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Sweet potato cultivation in Polynesia as a crop began around 1000 AD in central Polynesia. The plant became a common food across the region, especially in Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand, where it became a staple food. By the 1600s in central Polynesia, traditional cultivars were being replaced with hardier and larger varieties from the Americas (a process which began later in New Zealand, in the early 1800s). Many traditional cultivars are still grown across Polynesia, however are rare and are not widely commercially grown.

It is unknown how sweet potato began to be cultivated in the Pacific, but the current scholarly consensus is that the presence of sweet potato in Polynesia is evidence of Polynesian contact with South America. However, some genetic studies of traditional cultivars suggest that sweet potato was first dispersed to Polynesia before human settlement.

History

The sweet potato plant is originally from the Americas, and became widely cultivated in Central and South America by 2500 BC.^[1] Sweet potato is thought to have been first grown as a food crop in central Polynesia around 1000–1100 AD, with the earliest archaeological evidence being fragments recovered from Mangaia in the southern Cook Islands, carbon dated between 988 and 1155 AD.^[2]^[3] Over the next few centuries, sweet potato was spread to the extremes of the Polynesian Triangle: Easter Island, Hawaii and New Zealand.^[2] Sweet potato may have spread so rapidly in the Pacific because Polynesian gardeners saw these plants as an improvement on already grown Dioscorea species, such as the purple yam.^[4] The plant was likely spread between Polynesian islands by vine cuttings rather than by seeds.^[5]

The prevailing theory for the lineages of sweet potato seen in Polynesia is the tripartite hypothesis developed in the 1950s and 60s: that an original kumara lineage was brought from the west coast of South America circa 1000 AD, and later superseded by two lineages introduced by Spanish galleons and Portuguese traders circa 1500 AD, the Central American camote lineage and the Caribbean batata lineage.^[6]^[7]^[8] Sweet potato became a major staple more so at the extremities of Polynesian culture — such as in pre-European Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand — than in central Polynesia.^[2] During the 1600s, traditional Polynesian cultivars of sweet potato and calabash began to be replaced with North American varieties.^[9] During reintroduction, the sweet potato had become entirely absent from many central Polynesian islands (such as the Cook Islands, with the exception of Mangaia).^[10]

Pre-Columbian contact theory

The presence of sweet potato in the Pacific is often cited as evidence of sporadic contact between Polynesian and Native American peoples.^[11]^[12]^[13] However, it is unknown if sweet potato was introduced through Polynesian canoes reaching South America, or by South American rafts visiting eastern Polynesian islands such as Rapa Nui.^[2]^[14] It is also possible that the plant was transferred without human contact, such as floating west across the ocean after being discarded from the cargo of a boat.^[15]

Genetic, cultural or linguistic links between Polynesian and Amerindian peoples have been hypothesised, including the Chumash people of California,^[11] the Mapuche in central and southern Chile,^[16] and the Zenú, a Pre-Columbian culture of Colombia.^[17] Dutch linguists and specialists in Amerindian languages Willem Adelaar and Pieter Muysken have suggested that the word for sweet potato is shared by Polynesian languages and languages of South America: Proto-Polynesian *kumala^[18] (compare Rapa Nui kumara, Hawaiian ʻuala, Māori kūmara) may be connected with Quechua and Aymara k'umar ~ k'umara. Adelaar and Muysken assert that the similarity in the word for sweet potato is proof of either incidental contact or sporadic contact between the Central Andes and Polynesia.^[19]

Natural disbursal theory

Some researchers suggest that sweet potatoes might have been present in Polynesia thousands of years before humans arrived there, arriving through avian disbursal or natural rafts.^[4] A genetic analysis of sweet potato collected from the Society Islands by Joseph Banks during the first voyage of James Cook in 1761, which found this lineage diverged from South American varieties at least 111,500 years ago, suggesting that sweet potato was first dispersed to Polynesia by natural means.^[20] However, the present scholarly consensus favours the pre-Columbian contact model.^[9]^[21]

Regional introductions

Introduction to Hawaii

On the Hawaiian Islands, the earliest archaeological record of sweet potatoes (ʻuala)^[22] is circa 1300 AD, where traces were found on traditional farmlands of Kohala, Hawaii.^[6] Sweet potato was likely introduced to the islands at a later point, after initial Polynesian settlers had arrived.^[23] Sweet potato was considered to be less superior or valuable compared to another crop on the islands, taro, but it was commonly grown as it could flourish in less favourable growing conditions, and only took between three and six months to mature.^[24]

Sweet potato on the Hawaiian islands was typically grown in makaili (stony alluvial soils),^[25] and in arid/coastal areas.^[6] It is associated with the new year festival of Makahiki, where the first fruits of the harvest (kāmalui hou) were offered to the gods, typically sweet potatoes and taro.^[24]

Introduction to Easter Island

Sweet potato (kumara)^[26] was introduced to Easter Island (Rapa Nui) around 1200–1300 AD.^[27] The crop, due to its drought-resistant nature, replaced yam and taro, becoming the staple food on the island and grown on 1/10th of the total land on the island.^[28]^[27] A traditional Rapa Nui legend involves Hotu Matuꞌa, the legendary first settler of Rapa Nui, travelling to the island and planting sweet potato, yam and bottle gourds near Orongo.^[27]

Planting typically occurs twice a year, from January to April and August to September.^[29] Lithic mulching (mixing rocks into fertile soil) was used by traditional Rapa Nui gardeners in order to retain moisture in sweet potato plantations.^[27]^[30] Plants are typically grown from grafts taken from mature plants, and take from between 120 and 180 days to mature.^[29] The end of the initial stage involves piling earth on top of the plants.^[29] Sweet potato was not often stored on Rapa Nui, instead typically eaten directly after harvesting.^[29] Occasionally sweet potatoes were stored for festivals or ceremonies, by drying large tubers in the sun, then burying them in soil for up to one month.^[29] Sweet potatoes were eaten raw or cooked.^[27] The young leaves of the sweet potato are also eaten.^[29]

It has been hypothesised that the introduction of sweet potato to the island directly led to the construction of ahu platforms and moai statues, as the large harvests would have meant the island's inhabitants were able to dedicate more time to activities other than subsistence farming.^[27] The introduction of sweet potato to the island may have also led to the deforestation of Easter Island, as burnt palm forest was a source of nutrients necessary for the growth of sweet potatoes in nutrient poor soil.^[30]

Introduction to New Zealand

Sweet potato (standard Māori: kūmara, Southern Māori dialects: kūmera^[9]) is a traditional crop for Māori.^[2] Archaeological evidence suggests that kūmara arrived in New Zealand after the original Polynesian voyagers had settled in New Zealand, likely sometime between 1300 and 1400.^[2] Lack of archaeological evidence on the abandoned Māori settlements on Raoul Island and Norfolk Island implies kūmara was not available in the early 1300s.^[2] Oral histories tell of a return voyage to central Polynesia to collect the plant for use in New Zealand, however oral histories do not agree on a single voyage or source: the introduction of kūmara is associated with the Aotea, Arawa, Horouta, Kurahaupō, Māhuhu, Māmari, Mātaatua, Tainui and Tokomaru canoes, possibly due to the mana associated with having brought kumara to New Zealand.^[2] One history involves Tūhoe ancestor Toi-kai-rākau, who after he sailed the Horouta waka to New Zealand, introduced local Māori to dried kūmara (kao). The locals, having loved the vegetable, sailed on the Horouta back to central Polynesia to collect the plant to grow in New Zealand.^[2] Ngāti Awa have a similar stories about the Mātaatua waka, that it was sent to bring kumara supplies to Whakatāne.^[2] In Tainui and Te Arawa traditions, kūmara was brought to New Zealand by Whakaotirangi, a woman who carried seeds of important plants on the journey to New Zealand after being kidnapped by the chief Tama-te-kapua, around 1350 AD.^[31]^[32] Whakaotirangi experimented with ways to adapt growing kūmara in the colder climate, which would develop an unpleasant sour taste when exposed to frost.^[33] Another history involves Marama, the junior wife of Hoturoa aboard the Tainui waka. She brought kūmara plants with her on her journey, however when she arrived to Aotearoa, was unfaithful to Hoturoa with a slave. As punishment, her kūmara plants turned into pōhue (Calystegia sepium) – a traditional weed of kūmara farms.^[34]

In 1880, botanist and missionary William Colenso listed 48 varieties grown in Northland, Hawke's Bay and the East Coast.^[10]^[35] These traditional varieties came in a variety of colours (red, purple and white), shapes (some cylindrical) and differing rough/smooth textures.^[35] Northland Māori described a red fleshed red skinned variety called paikaraka as the oldest variety to Colenso, while Te Arawa iwi sources in the 1940s called toroa-māhoe and hutihuti the oldest varieties of kūmara.^[35]^[36]^[37] Kūmara does not seed in New Zealand due to the climate, meaning mutations in buds and careful cultivation of these plants likely led to the new varieties.^[10] A 1955–1959 survey of Māori farmers identified four cultivars considered to be pre-European: taputini and houhere (grown in Northland), and two closely related varieties grown across the North Island: rekamaroa and hutihuti (rekamaroa and hutihuti were commonly grown in Māori home gardens until the 1940s)^[37]).^[38] A 1997 DNA analysis of these varieties confirmed that taputini, rekamaroa and hutihuti are all pre-European (houhere was not tested in the study).^[39]^[40] Other traditional cultivars outside of this list still exist, such as parapara (a variety used for medicinal reasons to feed the elderly, babies and the unwell), paukena (used to make kūmara kao), poporo, rekarawa and romanawa.^[41]

Cultivation and use

New Zealand

Traditional cultivation

Māori adapted kūmara cultivation methods for New Zealand, learning to grow new plants from tubers instead of from shoots, and learning how adapt to a seasonal climate by storing sweet potato over winter months and growing during the summer.^[40] Kūmara and hue (Lagenaria siceraria, or bottle gourds) could be cultivated on about 45% of New Zealand, much greater than other traditional Polynesian crops brought to the islands such as taro (Colocasia esculenta) or aute (the paper mulberry tree). South of Taranaki/Hawke's Bay, kūmara was the dominant Polynesian crop plant (other plants such as hue and taro were more commonly grown further north).^[2] In the South Island, kūmara was typically grown as far south as the Banks Peninsula.^[40] Some kūmara was managed to be grown as far south as Otago in the 1450s, however cultivation south of Canterbury ceased before European contact, possibly due to Little Ice Age-related climate changes, or political upheaval.^[9] Kūmara roots tend to develop fungal rot when daily temperatures fall below 10 °C, however this may have been mitigated by the use of internal fires and heated rocks.^[9]

In spring, the flowering of the kōwhai tree and the call of the pīpīwharauroa (shining bronze cuckoo) signalled when kūmara fields needed to be prepared,^[42] however planting time would vary annually, depending on if a cold winter was predicted during Matariki.^[43] The positions of the stars and when the kūmara leaves beginning to wither in autumn was a sign of hauhakenga, or the time to harvest the crop.^[35]^[44] Māra kūmara (sweet potato gardens) consisted of puke (soil mounds) arranged in rows or a quincunx pattern of plants.^[40] These gardens could only ben used for a limited time before soil nutrients became too depleted.^[40] Māori used crop rotation to grow kūmara, where a māra kūmara would be used for 2–3 years before being burnt and left to fallow.^[42] However, crop rotation was much more difficult compared to other parts of Polynesia, due to tangled Pteridium esculentum (rarauhe, or bracken ferns) taking over the fallowing croplands.^[40] Light sandy loam or volcanic soils were the best suited for growing kūmara.^[25]^[40] Māra kūmara are typically found on slanted, north-facing land, which attracts less moisture and is more sheltered from cold southerly winds.^[10] Gardens would also placed facing north or north-east as this was the direction of Hawaiki (the mythical Māori homeland).^[42] Layers of beach sand, cut grass and gravel were sometimes used for planting kūmara in August, with the insulation helping the tubers sprout faster.^[45]^[40] Gravel was sometimes spread under kūmara leaves to protect the plant, or blended into earth to loosen hard soils.^[25]

