Harakeke Information Report

Harakeke is a type of rongoa that was used by the early Maori people. Some still use it today.

In the middle of the harakeke lives the baby, then as the blades grow, they grow into teenagers, parents and grandparents are on the outside of the harakeke just like your own family tree. From my point of view the adults protect the younger ones.

Harakeke is used to heal many, many sicknesses. Ashes are for boils, splints for broken parts for your body and the fibres can sew wounds. The gum at the base of the plant is used for your burns. The juice of the harakeke is used to clean for wounds as a disinfectant. In case you get a tooth-ache, you might need a little bit of juice. Just choose a blade and squeeze it into the part that you need healed.

The roots of the harakeke are roasted on hot rocks and the leaves are boiled. Many people don’t know that the fibre of the harakeke can be used to sew wounds.

In many countries today, for different kinds of people from the north of the world to the south, there are different traditions for healing. But for Maori, only a touhnga (priest,doctor) can heal many people’s sores.