū-te-hue, daughter of Tāne. It was Hine-Pū-te-hue who calmed the warring sons of Ranginui, the Sky father, and Papatuānuku, the Earth mother after their separation at the dawn of time.

The hue, or gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), is one of the earliest known cultivated plants, grown and used by people in every inhabited part of the earth. The seeds of hue were brought from the Pacific Islands by tūpuna (ancestors) of Māori, along with other important cultivated plants.

Hue is planted in spring when the frosts are over and harvested when the vines die off during autumn. The ripe fruit is then dried over the following months, creating hard-shelled, hollow containers which have many different uses.

Tahā, the containers made from hue, were used as water vessels and for preserving food. They were essential for survival on the long ocean voyage to Aotearoa. Hue was traditionally used as fishing floats on nets and as flotation aids in swimming. Hue is also used for a range of traditional Māori musical instruments.

Museum staff are supporting the conservation and preservation of this plant. It has been here for such a long time, it deserves to be regarded as a unique part of our natural heritage, grown continuously in Aotearoa for around 1000 years.

The ancestors of these plants were brought to Aotearoa from the Pacific Islands. The plants have been grown successfully by Māori gardeners ever since that initial introduction. The seeds from each year’s harvested fruit have been carefully saved and planted in the following season, in a tradition that has continued unbroken since the arrival of those first ancestral seeds.

While the fruit of the hue is edible when it is small and unripe, the significance of the hue is mainly the useful vessels made from the dried ripe fruit. In New Zealand, these were traditionally used for musical instruments, bowls, and containers for water and preserved meat, with different sizes and shapes having different purposes. It is reasonable to conclude that deliberate selection of the most useful shapes and sizes of tahā, over such a long period of time, has resulted in varieties that are unique to New Zealand.

It is possible to buy gourd seeds of several different varieties, imported from other countries. The seeds of the unique Aotearoa hue, however, cannot be bought in a shop. They are given from person to person and handed down through generations. The hue is a precious part of our cultural inheritance and our natural heritage. The important task of conserving New Zealand’s unique cultural heritage plants, such as the hue, stands alongside the very important task of conserving our endemic native plants.

An array of hues, recently grown by museum educator Margaret Beautrais, is on display in the museum atrium.

Open from 10am to 4.30pm every day, entry is free and all visitors are welcome.