Plants were often susceptible to being eaten by the Australasian swamphen (pūkeko) and Agrius convolvuli (hīhue, or the convolvulus hawk-moth).^[40] To combat this, fences were built around gardens to keep out pūkeko, while the moth larvae were either removed by hand, smoked out using kauri gum or kawakawa leaves, or by encouraging tamed seagulls to consume the caterpillars.^[40]^[42] Younger plants were often eaten by kiore (the Polynesian rat), which were scared off by older men using shell rattles.^[42]

After harvesting, the tubers were placed in rua kūmara; subterranean pits with rectangular roofs, sterilised with fire and sealed with small wooden doors to keep out pests.^[40] These became common across Aotearoa after 1500 AD,^[9] and control over rua kūmara was an important social distinction in classical Maori society.^[46] Rua kūmara were located on slopes or other places with good drainage ability. Kūmara were placed on shelves cut into the walls of the pit, and regularly checked for rot and rotated to ensure they stayed dry.^[47] Rua kūmara were only packed on dry, sunny days.^[42] The pits were typically reused, with new posts and rooves added to old structures as they degraded.^[48] However, in the Bay of Plenty, kūmara pits were often used for single seasons and backfilled afterwards, due to the soft tephra soil.^[48]

Traditional eating methods include sun-drying smaller tubers (kao), grated (roroi kūmara), cooked in a hāngi, roasted and eaten with liquid from kina, or boiled.^[40] Kōtero is a fermented kūmara, often kūmara that had started to rot during storage, which has a shrivelled appearance but remains sweet.^[47]

Since 2010, kūmara have been grown using traditional methods at a garden called Te Parapara in the Hamilton Gardens.^[49]^[50]

Social and religious significance

The origins of the kūmara is also explained through Māori cosmological traditions. Rongo-māui (a star in the constallation of Lyra), the wife of Pani-Tinaku and the younger brother of Whānui (the star Vega). Pani-tinaku's nephews taunt Rongo-māui for not fishing and providing food for his family. Rongo-māui decides to ascend to the heavens, and asked Whānui for some kūmara from the heavens. He refused, however Rongo-māui hid and stole kūmara. Rongo-māui impregnates his wife, and Pani-tinaku gives birth to the earthly form of kūmara: nehutai, pātea, waihā, pio, matatū, pāuārangi, toroa-māhoe, anurangi, and aka-kura (all traditional varieties of kūmara). She is asked by Rongo-māui to cook the kūmara, in order to remove the heavenly tapu on the food. Pani-tinaku's nephew Māui discovers the source for these kūmara, leading Pani-tinaku to flee to the underworld. Her youngest daughter, Hine-mata-iti, became the kiore (the Polynesian rat who steals kūmara). Whānui discovers men gardening kūmara, and realises Rongo-māui stole the kūmara, and as retribution Whānui creates anuhe, toronū and moko, who every year rain down as the caterpillars who attack the kūmara (Agrius convolvuli).^[40]^[51]^[34]

Kūmara became associated with Rongo-mā-Tāne,^[40] the god (atua) of agriculture and peace. Small statues (taumata atua) representing Rongo and atua kiato (carved pegs) were placed alongside kūmara fields, sometimes decorated with kits made of feathers.^[44]^[42] Due to the importance of the kūmara crop to Māori, planting was associated with rituals,^[42] with the annual planting and harvest of kūmara being a reenactment of the story of Rongo-māui.^[51] The first day of planting involved planters arriving early in the morning, and a tohunga would give a karakia to Rongo, who would then plant sacred kūmara separate to the main fields.^[44] After the karakia, men would use kō to till the fields, followed by women and children, who would use patupatu and timo to break up the soil further.^[42] Once planting had been finished, tapu was placed on the fields, so only the weeders and pest removers would be allowed to be in the fields.^[44] During harvest time, the first kūmara of the season were offered to atua at a ceremony.^[42]^[44]

After the kūmara harvest, elaborate harvest feasts were held (known as hākari or kaihaukai).^[44]^[35] During South Island kaihaukai, different preserved cultivars of kūmara were exchanged between hapū.^[9]

Modern cultivation

Owairaka red, a variety created by Fay and Joe Gock in the 1950s, is the most commonly grown cultivar of sweet potato in New Zealand.

Kūmara became less of an important crop after the introduction of the potato in the 1780s by Western sailors.^[52]^[53] The potato was able to grow in colder climates, and was considered noa (not tapu, or needing sacred rituals), so could be grown by women or slaves.^[53] Traditional cultivars of kūmara continued to be grown, however in the 1800s were mostly supplanted by American varieties that were grown on Western whaling ships.^[54] Around the year 1819, an American whaler introduced a North American variety to Bay of Plenty Māori, that was larger than traditional crops. This variety became known as the merikana (American).^[38]^[53] The waina (vine) variety was introduced by a whaler in the 1850s, who had sailed from Rarotonga.^[38] This variety of kūmara was propagated by vine cuttings, instead of the traditional Māori method of root planting (and is the source of the variety's name).^[38] The varieties of kūmara descended from these whaling ships formed the basis of the modern commercial kūmara crop grown today,^[40] including the owairaka red, which is a descendent of the waina variety.^[55] In the 21st Century, most commercial kūmara is grown in Northland,^[40] and is typically one of three varieties: owairaka red, toka toka gold and beauregard (orange), with owairaka red being the most commonly found in the country.^[56]^[57] The toka toka gold variety was introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in the 1960s from an unknown source,^[39] and was made commercially available in 1972.^[58] It is named after the Tokatoka Peak near Dargaville.^[57] Beauregard, developed at Louisiana State University in 1987, was introduced to New Zealand from the US in 1991.^[55]^[59] Two new varieties were released commercially by Plant & Food Research in 2014: purple dawn (purple skin and purple flesh), and orange sunset (purple skin with orange and purple flesh).^[57]

From 1947 into the 1950s, black rot (Ceratocystis fimbriata) began to effect kūmara crops in the Auckland and Northland Regions.^[60] Chinese New Zealand gardeners Fay Gock and Joe Gock developed a disease-resistant variety of New Zealand kūmara in the early 1960s, called owairaka red, at their market garden near the Pukaki Inlet in Māngere.^[61] The Gocks donated the new variety to farms in the main growing area of New Zealand for kūmara around Dargaville and Ruawai, saving the crop from destruction.^[61]^[62]

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^ ^a ^b Harvey, Catherine F.; Gill, Geoffrey P.; Crossman, Catherine; Fraser, Lena G. (1997). "Assessing relationships of kumara cultivars by RAPD analysis". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 35 (4): 479–485. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1987.10410171.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Adds, Peter (24 November 2008). "Kūmara". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
^ "Te Reka O Te Kai: Maara Kai Practical Guide" (PDF). Te Waka Kai Ora. 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Fiso, Monique (2020). Hiakai: Modern Māori Cuisine. Penguin. ISBN 9780143772606.
^ Meredith, Paul (12 June 2006). "Matariki – Māori New Year - Cycles of life and death". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Kumaras and Kumara Magic". Te Ao Hou: 36–39. December 1962.
^ Fox, Aileen; Cassels, Richard (1983). "EXCAVATIONS AT AOTEA, WAIKATO, 1972–75". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 20: 65–106. ISSN 0067-0464.
^ Law, RG (1999). "Pits long, large and prestigious: recognition of varieties of Maori kumara storage pits in northern New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Archaeology. 21: 29–45.
^ ^a ^b Royal, Charles; Kaka-Scott, Jenny (5 September 2013). "Māori foods – kai Māori – Traditional cooking and preserving". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b Furey, Louise; Emmitt, Joshua; Wallace, Rod (2017). "Matakawau Stingray Point Pa excavation, Ahuahu Great Mercury Island 1955–56". Records of the Auckland Museum. 52: 39–57. doi:10.32912/ram.2018.52.3.
^ Garcia, Maryana (16 December 2020). "Milestone reached for country's only traditional Māori garden". Stuff. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
^ "Te Parapara Garden". Hamilton Gardens. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
^ ^a ^b Roberts, Mere (2013). "Ways of seeing: Whakapapa". Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies. 10 (1): 93–120. doi:10.11157/sites-vol10iss1id236. ISSN 1179-0237.
^ Savage, G. P.; Bolitho, K. M. (1993). Kumara – a traditional food for Maori. Vol. 18. Nutrition Society of New Zealand. p. 19.
^ ^a ^b ^c Petrie, Hazel (24 November 2008). "Kai Pākehā – introduced foods". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
^ Collins, Hugh (9 May 2017). "Rare kumara flower discovered in Freemans Bay garden". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b Lewthwaite, S. L.; Fletcher, P. J.; Fletcher, J. D.; Triggs, C. M. (2011). "Cultivar decline in sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas)". New Zealand Plant Protection. 64: 160–167. doi:10.30843/nzpp.2011.64.5976.
^ Collins, Hugh (1 February 2007). "Kumara claim becomes hot potato". NZ Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cui, Rongbin; Zhu, Fan (2019). "Physicochemical and functional properties of sweetpotato flour". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 99 (10): 4624–4634. doi:10.1002/jsfa.9702. ISSN 0022-5142. PMID 30895624.
^ Lewthwaite, SL (2005). Sweetpotato products in a modern world: the New Zealand experience. II International Symposium on Sweetpotato and Cassava: Innovative Technologies for Commercialization 703. pp. 31–38. doi:10.17660/actahortic.2006.703.2. ISBN 90-6605-387-9.
^ Rolston, LH; Clark, CA; Cannon, JM; Randle, WM; Riley, EG (1987). "Beauregard sweet potato". HortScience. 22 (6): 1338–1339. ISSN 0018-5345.
^ Slade, D. A. (1960). "Black rot an important disease of Kumaras". New Zealand Journal of Agriculture. 100 (4).
^ ^a ^b Lee, Lily (18 April 2016). "The Joe Gock Story". Auckland Zhong Shan Clan Association. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
^ Wong, Gilbert (8 January 2019). "'Saviour of the kumara' dies, aged 85". Newsroom. Retrieved 25 April 2021.

External links

Kumara at Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

[1] Zhang, D. P.; Ghislain, M.; Huamán, Z.; Cervantes, J. C.; Carey, E. (1997). "AFLP assessment of sweetpotato genetic diversity in four tropical American regions". CIP Program Report. 1998: 303–310.

[Anderson-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Anderson, A; Petchey, F (2020). "The transfer of kumara ('Ipomoea batatas') from East to South Polynesia and its dispersal in New Zealand". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 129 (4): 351–381. doi:10.15286/jps.129.4.351-382.

[3] Hather, Jon; Kirch, P. V. (1991). "Prehistoric sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) from Mangaia Island, Central Polynesia". Antiquity. 65 (249): 887–893. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00080613. ISSN 0003-598X.

[Afastyam-4] Barber, Ian G. (2012). "A fast yam to Polynesia: New thinking on the problem of the American sweet potato in Oceania". Rapa Nui Journal. 26 (1): 31–42.

[5] "Batatas, Not Potatoes". Botgard.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 19 May 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2010.

[Winnicki-6] Winnicki, Elizabeth; Kagawa-Viviani, Aurora; Perez, Kauahi; Radovich, Theodore; Kantar, Michael (2021). "Characterizing the Diversity of Hawai'i Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.)". Economic Botany. 75: 48–62. doi:10.1007/s12231-020-09511-2.

[7] Yen, Douglas E. (1961). Sweet-potato variation and its relation to human migration in the Pacific. Pacific Science Association.

[8] Barrau, Jacques (1957). L'énigme de la patate douce en Océanie.

[Barber-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Barber, Ian G.; Higham, Thomas F. G. (14 April 2021). "Archaeological science meets Māori knowledge to model pre-Columbian sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) dispersal to Polynesia's southernmost habitable margins". PLOS ONE. 16 (4): –0247643. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1647643B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0247643. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 8046222. PMID 33852587.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)

[Furey2006-10] Furey, Louise (2006). "Maori Gardening: An Archaeological Perspective" (PDF). An Archaeological Perspective. Department of Conservation. Retrieved 17 June 2021.

[Chumash-11] Jones, Terry L.; Klar, Kathryn A. (July 2005). "Diffusionism Reconsidered: Linguistic and Archaeological Evidence for Prehistoric Polynesian Contact with Southern California". American Antiquity (JSTOR). 70 (3): 457–484. doi:10.2307/40035309. JSTOR 40035309. S2CID 161301055.

