Pohau manga (barracouta lure)

This is a composite pohau manga (barracouta lure), made of wood, bone, and muka (flax fibre). Manga (Thyrsites atun) are a plentiful fish in New Zealand waters and were caught in great numbers by Māori.

This particular hook was thought to have been collected by Captain James Cook during one of this three voyages to New Zealand. It was presented to Te Papa's predecessor, the Dominion museum, in 1912 by Lord St Oswald.

Matau
Matau (fish hooks) come from many different tribes across the country, and show the significance of fishing in Māori life.

Matau can also refer to the legendary hero in many Māori narratives, Maui-tikitiki-a-Taranga or Maui Potiki – the trickster responsible for incredible exploits. He fished up the North Island from the realm of Tangaroa (the sea), with a hook made of the jawbone of his ancestress, Murirangawhenua. When Maui brought up the North Island as Te Ika-a-Maui (the fish of Maui), he was so delighted that he tossed his fish hook far up into the heavens, where it caught and hung, outlined with bright stars. The constellation Māori call 'the Fish Hook of Maui' is also known as Scorpius.