[12] van Tilburg, Jo Anne (1994). Easter Island: Archaeology, ecology, and culture. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

[13] Bassett, Gordon; et al. "Gardening at the Edge: Documenting the limits of tropical Polynesian kumara horticulture in southern New Zealand" (PDF). New Zealand: University of Canterbury. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2011.

[14] Langdon, Robert (2001). "The Bamboo Raft as a Key to the Introduction of the Sweet Potato in Prehistoric Polynesia". The Journal of Pacific History. 36 (1): 51–76. doi:10.1080/00223340123312.

[Montenegro-15] Montenegro, Álvaro; Avis, Chris; Weaver, Andrew (2008). "Modeling the prehistoric arrival of the sweet potato in Polynesia". Journal of Archaeological Science. 35 (2): 355–367. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.04.004.

[16] Ramírez, José Miguel (1991). "Transpacific Contacts: The Mapuche Connection". Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation. 4 (4): 53–55.

[17] Ioannidis, Alexander G.; Blanco-Portillo, Javier; Sandoval, Karla; Hagelberg, Erika; Miquel-Poblete, Juan Francisco; Moreno-Mayar, J. Víctor; Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Juan Esteban; Quinto-Cortés, Consuelo D.; Auckland, Kathryn; Parks, Tom; Robson, Kathryn; Hill, Adrian V. S.; Avila-Arcos, María C.; Sockell, Alexandra; Homburger, Julian R.; Wojcik, Genevieve L.; Barnes, Kathleen C.; Herrera, Luisa; Berríos, Soledad; Acuña, Mónica; Llop, Elena; Eng, Celeste; Huntsman, Scott; Burchard, Esteban G.; Gignoux, Christopher R.; Cifuentes, Lucía; Verdugo, Ricardo A.; Moraga, Mauricio; Mentzer, Alexander J.; Bustamante, Carlos D.; Moreno-Estrada, Andrés (1 July 2020). "Native American gene flow into Polynesia predating Easter Island settlement". Nature. 583 (7817): 572–577. Bibcode:2020Natur.583..572I. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2487-2. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 32641827. S2CID 220420232.

[POLLEX-kumala-18] Greenhill, Simon J.; Clark, Ross; Biggs, Bruce (2010). "Entries for KUMALA.1 [LO] Sweet Potato (Ipomoea)". POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online. Retrieved 16 July 2013.

[Adelaar2004-19] Adelaar, Willem F. H.; Muysekn, Pieter C. (10 June 2004). "Genetic relations of South American Indian languages". The Languages of the Andes. Cambridge University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-139-45112-3.

[Muñoz-RodríguezCarruthers2018-20] Muñoz-Rodríguez, Pablo; Carruthers, Tom; Wood, John R.I.; Williams, Bethany R.M.; Weitemier, Kevin; Kronmiller, Brent; Ellis, David; Anglin, Noelle L.; Longway, Lucas; Harris, Stephen A.; Rausher, Mark D.; Kelly, Steven; Liston, Aaron; Scotland, Robert W. (2018). "Reconciling conflicting phylogenies in the origin of sweet potato and dispersal to Polynesia". Current Biology. 28 (8): 1246–1256.e12. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.020. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 29657119.

[21] Matisoo-Smith, Lisa (13 April 2018). "When did sweet potatoes arrive in the Pacific – Expert Reaction". www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz. Science Media Centre. Retrieved 30 March 2019. We would like to see more robust data, ideally from multiple sources, presented before we can accept the data and reconsider the current interpretation that the sweet potato was brought to Polynesia by humans at some point around 1000–1200 AD.

[Kagawa-Viviani-22] Kagawa-Viviani, Aurora (2016). "Untangling 'Uala: Toward re-diversifying and re-placing sweet potato". E Kūpaku Ka 'Āina – The Hawaii. Land Restoration Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2021.

[Ladefoged-23] Ladefoged, Thegn N.; Graves, Michael W.; Coil, James H. (2005). "The introduction of sweet potato in Polynesia: early remains in Hawai'i". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 114 (4): 359–373.

[Hommon-24] Hommon, Robert J. (2013). The ancient Hawaiian state: origins of a political society. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199916122.

[BarberDiffusion-25] Barber, Ian (1 March 2010). "Diffusion or innovation? Explaining lithic agronomy on the southern Polynesian margins". World Archaeology. 42 (1): 74–89. doi:10.1080/00438240903429755. ISSN 0043-8243. S2CID 128743972.

[26] Mieth, Andreas; Bork, Hans-Rudolf; Feeser, Ingo (2002). "Prehistoric and recent land use effects on Poike peninsula, Easter Island (Rapa Nui)". Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation. 16 (2): 6.

[Wallin2005-27] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Wallin, Paul; Stevenson, C. M.; Ladefoged, T. N. (2005). "Sweet potato production on Rapa Nui". In C. Ballard; P. Brown; R. M. Bourke; T. Harwood (eds.). The sweet potato in Oceania: a reappraisal. University of Pittsburgh, University of Sydney. pp. 85–88. ISBN 0-945428-13-8.

[rull-28] Valentí, Rull (2019). "Human discovery and settlement of the remote Easter Island (SE Pacific)". Quaternary. 2 (2).

[Louwagie-29] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Louwagie, Geertrui; Langohr, Roger (2016). "Perspectives on traditional agriculture from Rapa Nui". In Timothy P Denham; José Iriarte; Luc Vrydaghs (eds.). Rethinking Agriculture. Routledge. pp. 157–174. ISBN 978-1-315-42101-8.

[Hunt-30] Hunt, Terry; Lipo, Carl (1 January 2013). "The Human Transformation of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Pacific Ocean)". n Biodiversity and Societies in the Pacific Islands. pp. 167–184.

[31] Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Whakaotirangi". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[:1-32] Diane Gordon-Burns; Rawiri Taonui (2011). "Whakaotirangi : a canoe tradition". He Pukenga Korero. 10 (2): 10–19. Wikidata Q106637945.

[:0-33] "Whakaotirangi". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[Whakapapa2004-34] Roberts, Mere; Haami, Brad; Benton, Richard; Satterfield, Terre; Finucane, Melissa L; Henare, Mark; Henare, Manuka (2004). "Whakapapa as a Māori mental construct: Some implications for the debate over genetic modification of organisms". The Contemporary Pacific: 1–28. ISSN 1043-898X.

[Colenso-35] Colenso, William (1880). "On the vegetable food of the ancient New Zealanders before Cook's visit". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 13: 3–38.

[36] Macnab, JW (1969). "Sweet potatoes and Maori terraces in the Wellington area". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 78 (1): 83–111. ISSN 0032-4000.

[Tapsell-37] Tapsell, Enid (1947). "Original kumara". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 56 (4): 325–332. ISSN 0032-4000.

[Yen1963-38] Yen, D. E. (1963). "The New Zealand Kumara or Sweet Potato". Economic Botany. 17 (1): 31–45. doi:10.1007/BF02985351. S2CID 32823869.

[1997DNA-39] Harvey, Catherine F.; Gill, Geoffrey P.; Crossman, Catherine; Fraser, Lena G. (1997). "Assessing relationships of kumara cultivars by RAPD analysis". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 35 (4): 479–485. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1987.10410171.

[Teara-40] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Adds, Peter (24 November 2008). "Kūmara". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. Retrieved 10 June 2021.

[41] "Te Reka O Te Kai: Maara Kai Practical Guide" (PDF). Te Waka Kai Ora. 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

[Hiakai-42] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Fiso, Monique (2020). Hiakai: Modern Māori Cuisine. Penguin. ISBN 9780143772606.

[TearaMatariki-43] Meredith, Paul (12 June 2006). "Matariki – Māori New Year - Cycles of life and death". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. Retrieved 19 June 2021.

[TeAoHou-44] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Kumaras and Kumara Magic". Te Ao Hou: 36–39. December 1962.

[Fox-45] Fox, Aileen; Cassels, Richard (1983). "EXCAVATIONS AT AOTEA, WAIKATO, 1972–75". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 20: 65–106. ISSN 0067-0464.

[46] Law, RG (1999). "Pits long, large and prestigious: recognition of varieties of Maori kumara storage pits in northern New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Archaeology. 21: 29–45.

[TearakaiMāori-47] Royal, Charles; Kaka-Scott, Jenny (5 September 2013). "Māori foods – kai Māori – Traditional cooking and preserving". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. Retrieved 17 June 2021.

[FureyMatakawau-48] Furey, Louise; Emmitt, Joshua; Wallace, Rod (2017). "Matakawau Stingray Point Pa excavation, Ahuahu Great Mercury Island 1955–56". Records of the Auckland Museum. 52: 39–57. doi:10.32912/ram.2018.52.3.

[49] Garcia, Maryana (16 December 2020). "Milestone reached for country's only traditional Māori garden". Stuff. Retrieved 8 July 2021.

[50] "Te Parapara Garden". Hamilton Gardens. Retrieved 8 July 2021.

[whakapapa-51] Roberts, Mere (2013). "Ways of seeing: Whakapapa". Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies. 10 (1): 93–120. doi:10.11157/sites-vol10iss1id236. ISSN 1179-0237.

[NutritionSociety-52] Savage, G. P.; Bolitho, K. M. (1993). Kumara – a traditional food for Maori. Vol. 18. Nutrition Society of New Zealand. p. 19.

[TearaKaiPākehā-53] Petrie, Hazel (24 November 2008). "Kai Pākehā – introduced foods". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. Retrieved 17 June 2021.

[54] Collins, Hugh (9 May 2017). "Rare kumara flower discovered in Freemans Bay garden". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 9 June 2021.

[decline-55] Lewthwaite, S. L.; Fletcher, P. J.; Fletcher, J. D.; Triggs, C. M. (2011). "Cultivar decline in sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas)". New Zealand Plant Protection. 64: 160–167. doi:10.30843/nzpp.2011.64.5976.

[56] Collins, Hugh (1 February 2007). "Kumara claim becomes hot potato". NZ Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2021.

[cui-57] Cui, Rongbin; Zhu, Fan (2019). "Physicochemical and functional properties of sweetpotato flour". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 99 (10): 4624–4634. doi:10.1002/jsfa.9702. ISSN 0022-5142. PMID 30895624.

[Lewthwaite2006-58] Lewthwaite, SL (2005). Sweetpotato products in a modern world: the New Zealand experience. II International Symposium on Sweetpotato and Cassava: Innovative Technologies for Commercialization 703. pp. 31–38. doi:10.17660/actahortic.2006.703.2. ISBN 90-6605-387-9.

[59] Rolston, LH; Clark, CA; Cannon, JM; Randle, WM; Riley, EG (1987). "Beauregard sweet potato". HortScience. 22 (6): 1338–1339. ISSN 0018-5345.

[60] Slade, D. A. (1960). "Black rot an important disease of Kumaras". New Zealand Journal of Agriculture. 100 (4).

[Lee-61] Lee, Lily (18 April 2016). "The Joe Gock Story". Auckland Zhong Shan Clan Association. Retrieved 24 December 2018.

[62] Wong, Gilbert (8 January 2019). "'Saviour of the kumara' dies, aged 85". Newsroom. Retrieved 25 April 2021.

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@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 [[File:Voyaging canoes (left to right) - Marumaru Atua, Hine Moana, and Haunui - arriving in San Francisco in the Te Mana o Te Moana expedition (2011).jpg|thumb|Sweet potatoes are hypothesised to have been disbursed across the Pacific by Polynesian voyagers (pictured: reconstructed ''[[outrigger boat|vaka moana]]'' visiting California).]]
-The [[sweet potato]] plant is originally from the [[Americas]], and became widely cultivated in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]] by 2500 BC.<ref>{{Cite journal| volume = 1998| pages = 303–310| last1 = Zhang| first1 = D. P.| last2 = Ghislain| first2 = M.| last3 = Huamán| first3 = Z.| last4 = Cervantes| first4 = J. C.| last5 = Carey| first5 = E.| title = AFLP assessment of sweetpotato genetic diversity in four tropical American regions| journal = CIP program report| date = 1997}}</ref> Sweet potato is thought to have been first grown as a food crop in central Polynesia around 1000–1100 AD, with the earliest archaeological evidence being fragments recovered from [[Mangaia]] in the southern [[Cook Islands]], carbon dated between 988 and 1155 AD.<ref name=Anderson>{{Cite journal| volume = 129 |number=4 | pages = 351–381| last1 = Anderson| first1 = A  |author-link1=Atholl Anderson | last2 = Petchey | first2 = F | title = The transfer of kumara ('Ipomoea batatas') from East to South Polynesia and its dispersal in New Zealand | journal = The Journal of the Polynesian Society | date = 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1017/S0003598X00080613| issn = 0003-598X| volume = 65| issue = 249| pages = 887–893| last1 = Hather| first1 = Jon| last2 = Kirch| first2 = P. V.| title = Prehistoric sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) from Mangaia Island, Central Polynesia| journal = Antiquity| date = 1991}}</ref> Over the next few centuries, sweet potato was spread to the extremes of the [[Polynesian Triangle]]: [[Easter Island]], [[Hawaii]] and [[New Zealand]].<ref name=Anderson/> Sweet potato may have spread so rapidly in the Pacific because Polynesian gardeners saw these plants as an improvement on already grown ''[[Dioscorea]]'' species, such as the [[Dioscorea alata|purple yam]].<ref name="Afastyam"/> The plant was likely spread between Polynesian islands by vine [[Cutting (plant)|cutting]]s rather than by seeds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Ipomoea/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519142258/http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Ipomoea/index.html |archive-date=19 May 2008 |title=Batatas, Not Potatoes |publisher=Botgard.ucla.edu |access-date=12 September 2010}}</ref>
+The [[sweet potato]] plant is originally from the [[Americas]], and became widely cultivated in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]] by 2500 BC.<ref>{{Cite journal| volume = 1998| pages = 303–310| last1 = Zhang| first1 = D. P.| last2 = Ghislain| first2 = M.| last3 = Huamán| first3 = Z.| last4 = Cervantes| first4 = J. C.| last5 = Carey| first5 = E.| title = AFLP assessment of sweetpotato genetic diversity in four tropical American regions| journal = CIP Program Report| date = 1997}}</ref> Sweet potato is thought to have been first grown as a food crop in central Polynesia around 1000–1100 AD, with the earliest archaeological evidence being fragments recovered from [[Mangaia]] in the southern [[Cook Islands]], carbon dated between 988 and 1155 AD.<ref name=Anderson>{{Cite journal| volume = 129 |number=4 | pages = 351–381| last1 = Anderson| first1 = A  |author-link1=Atholl Anderson | last2 = Petchey | first2 = F | title = The transfer of kumara ('Ipomoea batatas') from East to South Polynesia and its dispersal in New Zealand | journal = The Journal of the Polynesian Society | date = 2020|doi=10.15286/jps.129.4.351-382 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1017/S0003598X00080613| issn = 0003-598X| volume = 65| issue = 249| pages = 887–893| last1 = Hather| first1 = Jon| last2 = Kirch| first2 = P. V.| title = Prehistoric sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) from Mangaia Island, Central Polynesia| journal = Antiquity| date = 1991}}</ref> Over the next few centuries, sweet potato was spread to the extremes of the [[Polynesian Triangle]]: [[Easter Island]], [[Hawaii]] and [[New Zealand]].<ref name=Anderson/> Sweet potato may have spread so rapidly in the Pacific because Polynesian gardeners saw these plants as an improvement on already grown ''[[Dioscorea]]'' species, such as the [[Dioscorea alata|purple yam]].<ref name="Afastyam"/> The plant was likely spread between Polynesian islands by vine [[Cutting (plant)|cutting]]s rather than by seeds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Ipomoea/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519142258/http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Ipomoea/index.html |archive-date=19 May 2008 |title=Batatas, Not Potatoes |publisher=Botgard.ucla.edu |access-date=12 September 2010}}</ref>
-The prevailing theory for the lineages of sweet potato seen in Polynesia is the tripartite hypothesis developed in the 1950s and 60s: that an original ''kumara'' lineage was brought from the west coast of South America circa 1000 AD, and later superseded by two lineages introduced by Spanish galleons and Portuguese traders circa 1500 AD, the [[Central America]]n ''camote'' lineage and the [[Caribbean]] ''batata'' lineage.<ref name=Winnicki>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1007/s12231-020-09511-2 | pages = 1–15| last1 = Winnicki| first1 = Elizabeth |last2 = Kagawa-Viviani| first2 = Aurora |last3 = Perez | first3 = Kauahi |last4 = Radovich | first4 = Theodore |last5 = Kantar | first5 = Michael | title = Characterizing the Diversity of Hawai'i Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) | journal =Economic Botany | date = 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Pacific Science Association| last = Yen| first = Douglas E.| title = Sweet-potato variation and its relation to human migration in the Pacific| date = 1961}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last = Barrau| first = Jacques| title = L'énigme de la patate douce en Océanie| date = 1957}}</ref> Sweet potato became a major staple more so at the extremities of Polynesian culture — such as in pre-European Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand — than in central Polynesia.<ref name=Anderson/> During the 1600s, traditional Polynesian cultivars of sweet potato and [[calabash]] began to be replaced with North American varieties.<ref name="Barber">{{Cite journal| issn = 1932-6203| volume = 16| issue = 4| pages = –0247643| last1 = Barber| first1 = Ian G.| last2 = Higham| first2 = Thomas F. G.| title = Archaeological science meets Māori knowledge to model pre-Columbian sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) dispersal to Polynesia's southernmost habitable margins| journal = PLOS ONE| access-date = 8 June 2021| date = 14 April 2021| url = https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247643 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0247643| pmc = 8046222}}</ref> During reintroduction, the sweet potato had become entirely absent from many central Polynesian islands (such as the [[Cook Islands]], with the exception of Mangaia).<ref name="Furey2006"/>
+The prevailing theory for the lineages of sweet potato seen in Polynesia is the tripartite hypothesis developed in the 1950s and 60s: that an original ''kumara'' lineage was brought from the west coast of South America circa 1000 AD, and later superseded by two lineages introduced by Spanish galleons and Portuguese traders circa 1500 AD, the [[Central America]]n ''camote'' lineage and the [[Caribbean]] ''batata'' lineage.<ref name=Winnicki>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1007/s12231-020-09511-2 | pages = 48–62| last1 = Winnicki| first1 = Elizabeth |last2 = Kagawa-Viviani| first2 = Aurora |last3 = Perez | first3 = Kauahi |last4 = Radovich | first4 = Theodore |last5 = Kantar | first5 = Michael | title = Characterizing the Diversity of Hawai'i Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) | journal =Economic Botany | date = 2021| volume = 75}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Pacific Science Association| last = Yen| first = Douglas E.| title = Sweet-potato variation and its relation to human migration in the Pacific| date = 1961}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last = Barrau| first = Jacques| title = L'énigme de la patate douce en Océanie| date = 1957}}</ref> Sweet potato became a major staple more so at the extremities of Polynesian culture — such as in pre-European Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand — than in central Polynesia.<ref name=Anderson/> During the 1600s, traditional Polynesian cultivars of sweet potato and [[calabash]] began to be replaced with North American varieties.<ref name="Barber">{{Cite journal| issn = 1932-6203| volume = 16| issue = 4| pages = –0247643| last1 = Barber| first1 = Ian G.| last2 = Higham| first2 = Thomas F. G.| title = Archaeological science meets Māori knowledge to model pre-Columbian sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) dispersal to Polynesia's southernmost habitable margins| journal = PLOS ONE| date = 14 April 2021|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0247643| pmid = 33852587| pmc = 8046222| bibcode = 2021PLoSO..1647643B}}</ref> During reintroduction, the sweet potato had become entirely absent from many central Polynesian islands (such as the [[Cook Islands]], with the exception of Mangaia).<ref name="Furey2006"/>
 === Pre-Columbian contact theory ===
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 The presence of sweet potato in the Pacific is often cited as evidence of sporadic contact between Polynesian and Native American peoples.<ref name="Chumash">{{cite journal|title=Diffusionism Reconsidered: Linguistic and Archaeological Evidence for Prehistoric Polynesian Contact with Southern California|last1=Jones |first1=Terry L. |first2=Kathryn A. |last2=Klar|journal=American Antiquity|issue=3|date=July 2005|pages=457–484 |type=JSTOR|volume=70|jstor=40035309|doi=10.2307/40035309|s2cid=161301055}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=van Tilburg |first=Jo Anne |year=1994 |title=Easter Island: Archaeology, ecology, and culture |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geol.canterbury.ac.nz/people/kari/2004%20Bassett,%20Gordon,%20et%20al.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724015520/http://www.geol.canterbury.ac.nz/people/kari/2004%20Bassett,%20Gordon,%20et%20al.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2011 |author=Bassett, Gordon |display-authors=etal |title=Gardening at the Edge: Documenting the limits of tropical Polynesian kumara horticulture in southern New Zealand |publisher=University of Canterbury |location=New Zealand }}</ref> However, it is unknown if sweet potato was introduced through Polynesian canoes reaching South America, or by South American rafts visiting eastern Polynesian islands such as Rapa Nui.<ref name=Anderson/><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Langdon | first1 = Robert | year = 2001 | title = The Bamboo Raft as a Key to the Introduction of the Sweet Potato in Prehistoric Polynesia | journal = The Journal of Pacific History | volume = 36 | issue = 1| pages = 51–76| doi=10.1080/00223340123312}}</ref> It is also possible that the plant was transferred without human contact, such as floating west across the ocean after being discarded from the cargo of a boat.<ref name="Montenegro">{{cite journal|title=Modeling the prehistoric arrival of the sweet potato in Polynesia | doi=10.1016/j.jas.2007.04.004 | volume=35|issue=2 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science|pages=355–367|year=2008 |last1=Montenegro |first1=Álvaro |last2=Avis |first2=Chris |last3=Weaver |first3=Andrew }}</ref>
-Genetic, cultural or linguistic links between Polynesian and Amerindian peoples have been hypothesised, including the [[Chumash people]] of [[California]],<ref name="Chumash"/> the [[Mapuche]] in central and southern Chile,<ref>{{Cite journal| volume = 4| issue = 4| pages = 53–55| last1 = Ramírez| first1 = José Miguel| title = Transpacific Contacts: The Mapuche Connection | journal = Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation| date = 1991}}</ref> and the [[Zenú]], a [[Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia|Pre-Columbian culture]] of [[Colombia]].<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1038/s41586-020-2487-2| issn = 1476-4687| volume = 583| issue = 7817| pages = 572–577| last1 = Ioannidis| first1 = Alexander G.| last2 = Blanco-Portillo| first2 = Javier| last3 = Sandoval| first3 = Karla| last4 = Hagelberg| first4 = Erika| last5 = Miquel-Poblete| first5 = Juan Francisco| last6 = Moreno-Mayar| first6 = J. Víctor| last7 = Rodríguez-Rodríguez| first7 = Juan Esteban| last8 = Quinto-Cortés| first8 = Consuelo D.| last9 = Auckland| first9 = Kathryn| last10 = Parks| first10 = Tom| last11 = Robson| first11 = Kathryn| last12 = Hill| first12 = Adrian V. S.| last13 = Avila-Arcos| first13 = María C.| last14 = Sockell| first14 = Alexandra| last15 = Homburger| first15 = Julian R.| last16 = Wojcik| first16 = Genevieve L.| last17 = Barnes| first17 = Kathleen C.| last18 = Herrera| first18 = Luisa| last19 = Berríos| first19 = Soledad| last20 = Acuña| first20 = Mónica| last21 = Llop| first21 = Elena| last22 = Eng| first22 = Celeste| last23 = Huntsman| first23 = Scott| last24 = Burchard| first24 = Esteban G.| last25 = Gignoux| first25 = Christopher R.| last26 = Cifuentes| first26 = Lucía| last27 = Verdugo| first27 = Ricardo A.| last28 = Moraga| first28 = Mauricio| last29 = Mentzer| first29 = Alexander J.| last30 = Bustamante| first30 = Carlos D.| last31 = Moreno-Estrada| first31 = Andrés| title = Native American gene flow into Polynesia predating Easter Island settlement| journal = Nature| date = 1 July 2020}}</ref> Dutch linguists and specialists in [[Indigenous languages of the Americas|Amerindian languages]] [[Willem Adelaar]] and Pieter Muysken have suggested that the word for sweet potato is shared by Polynesian languages and languages of South America: [[Proto-Polynesian language|Proto-Polynesian]] *''kumala''<ref name=POLLEX-kumala>{{cite web|last1=Greenhill|first1=Simon J.|last2=Clark|first2=Ross|last3=Biggs|first3=Bruce|title=Entries for KUMALA.1 [LO] Sweet Potato (Ipomoea)|url=http://pollex.org.nz/entry/kumala1/|work=POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online|access-date=16 July 2013|year=2010}}</ref> (compare [[Rapa Nui language|Rapa Nui]] ''kumara'', [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] ''{{okina}}uala'',<!--this is correct. an [m] was not dropped.--> [[Māori language|Māori]] {{lang|mi|kūmara}}) may be connected with [[Quechua language|Quechua]] and [[Aymara language|Aymara]] ''k'umar ~ k'umara''. Adelaar and Muysken assert that the similarity in the word for sweet potato is proof of either incidental contact or sporadic contact between the Central [[Andes]] and Polynesia.<ref name="Adelaar2004">{{cite book|first1=Willem F. H. |last1=Adelaar|first2=Pieter C. |last2=Muysekn|title=The Languages of the Andes|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UiwaUY6KsY8C&pg=PA41|date=10 June 2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-45112-3|page=41|chapter=Genetic relations of South American Indian languages}}</ref>
+Genetic, cultural or linguistic links between Polynesian and Amerindian peoples have been hypothesised, including the [[Chumash people]] of [[California]],<ref name="Chumash"/> the [[Mapuche]] in central and southern Chile,<ref>{{Cite journal| volume = 4| issue = 4| pages = 53–55| last1 = Ramírez| first1 = José Miguel| title = Transpacific Contacts: The Mapuche Connection | journal = Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation| date = 1991}}</ref> and the [[Zenú]], a [[Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia|Pre-Columbian culture]] of [[Colombia]].<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1038/s41586-020-2487-2| issn = 1476-4687| volume = 583| issue = 7817| pages = 572–577| last1 = Ioannidis| first1 = Alexander G.| last2 = Blanco-Portillo| first2 = Javier| last3 = Sandoval| first3 = Karla| last4 = Hagelberg| first4 = Erika| last5 = Miquel-Poblete| first5 = Juan Francisco| last6 = Moreno-Mayar| first6 = J. Víctor| last7 = Rodríguez-Rodríguez| first7 = Juan Esteban| last8 = Quinto-Cortés| first8 = Consuelo D.| last9 = Auckland| first9 = Kathryn| last10 = Parks| first10 = Tom| last11 = Robson| first11 = Kathryn| last12 = Hill| first12 = Adrian V. S.| last13 = Avila-Arcos| first13 = María C.| last14 = Sockell| first14 = Alexandra| last15 = Homburger| first15 = Julian R.| last16 = Wojcik| first16 = Genevieve L.| last17 = Barnes| first17 = Kathleen C.| last18 = Herrera| first18 = Luisa| last19 = Berríos| first19 = Soledad| last20 = Acuña| first20 = Mónica| last21 = Llop| first21 = Elena| last22 = Eng| first22 = Celeste| last23 = Huntsman| first23 = Scott| last24 = Burchard| first24 = Esteban G.| last25 = Gignoux| first25 = Christopher R.| last26 = Cifuentes| first26 = Lucía| last27 = Verdugo| first27 = Ricardo A.| last28 = Moraga| first28 = Mauricio| last29 = Mentzer| first29 = Alexander J.| last30 = Bustamante| first30 = Carlos D.| last31 = Moreno-Estrada| first31 = Andrés| title = Native American gene flow into Polynesia predating Easter Island settlement| journal = Nature| date = 1 July 2020| pmid = 32641827| bibcode = 2020Natur.583..572I| s2cid = 220420232}}</ref> Dutch linguists and specialists in [[Indigenous languages of the Americas|Amerindian languages]] [[Willem Adelaar]] and Pieter Muysken have suggested that the word for sweet potato is shared by Polynesian languages and languages of South America: [[Proto-Polynesian language|Proto-Polynesian]] *''kumala''<ref name=POLLEX-kumala>{{cite web|last1=Greenhill|first1=Simon J.|last2=Clark|first2=Ross|last3=Biggs|first3=Bruce|title=Entries for KUMALA.1 [LO] Sweet Potato (Ipomoea)|url=http://pollex.org.nz/entry/kumala1/|work=POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online|access-date=16 July 2013|year=2010}}</ref> (compare [[Rapa Nui language|Rapa Nui]] ''kumara'', [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] ''{{okina}}uala'',<!--this is correct. an [m] was not dropped.--> [[Māori language|Māori]] {{lang|mi|kūmara}}) may be connected with [[Quechua language|Quechua]] and [[Aymara language|Aymara]] ''k'umar ~ k'umara''. Adelaar and Muysken assert that the similarity in the word for sweet potato is proof of either incidental contact or sporadic contact between the Central [[Andes]] and Polynesia.<ref name="Adelaar2004">{{cite book|first1=Willem F. H. |last1=Adelaar|first2=Pieter C. |last2=Muysekn|title=The Languages of the Andes|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UiwaUY6KsY8C&pg=PA41|date=10 June 2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-45112-3|page=41|chapter=Genetic relations of South American Indian languages}}</ref>
 === Natural disbursal theory ===
-Some researchers suggest that sweet potatoes might have been present in Polynesia thousands of years before humans arrived there, arriving through avian disbursal or natural rafts.<ref name="Afastyam">{{Cite journal| volume = 26| issue = 1| pages = 31–42| last = Barber| first = Ian G.| title = A fast yam to Polynesia: New thinking on the problem of the American sweet potato in Oceania| journal = Rapa Nui Journal| date = 2012}}</ref> A genetic analysis of sweet potato collected from the [[Society Islands]] by [[Joseph Banks]] during the [[first voyage of James Cook]] in 1761, which found this lineage diverged from South American varieties at least 111,500 years ago, suggesting that sweet potato was first dispersed to Polynesia by natural means.<ref name="Muñoz-RodríguezCarruthers2018">{{cite journal |last1=Muñoz-Rodríguez |first1=Pablo |last2=Carruthers |first2=Tom |last3=Wood |first3=John R.I. |last4=Williams |first4=Bethany R.M. |last5=Weitemier |first5=Kevin |last6=Kronmiller |first6=Brent |last7=Ellis |first7=David |last8=Anglin |first8=Noelle L. |last9=Longway |first9=Lucas |last10=Harris |first10=Stephen A. |last11=Rausher |first11=Mark D. |last12=Kelly |first12=Steven |last13=Liston |first13=Aaron |last14=Scotland |first14=Robert W. |title=Reconciling conflicting phylogenies in the origin of sweet potato and dispersal to Polynesia |journal=Current Biology |volume=28 |issue=8 |year=2018 |pages=1246–1256.e12 |issn=0960-9822 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.020 |pmid=29657119|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, the present scholarly consensus favours the pre-Columbian contact model.<ref name="Barber"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Matisoo-Smith|first1=Lisa|title=When did sweet potatoes arrive in the Pacific – Expert Reaction|url=https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2018/04/13/when-did-sweet-potatoes-arrive-in-the-pacific-expert-reaction/|access-date=30 March 2019|website=www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz|publisher=Science Media Centre|quote=We would like to see more robust data, ideally from multiple sources, presented before we can accept the data and reconsider the current interpretation that the sweet potato was brought to Polynesia by humans at some point around 1000–1200 AD.}}</ref>
+Some researchers suggest that sweet potatoes might have been present in Polynesia thousands of years before humans arrived there, arriving through avian disbursal or natural rafts.<ref name="Afastyam">{{Cite journal| volume = 26| issue = 1| pages = 31–42| last = Barber| first = Ian G.| title = A fast yam to Polynesia: New thinking on the problem of the American sweet potato in Oceania| journal = Rapa Nui Journal| date = 2012}}</ref> A genetic analysis of sweet potato collected from the [[Society Islands]] by [[Joseph Banks]] during the [[first voyage of James Cook]] in 1761, which found this lineage diverged from South American varieties at least 111,500 years ago, suggesting that sweet potato was first dispersed to Polynesia by natural means.<ref name="Muñoz-RodríguezCarruthers2018">{{cite journal |last1=Muñoz-Rodríguez |first1=Pablo |last2=Carruthers |first2=Tom |last3=Wood |first3=John R.I. |last4=Williams |first4=Bethany R.M. |last5=Weitemier |first5=Kevin |last6=Kronmiller |first6=Brent |last7=Ellis |first7=David |last8=Anglin |first8=Noelle L. |last9=Longway |first9=Lucas |last10=Harris |first10=Stephen A. |last11=Rausher |first11=Mark D. |last12=Kelly |first12=Steven |last13=Liston |first13=Aaron |last14=Scotland |first14=Robert W. |title=Reconciling conflicting phylogenies in the origin of sweet potato and dispersal to Polynesia |journal=Current Biology |volume=28 |issue=8 |year=2018 |pages=1246–1256.e12 |issn=0960-9822 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.020 |pmid=29657119|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, the present scholarly consensus favours the pre-Columbian contact model.<ref name="Barber"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Matisoo-Smith|first1=Lisa|title=When did sweet potatoes arrive in the Pacific – Expert Reaction|url=https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2018/04/13/when-did-sweet-potatoes-arrive-in-the-pacific-expert-reaction/|access-date=30 March 2019|website=www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz|date=13 April 2018|publisher=Science Media Centre|quote=We would like to see more robust data, ideally from multiple sources, presented before we can accept the data and reconsider the current interpretation that the sweet potato was brought to Polynesia by humans at some point around 1000–1200 AD.}}</ref>
 ===Regional introductions===
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 [[File:Starr-121220-9340-Ipomoea batatas-cultivation-Lua Makika-Kahoolawe (24572650243).jpg|thumb|A traditional 'uala garden on [[Kahoolawe]] in the [[Hawaiian Islands]]]]
-On the [[Hawaiian Islands]], the earliest archaeological record of sweet potatoes ({{lang|haw|{{okina}}uala}})<ref name="Kagawa-Viviani">{{Cite web| last1 = Kagawa-Viviani| first1 = Aurora | title = Untangling 'Uala: Toward re-diversifying and re-placing sweet potato. | date = 2016 |publisher=E Kūpaku Ka 'Āina – The Hawaii. Land Restoration Institute |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aurora-Kagawa-Viviani/publication/327382524_Untangling_uala_toward_re-diversifying_and_re-placing_sweet_potato_in_the_Hawaiian_landscape/links/5b8b1a0fa6fdcc5f8b781df9/Untangling-uala-toward-re-diversifying-and-re-placing-sweet-potato-in-the-Hawaiian-landscape.pdf |access-date=4 June 2021}}</ref> is circa 1300 AD, where traces were found on traditional farmlands of [[Kohala, Hawaii]].<ref name=Winnicki/> Sweet potato was likely introduced to the islands at a later point, after initial Polynesian settlers had arrived.<ref name=Ladefoged>{{Cite journal| volume = 114.4| pages = 359–373| last1 = Ladefoged| first1 = Thegn N. | last2 = Graves| first2 =  Michael W. | last3 = Coil| first3 =  James H.| title = The introduction of sweet potato in Polynesia: early remains in Hawai'i| journal = The Journal of the Polynesian Society| date = 2005}}</ref> Sweet potato was considered to be less superior or valuable compared to another crop on the islands, [[taro]], but it was commonly grown as it could flourish in less favourable growing conditions, and only took between three and six months to mature.<ref name="Hommon">{{cite book| last=Hommon |first=Robert J. |title=The ancient Hawaiian state: origins of a political society |year=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199916122}}</ref>
+On the [[Hawaiian Islands]], the earliest archaeological record of sweet potatoes ({{lang|haw|{{okina}}uala}})<ref name="Kagawa-Viviani">{{Cite web| last1 = Kagawa-Viviani| first1 = Aurora | title = Untangling 'Uala: Toward re-diversifying and re-placing sweet potato. | date = 2016 |publisher=E Kūpaku Ka 'Āina – The Hawaii. Land Restoration Institute |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327382524 |access-date=4 June 2021}}</ref> is circa 1300 AD, where traces were found on traditional farmlands of [[Kohala, Hawaii]].<ref name=Winnicki/> Sweet potato was likely introduced to the islands at a later point, after initial Polynesian settlers had arrived.<ref name=Ladefoged>{{Cite journal| volume = 114| pages = 359–373| last1 = Ladefoged| first1 = Thegn N. | last2 = Graves| first2 =  Michael W. | last3 = Coil| first3 =  James H.| title = The introduction of sweet potato in Polynesia: early remains in Hawai'i| journal = The Journal of the Polynesian Society| date = 2005| issue = 4}}</ref> Sweet potato was considered to be less superior or valuable compared to another crop on the islands, [[taro]], but it was commonly grown as it could flourish in less favourable growing conditions, and only took between three and six months to mature.<ref name="Hommon">{{cite book| last=Hommon |first=Robert J. |title=The ancient Hawaiian state: origins of a political society |year=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199916122}}</ref>
-Sweet potato on the Hawaiian islands was typically grown in makaili (stony [[Alluvium|alluvial soil]]s),<ref name="BarberDiffusion">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1080/00438240903429755| issn = 0043-8243| volume = 42| issue = 1| pages = 74–89| last = Barber| first = Ian| title = Diffusion or innovation? Explaining lithic agronomy on the southern Polynesian margins| journal = World Archaeology| date = 1 March 2010}}</ref> and in arid/coastal areas.<ref name=Winnicki/> It is associated with the new year festival of [[Makahiki]], where the first fruits of the harvest (''kāmalui hou'') were offered to the gods, typically sweet potatoes and taro.<ref name="Hommon"/>
+Sweet potato on the Hawaiian islands was typically grown in makaili (stony [[Alluvium|alluvial soil]]s),<ref name="BarberDiffusion">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1080/00438240903429755| issn = 0043-8243| volume = 42| issue = 1| pages = 74–89| last = Barber| first = Ian| title = Diffusion or innovation? Explaining lithic agronomy on the southern Polynesian margins| journal = World Archaeology| date = 1 March 2010| s2cid = 128743972}}</ref> and in arid/coastal areas.<ref name=Winnicki/> It is associated with the new year festival of [[Makahiki]], where the first fruits of the harvest (''kāmalui hou'') were offered to the gods, typically sweet potatoes and taro.<ref name="Hommon"/>
 ==== Introduction to Easter Island ====
-Sweet potato (''kumara'')<ref>{{Cite journal| volume = 16| issue = 2| pages = 6| last1 = Mieth| first1 = Andreas| last2 = Bork| first2 = Hans-Rudolf| last3 = Feeser| first3 = Ingo| title = Prehistoric and recent land use effects on Poike peninsula, Easter Island (Rapa Nui)| journal = Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation| date = 2002}}</ref> was introduced to [[Easter Island]] (Rapa Nui) around 1200–1300 AD.<ref name="Wallin2005">{{Cite book| pages = 85–88 |editor=C. Ballard |editor2=P. Brown |editor3=R. M. Bourke |editor4=T. Harwood | last1 = Wallin| first1 = Paul| last2 = Stevenson| first2 = C. M.| last3 = Ladefoged| first3 = T. N.| title = The sweet potato in Oceania: a reappraisal| chapter = Sweet potato production on Rapa Nui| date = 2005 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh, University of Sydney |isbn=0-945428-13-8}}</ref> The crop, due to its drought-resistant nature, replaced yam and taro, becoming the [[staple food]] on the island and grown on 1/10th of the total land on the island.<ref name="rull">{{Cite journal| volume = 2.2| last1 = Valentí| first1 = Rull| title = Human discovery and settlement of the remote Easter Island (SE Pacific). | journal = Quaternary | date = 2019}}</ref><ref name="Wallin2005"/> A traditional Rapa Nui legend involves [[Hotu Matuꞌa]], the legendary first settler of Rapa Nui, travelling to the island and planting sweet potato, yam and bottle gourds near [[Orongo]].<ref name="Wallin2005"/>
+Sweet potato (''kumara'')<ref>{{Cite journal| volume = 16| issue = 2| pages = 6| last1 = Mieth| first1 = Andreas| last2 = Bork| first2 = Hans-Rudolf| last3 = Feeser| first3 = Ingo| title = Prehistoric and recent land use effects on Poike peninsula, Easter Island (Rapa Nui)| journal = Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation| date = 2002}}</ref> was introduced to [[Easter Island]] (Rapa Nui) around 1200–1300 AD.<ref name="Wallin2005">{{Cite book| pages = 85–88 |editor=C. Ballard |editor2=P. Brown |editor3=R. M. Bourke |editor4=T. Harwood | last1 = Wallin| first1 = Paul| last2 = Stevenson| first2 = C. M.| last3 = Ladefoged| first3 = T. N.| title = The sweet potato in Oceania: a reappraisal| chapter = Sweet potato production on Rapa Nui| date = 2005 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh, University of Sydney |isbn=0-945428-13-8}}</ref> The crop, due to its drought-resistant nature, replaced yam and taro, becoming the [[staple food]] on the island and grown on 1/10th of the total land on the island.<ref name="rull">{{Cite journal| volume = 2| last1 = Valentí| first1 = Rull| title = Human discovery and settlement of the remote Easter Island (SE Pacific). | journal = Quaternary | date = 2019| issue = 2}}</ref><ref name="Wallin2005"/> A traditional Rapa Nui legend involves [[Hotu Matuꞌa]], the legendary first settler of Rapa Nui, travelling to the island and planting sweet potato, yam and bottle gourds near [[Orongo]].<ref name="Wallin2005"/>
-Planting typically occurs twice a year, from January to April and August to September.<ref name="Louwagie">{{Cite book| isbn = 1-315-42101-1| pages = 157–174| last1 = Louwagie| first1 = Geertrui| last2 = Langohr| first2 = Roger| title = Rethinking Agriculture| chapter = Perspectives on traditional agriculture from Rapa Nui| date = 2016 |editor=Timothy P Denham |editor2=José Iriarte |editor3=Luc Vrydaghs |publisher=Routledge}}</ref> Lithic mulching (mixing rocks into fertile soil) was used by traditional Rapa Nui gardeners in order to retain moisture in sweet potato plantations.<ref name="Wallin2005"/><ref name="Hunt"/> Plants are typically grown from grafts taken from mature plants, and take from between 120 and 180 days to mature.<ref name="Louwagie"/> The end of the initial stage involves piling earth on top of the plants.<ref name="Louwagie"/> Sweet potato was not often stored on Rapa Nui, instead typically eaten directly after harvesting.<ref name="Louwagie"/> Occasionally sweet potatoes were stored for festivals or ceremonies, by drying large tubers in the sun, then burying them in soil for up to one month.<ref name="Louwagie"/> Sweet potatoes were eaten raw or cooked.<ref name="Wallin2005"/> The young leaves of the sweet potato are also eaten.<ref name="Louwagie"/>
+Planting typically occurs twice a year, from January to April and August to September.<ref name="Louwagie">{{Cite book| isbn = 978-1-315-42101-8| pages = 157–174| last1 = Louwagie| first1 = Geertrui| last2 = Langohr| first2 = Roger| title = Rethinking Agriculture| chapter = Perspectives on traditional agriculture from Rapa Nui| date = 2016 |editor=Timothy P Denham |editor2=José Iriarte |editor3=Luc Vrydaghs |publisher=Routledge}}</ref> Lithic mulching (mixing rocks into fertile soil) was used by traditional Rapa Nui gardeners in order to retain moisture in sweet potato plantations.<ref name="Wallin2005"/><ref name="Hunt"/> Plants are typically grown from grafts taken from mature plants, and take from between 120 and 180 days to mature.<ref name="Louwagie"/> The end of the initial stage involves piling earth on top of the plants.<ref name="Louwagie"/> Sweet potato was not often stored on Rapa Nui, instead typically eaten directly after harvesting.<ref name="Louwagie"/> Occasionally sweet potatoes were stored for festivals or ceremonies, by drying large tubers in the sun, then burying them in soil for up to one month.<ref name="Louwagie"/> Sweet potatoes were eaten raw or cooked.<ref name="Wallin2005"/> The young leaves of the sweet potato are also eaten.<ref name="Louwagie"/>
 It has been hypothesised that the introduction of sweet potato to the island directly led to the construction of [[Ahu (Easter Island)|ahu]] platforms and [[moai]] statues, as the large harvests would have meant the island's inhabitants were able to dedicate more time to activities other than subsistence farming.<ref name="Wallin2005"/> The introduction of sweet potato to the island may have also led to the deforestation of Easter Island, as burnt palm forest was a source of nutrients necessary for the growth of sweet potatoes in nutrient poor soil.<ref name="Hunt">{{Cite book| pages = 167–184| last1 = Hunt| first1 = Terry| last2 = Lipo| first2 = Carl| chapter = The Human Transformation of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Pacific Ocean)| title=n Biodiversity and Societies in the Pacific Islands| date = 1 January 2013}}</ref>
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 Sweet potato ([[Māori language|standard Māori]]: ''kūmara'', [[Māori language#South Island dialects|Southern Māori dialects]]: ''kūmera''<ref name="Barber"/>) is a traditional crop for [[Māori people|Māori]].<ref name=Anderson/> Archaeological evidence suggests that kūmara arrived in New Zealand after the original Polynesian voyagers had settled in New Zealand, likely sometime between 1300 and 1400.<ref name=Anderson/> Lack of archaeological evidence on the abandoned Māori settlements on [[Raoul Island]] and [[Norfolk Island]] implies kūmara was not available in the early 1300s.<ref name=Anderson/> Oral histories tell of a return voyage to central Polynesia to collect the plant for use in New Zealand, however oral histories do not agree on a single voyage or source: the introduction of kūmara is associated with the ''[[Aotea (canoe)|Aotea]]'', ''[[Arawa (canoe)|Arawa]]'', ''[[Horouta]]'', ''[[Kurahaupō]]'', ''[[Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi|Māhuhu]]'', ''[[Māmari]]'', ''[[Mātaatua]]'', ''[[Tainui (canoe)|Tainui]]'' and ''[[Tokomaru (canoe)|Tokomaru]]'' canoes, possibly due to the [[mana]] associated with having brought kumara to New Zealand.<ref name=Anderson/> One history involves [[Ngāi Tūhoe|Tūhoe]] ancestor Toi-kai-rākau, who after he sailed the ''[[Horouta]]'' waka to New Zealand, introduced local Māori to dried kūmara (''kao''). The locals, having loved the vegetable, sailed on the ''Horouta'' back to central Polynesia to collect the plant to grow in New Zealand.<ref name=Anderson/> [[Ngāti Awa]] have a similar stories about the ''[[Mātaatua]]'' waka, that it was sent to bring kumara supplies to [[Whakatāne]].<ref name=Anderson/> In [[Tainui]] and [[Te Arawa]] traditions, kūmara was brought to New Zealand by [[Whakaotirangi]], a woman who carried seeds of important plants on the journey to New Zealand after being kidnapped by the chief [[Tama-te-kapua]], around 1350 AD.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Taonga|first=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu |title=Whakaotirangi|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/2348/whakaotirangi|access-date=27 April 2021|website=teara.govt.nz|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite Q|Q106637945}}</ref> Whakaotirangi experimented with ways to adapt growing kūmara in the colder climate, which would develop an unpleasant sour taste when exposed to frost.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Whakaotirangi|url=https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/150th-anniversary/150-women-in-150-words/whakaotirangi/|access-date=27 April 2021|website=Royal Society Te Apārangi}}</ref> Another history involves Marama, the junior wife of Hoturoa aboard the ''[[Tainui (canoe)|Tainui]]'' waka. She brought kūmara plants with her on her journey, however when she arrived to Aotearoa, was unfaithful to Hoturoa with a slave. As punishment, her kūmara plants turned into pōhue (''[[Calystegia sepium]]'') – a traditional weed of kūmara farms.<ref name="Whakapapa2004"/>
-In 1880, botanist and missionary [[William Colenso]] listed 48 varieties grown in Northland, Hawke's Bay and the East Coast.<ref name="Furey2006">{{Cite web| last = Furey| first = Louise| title = Maori Gardening: An Archaeological Perspective| journal = An archaeological perspective. |publisher=[[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]]| date = 2006| url = https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/sap235.pdf |access-date=17 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="Colenso">{{Cite journal| volume = 13| pages = 3–38| last1 = Colenso| first1 = William |author-link1=William Colenso| title = On the vegetable food of the ancient New Zealanders before Cook's visit| journal = Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand| date = 1880| url = https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/TPRSNZ1880-13.2.6.1.1}}</ref> These traditional varieties came in a variety of colours (red, purple and white), shapes (some cylindrical) and differing rough/smooth textures.<ref name="Colenso"/> Northland Māori described a red fleshed red skinned variety called paikaraka as the oldest variety to Colenso, while [[Te Arawa]] iwi sources in the 1940s called toroa-māhoe and hutihuti the oldest varieties of kūmara.<ref name="Colenso"/><ref>{{Cite journal| issn = 0032-4000| volume = 78| issue = 1| pages = 83–111| last = Macnab| first = JW| title = Sweet potatoes and Maori terraces in the Wellington area| journal = The Journal of the Polynesian Society| date = 1969}}</ref><ref name="Tapsell">{{Cite journal| issn = 0032-4000| volume = 56| issue = 4| pages = 325–332| last = Tapsell| first = Enid| title = Original kumara| journal = The Journal of the Polynesian Society| date = 1947}}</ref> Kūmara does not seed in New Zealand due to the climate, meaning mutations in buds and careful cultivation of these plants likely led to the new varieties.<ref name="Furey2006"/> A 1955–1959 survey of Māori farmers identified four cultivars considered to be pre-European: taputini and houhere (grown in Northland), and two closely related varieties grown across the North Island: rekamaroa and hutihuti
+In 1880, botanist and missionary [[William Colenso]] listed 48 varieties grown in Northland, Hawke's Bay and the East Coast.<ref name="Furey2006">{{Cite journal| last = Furey| first = Louise| title = Maori Gardening: An Archaeological Perspective| journal = An Archaeological Perspective. |publisher=[[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]]| date = 2006| url = https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/sap235.pdf |access-date=17 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="Colenso">{{Cite journal| volume = 13| pages = 3–38| last1 = Colenso| first1 = William |author-link1=William Colenso| title = On the vegetable food of the ancient New Zealanders before Cook's visit| journal = Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand| date = 1880| url = https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/TPRSNZ1880-13.2.6.1.1}}</ref> These traditional varieties came in a variety of colours (red, purple and white), shapes (some cylindrical) and differing rough/smooth textures.<ref name="Colenso"/> Northland Māori described a red fleshed red skinned variety called paikaraka as the oldest variety to Colenso, while [[Te Arawa]] iwi sources in the 1940s called toroa-māhoe and hutihuti the oldest varieties of kūmara.<ref name="Colenso"/><ref>{{Cite journal| issn = 0032-4000| volume = 78| issue = 1| pages = 83–111| last = Macnab| first = JW| title = Sweet potatoes and Maori terraces in the Wellington area| journal = The Journal of the Polynesian Society| date = 1969}}</ref><ref name="Tapsell">{{Cite journal| issn = 0032-4000| volume = 56| issue = 4| pages = 325–332| last = Tapsell| first = Enid| title = Original kumara| journal = The Journal of the Polynesian Society| date = 1947}}</ref> Kūmara does not seed in New Zealand due to the climate, meaning mutations in buds and careful cultivation of these plants likely led to the new varieties.<ref name="Furey2006"/> A 1955–1959 survey of Māori farmers identified four cultivars considered to be pre-European: taputini and houhere (grown in Northland), and two closely related varieties grown across the North Island: rekamaroa and hutihuti
-(rekamaroa and hutihuti were commonly grown in Māori home gardens until the 1940s)<ref name="Tapsell"/>).<ref name="Yen1963">{{Cite journal| volume = 17| issue = 1| pages = 31–45| last = Yen| first = D. E.| title = The New Zealand Kumara or Sweet Potato| journal = Economic Botany| date = 1963}}</ref> A 1997 DNA analysis of these varieties confirmed that taputini, rekamaroa and hutihuti are all pre-European (houhere was not tested in the study).<ref name="1997DNA">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1080/0028825X.1987.10410171| volume = 35| issue = 4| pages = 479–485| last1 = Harvey| first1 = Catherine F.| last2 = Gill| first2 = Geoffrey P.| last3 = Crossman| first3 = Catherine| last4 = Fraser| first4 = Lena G.| title = Assessing relationships of kumara cultivars by RAPD analysis| journal = New Zealand Journal of Botany| date = 1997| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref name="Teara">{{Cite web| last = Adds| first = Peter| title = Kūmara| work=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand| publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga | access-date = 10 June 2021| date = 24 November 2008| url = https://teara.govt.nz/en/kumara}}</ref> Other traditional cultivars outside of this list still exist, such as parapara (a variety used for medicinal reasons to feed the elderly, babies and the unwell), paukena (used to make [[kūmara kao]]), poporo, rekarawa and romanawa.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Te Reka O Te Kai: Maara Kai Practical Guide| work=Te Waka Kai Ora | access-date = 23 June 2021| date = 2010 | url = https://www.tewakakaiora.co.nz/site_files/24901/upload_files/TeRekaoTeKai(1).pdf}}</ref>
+(rekamaroa and hutihuti were commonly grown in Māori home gardens until the 1940s)<ref name="Tapsell"/>).<ref name="Yen1963">{{Cite journal| volume = 17| issue = 1| pages = 31–45| last = Yen| first = D. E.| title = The New Zealand Kumara or Sweet Potato| journal = Economic Botany| date = 1963| doi = 10.1007/BF02985351| s2cid = 32823869}}</ref> A 1997 DNA analysis of these varieties confirmed that taputini, rekamaroa and hutihuti are all pre-European (houhere was not tested in the study).<ref name="1997DNA">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1080/0028825X.1987.10410171| volume = 35| issue = 4| pages = 479–485| last1 = Harvey| first1 = Catherine F.| last2 = Gill| first2 = Geoffrey P.| last3 = Crossman| first3 = Catherine| last4 = Fraser| first4 = Lena G.| title = Assessing relationships of kumara cultivars by RAPD analysis| journal = New Zealand Journal of Botany| date = 1997| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref name="Teara">{{Cite encyclopedia| last = Adds| first = Peter| title = Kūmara| encyclopedia=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand| publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga | access-date = 10 June 2021| date = 24 November 2008| url = https://teara.govt.nz/en/kumara}}</ref> Other traditional cultivars outside of this list still exist, such as parapara (a variety used for medicinal reasons to feed the elderly, babies and the unwell), paukena (used to make [[kūmara kao]]), poporo, rekarawa and romanawa.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Te Reka O Te Kai: Maara Kai Practical Guide| work=Te Waka Kai Ora | access-date = 23 June 2021| date = 2010 | url = https://www.tewakakaiora.co.nz/site_files/24901/upload_files/TeRekaoTeKai(1).pdf}}</ref>
 == Cultivation and use ==
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 Māori adapted kūmara cultivation methods for New Zealand, learning to grow new plants from tubers instead of from shoots, and learning how adapt to a seasonal climate by storing sweet potato over winter months and growing during the summer.<ref name="Teara"/> Kūmara and hue (''[[Lagenaria siceraria]]'', or bottle gourds) could be cultivated on about 45% of New Zealand, much greater than other traditional Polynesian crops brought to the islands such as taro (''[[Colocasia esculenta]]'') or aute (the [[paper mulberry]] tree). South of Taranaki/Hawke's Bay, kūmara was the dominant Polynesian crop plant (other plants such as hue and taro were more commonly grown further north).<ref name=Anderson/> In the South Island, kūmara was typically grown as far south as the [[Banks Peninsula]].<ref name="Teara"/> Some kūmara was managed to be grown as far south as [[Otago]] in the 1450s, however cultivation south of Canterbury ceased before European contact, possibly due to [[Little Ice Age]]-related climate changes, or political upheaval.<ref name="Barber"/> Kūmara roots tend to develop fungal rot when daily temperatures fall below 10&nbsp;°C, however this may have been mitigated by the use of internal fires and heated rocks.<ref name="Barber"/>
-In spring, the flowering of the [[kōwhai]] tree and the call of the pīpīwharauroa ([[shining bronze cuckoo]]) signalled when kūmara fields needed to be prepared,<ref name="Hiakai">{{cite book |title=Hiakai: Modern Māori Cuisine |first=Monique |last=Fiso |date=2020 |isbn=9780143772606 |publisher=Penguin}}</ref> however planting time would vary annually, depending on if a cold winter was predicted during [[Matariki]].<ref name="TearaMatariki">{{Cite web| last = Meredith| first = Paul| title = Matariki – Māori New Year - Cycles of life and death| work=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand| publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga | access-date = 19 June 2021| date = 12 June 2006| url = https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/5161/kumara-harvest}}</ref> The positions of the stars and when the kūmara leaves beginning to wither in autumn was a sign of hauhakenga, or the time to harvest the crop.<ref name="Colenso"/><ref name="TeAoHou"/> Māra kūmara (sweet potato gardens) consisted of puke (soil mounds) arranged in rows or a [[quincunx]] pattern of plants.<ref name="Teara"/> These gardens could only ben used for a limited time before soil nutrients became too depleted.<ref name="Teara"/> Māori used [[crop rotation]] to grow kūmara, where a māra kūmara would be used for 2–3 years before being burnt and left to fallow.<ref name="Hiakai"/> However, crop rotation was much more difficult compared to other parts of Polynesia, due to tangled ''[[Pteridium esculentum]]'' (rarauhe, or [[bracken]] ferns) taking over the fallowing croplands.<ref name="Teara"/> Light sandy loam or volcanic soils were the best suited for growing kūmara.<ref name="BarberDiffusion"/><ref name="Teara"/> Māra kūmara are typically found on slanted, north-facing land, which attracts less moisture and is more sheltered from cold southerly winds.<ref name="Furey2006"/> Gardens would also placed facing north or north-east as this was the direction of [[Hawaiki]] (the mythical Māori homeland).<ref name="Hiakai"/> Layers of beach sand, cut grass and gravel were sometimes used for planting kūmara in August, with the insulation helping the tubers sprout faster.<ref name=Fox>{{Cite journal| issn = 0067-0464| volume = 20| pages = 65–106| last1 = Fox| first1 = Aileen |author-link1=Aileen Fox | last2 = Cassels| first2 = Richard| title = EXCAVATIONS AT AOTEA, WAIKATO, 1972–75| journal = [[Auckland War Memorial Museum|Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum]]| date = 1983}}</ref><ref name="Teara"/> Gravel was sometimes spread under kūmara leaves to protect the plant, or blended into earth to loosen hard soils.<ref name="BarberDiffusion"/>
+In spring, the flowering of the [[kōwhai]] tree and the call of the pīpīwharauroa ([[shining bronze cuckoo]]) signalled when kūmara fields needed to be prepared,<ref name="Hiakai">{{cite book |title=Hiakai: Modern Māori Cuisine |first=Monique |last=Fiso |date=2020 |isbn=9780143772606 |publisher=Penguin}}</ref> however planting time would vary annually, depending on if a cold winter was predicted during [[Matariki]].<ref name="TearaMatariki">{{Cite encyclopedia| last = Meredith| first = Paul| title = Matariki – Māori New Year - Cycles of life and death| encyclopedia=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand| publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga | access-date = 19 June 2021| date = 12 June 2006| url = https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/5161/kumara-harvest}}</ref> The positions of the stars and when the kūmara leaves beginning to wither in autumn was a sign of hauhakenga, or the time to harvest the crop.<ref name="Colenso"/><ref name="TeAoHou"/> Māra kūmara (sweet potato gardens) consisted of puke (soil mounds) arranged in rows or a [[quincunx]] pattern of plants.<ref name="Teara"/> These gardens could only ben used for a limited time before soil nutrients became too depleted.<ref name="Teara"/> Māori used [[crop rotation]] to grow kūmara, where a māra kūmara would be used for 2–3 years before being burnt and left to fallow.<ref name="Hiakai"/> However, crop rotation was much more difficult compared to other parts of Polynesia, due to tangled ''[[Pteridium esculentum]]'' (rarauhe, or [[bracken]] ferns) taking over the fallowing croplands.<ref name="Teara"/> Light sandy loam or volcanic soils were the best suited for growing kūmara.<ref name="BarberDiffusion"/><ref name="Teara"/> Māra kūmara are typically found on slanted, north-facing land, which attracts less moisture and is more sheltered from cold southerly winds.<ref name="Furey2006"/> Gardens would also placed facing north or north-east as this was the direction of [[Hawaiki]] (the mythical Māori homeland).<ref name="Hiakai"/> Layers of beach sand, cut grass and gravel were sometimes used for planting kūmara in August, with the insulation helping the tubers sprout faster.<ref name=Fox>{{Cite journal| issn = 0067-0464| volume = 20| pages = 65–106| last1 = Fox| first1 = Aileen |author-link1=Aileen Fox | last2 = Cassels| first2 = Richard| title = EXCAVATIONS AT AOTEA, WAIKATO, 1972–75| journal = [[Auckland War Memorial Museum|Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum]]| date = 1983}}</ref><ref name="Teara"/> Gravel was sometimes spread under kūmara leaves to protect the plant, or blended into earth to loosen hard soils.<ref name="BarberDiffusion"/>
 Plants were often susceptible to being eaten by the [[Australasian swamphen]] (pūkeko) and ''[[Agrius convolvuli]]'' (hīhue, or the convolvulus hawk-moth).<ref name="Teara"/> To combat this, fences were built around gardens to keep out pūkeko, while the moth larvae were either removed by hand, smoked out using [[kauri gum]] or [[Piper excelsum|kawakawa]] leaves, or by encouraging tamed seagulls to consume the caterpillars.<ref name="Teara"/><ref name="Hiakai"/> Younger plants were often eaten by kiore (the [[Polynesian rat]]), which were scared off by older men using shell rattles.<ref name="Hiakai"/>
-After harvesting, the tubers were placed in rua kūmara; subterranean pits with rectangular roofs, sterilised with fire and sealed with small wooden doors to keep out pests.<ref name="Teara"/> These became common across Aotearoa after 1500 AD,<ref name="Barber"/> and control over rua kūmara was an important social distinction in classical Maori society.<ref>{{Cite journal| volume = 21| pages = 29–45| last = Law| first = RG| title = Pits long, large and prestigious: recognition of varieties of Maori kumara storage pits in northern New Zealand| journal = New Zealand Journal of Archaeology| date = 1999}}</ref> Rua kūmara were located on slopes or other places with good drainage ability. Kūmara were placed on shelves cut into the walls of the pit, and regularly checked for rot and rotated to ensure they stayed dry.<ref name="TearakaiMāori">{{Cite web| last1 = Royal| first1 = Charles | last2 = Kaka-Scott| first2 = Jenny | title = Māori foods – kai Māori – Traditional cooking and preserving| work=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand| publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga | access-date = 17 June 2021| date = 5 September 2013| url = http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/maori-foods-kai-maori/}}</ref> Rua kūmara were only packed on dry, sunny days.<ref name="Hiakai"/> The pits were typically reused, with new posts and rooves added to old structures as they degraded.<ref name="FureyMatakawau">{{cite journal |last1=Furey |first1=Louise |last2=Emmitt |first2=Joshua |last3=Wallace |first3=Rod |date=2017 |title=Matakawau Stingray Point Pa excavation, Ahuahu Great Mercury Island 1955–56 |url=https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/discover/research/publications/records/vol52/matakawau-pa |journal=[[Auckland War Memorial Museum|Records of the Auckland Museum]] |volume=52 |pages=39–57 |doi=10.32912/ram.2018.52.3|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, in the [[Bay of Plenty]], kūmara pits were often used for single seasons and backfilled afterwards, due to the soft [[tephra]] soil.<ref name="FureyMatakawau"/>
+After harvesting, the tubers were placed in rua kūmara; subterranean pits with rectangular roofs, sterilised with fire and sealed with small wooden doors to keep out pests.<ref name="Teara"/> These became common across Aotearoa after 1500 AD,<ref name="Barber"/> and control over rua kūmara was an important social distinction in classical Maori society.<ref>{{Cite journal| volume = 21| pages = 29–45| last = Law| first = RG| title = Pits long, large and prestigious: recognition of varieties of Maori kumara storage pits in northern New Zealand| journal = New Zealand Journal of Archaeology| date = 1999}}</ref> Rua kūmara were located on slopes or other places with good drainage ability. Kūmara were placed on shelves cut into the walls of the pit, and regularly checked for rot and rotated to ensure they stayed dry.<ref name="TearakaiMāori">{{Cite encyclopedia| last1 = Royal| first1 = Charles | last2 = Kaka-Scott| first2 = Jenny | title = Māori foods – kai Māori – Traditional cooking and preserving| encyclopedia=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand| publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga | access-date = 17 June 2021| date = 5 September 2013| url = http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/maori-foods-kai-maori/}}</ref> Rua kūmara were only packed on dry, sunny days.<ref name="Hiakai"/> The pits were typically reused, with new posts and rooves added to old structures as they degraded.<ref name="FureyMatakawau">{{cite journal |last1=Furey |first1=Louise |last2=Emmitt |first2=Joshua |last3=Wallace |first3=Rod |date=2017 |title=Matakawau Stingray Point Pa excavation, Ahuahu Great Mercury Island 1955–56 |url=https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/discover/research/publications/records/vol52/matakawau-pa |journal=[[Auckland War Memorial Museum|Records of the Auckland Museum]] |volume=52 |pages=39–57 |doi=10.32912/ram.2018.52.3|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, in the [[Bay of Plenty]], kūmara pits were often used for single seasons and backfilled afterwards, due to the soft [[tephra]] soil.<ref name="FureyMatakawau"/>
 Traditional eating methods include sun-drying smaller tubers (kao), grated (roroi kūmara), cooked in a [[hāngi]], roasted and eaten with liquid from [[Kina (animal)|kina]], or boiled.<ref name="Teara"/> Kōtero is a fermented kūmara, often kūmara that had started to rot during storage, which has a shrivelled appearance but remains sweet.<ref name="TearakaiMāori"/>
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 ===== Social and religious significance =====
-The origins of the kūmara is also explained through Māori cosmological traditions. Rongo-māui (a star in the constallation of [[Lyra]]), the wife of Pani-Tinaku and the younger brother of Whānui (the star [[Vega]]). Pani-tinaku's nephews taunt Rongo-māui for not fishing and providing food for his family. Rongo-māui decides to ascend to the heavens, and asked Whānui for some kūmara from the heavens. He refused, however Rongo-māui hid and stole kūmara. Rongo-māui impregnates his wife, and Pani-tinaku gives birth to the earthly form of kūmara: nehutai, pātea, waihā, pio, matatū, pāuārangi, toroa-māhoe, anurangi, and aka-kura (all traditional varieties of kūmara). She is asked by Rongo-māui to cook the kūmara, in order to remove the heavenly [[tapu]] on the food. Pani-tinaku's nephew [[Māui (Māori mythology)|Māui]] discovers the source for these kūmara, leading Pani-tinaku to flee to the underworld. Her youngest daughter, Hine-mata-iti, became the kiore (the [[Polynesian rat]] who steals kūmara). Whānui discovers men gardening kūmara, and realises Rongo-māui stole the kūmara, and as retribution Whānui creates anuhe, toronū and moko, who every year rain down as the caterpillars who attack the kūmara (''[[Agrius convolvuli]]'').<ref name="Teara"/><ref name="whakapapa">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.11157/sites-vol10iss1id236| issn = 1179-0237| volume = 10| issue = 1| pages = 93–120| last = Roberts| first = Mere| title = Ways of seeing: Whakapapa| journal = Sites: a journal of social anthropology and cultural studies| date = 2013| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref name="Whakapapa2004">{{Cite journal| issn = 1043-898X| pages = 1–28| last1 = Roberts| first1 = Mere| last2 = Haami| first2 = Brad| last3 = Benton| first3 = Richard| last4 = Satterfield| first4 = Terre| last5 = Finucane| first5 = Melissa L| last6 = Henare| first6 = Mark| last7 = Henare| first7 = Manuka| title = Whakapapa as a Māori mental construct: Some implications for the debate over genetic modification of organisms| journal = The Contemporary Pacific| date = 2004}}</ref>
+The origins of the kūmara is also explained through Māori cosmological traditions. Rongo-māui (a star in the constallation of [[Lyra]]), the wife of Pani-Tinaku and the younger brother of Whānui (the star [[Vega]]). Pani-tinaku's nephews taunt Rongo-māui for not fishing and providing food for his family. Rongo-māui decides to ascend to the heavens, and asked Whānui for some kūmara from the heavens. He refused, however Rongo-māui hid and stole kūmara. Rongo-māui impregnates his wife, and Pani-tinaku gives birth to the earthly form of kūmara: nehutai, pātea, waihā, pio, matatū, pāuārangi, toroa-māhoe, anurangi, and aka-kura (all traditional varieties of kūmara). She is asked by Rongo-māui to cook the kūmara, in order to remove the heavenly [[tapu]] on the food. Pani-tinaku's nephew [[Māui (Māori mythology)|Māui]] discovers the source for these kūmara, leading Pani-tinaku to flee to the underworld. Her youngest daughter, Hine-mata-iti, became the kiore (the [[Polynesian rat]] who steals kūmara). Whānui discovers men gardening kūmara, and realises Rongo-māui stole the kūmara, and as retribution Whānui creates anuhe, toronū and moko, who every year rain down as the caterpillars who attack the kūmara (''[[Agrius convolvuli]]'').<ref name="Teara"/><ref name="whakapapa">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.11157/sites-vol10iss1id236| issn = 1179-0237| volume = 10| issue = 1| pages = 93–120| last = Roberts| first = Mere| title = Ways of seeing: Whakapapa| journal = Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies| date = 2013| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref name="Whakapapa2004">{{Cite journal| issn = 1043-898X| pages = 1–28| last1 = Roberts| first1 = Mere| last2 = Haami| first2 = Brad| last3 = Benton| first3 = Richard| last4 = Satterfield| first4 = Terre| last5 = Finucane| first5 = Melissa L| last6 = Henare| first6 = Mark| last7 = Henare| first7 = Manuka| title = Whakapapa as a Māori mental construct: Some implications for the debate over genetic modification of organisms| journal = The Contemporary Pacific| date = 2004}}</ref>
 Kūmara became associated with [[Rongo|Rongo-mā-Tāne]],<ref name="Teara"/> the god ([[atua]]) of agriculture and peace. Small statues (taumata atua) representing Rongo and atua kiato (carved pegs) were placed alongside kūmara fields, sometimes decorated with kits made of feathers.<ref name="TeAoHou">{{Cite journal| url=http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/journals/teaohou/issue/Mao41TeA/c19.html| title=Kumaras and Kumara Magic| pages = 36–39| journal = Te Ao Hou| date = December 1962}}</ref><ref name="Hiakai"/> Due to the importance of the kūmara crop to Māori, planting was associated with rituals,<ref name="Hiakai"/> with the annual planting and harvest of kūmara being a reenactment of the story of Rongo-māui.<ref name="whakapapa"/> The first day of planting involved planters arriving early in the morning, and a [[tohunga]] would give a [[karakia]] to Rongo, who would then plant sacred kūmara separate to the main fields.<ref name="TeAoHou"/> After the karakia, men would use kō to till the fields, followed by women and children, who would use patupatu and timo to break up the soil further.<ref name="Hiakai"/> Once planting had been finished, tapu was placed on the fields, so only the weeders and pest removers would be allowed to be in the fields.<ref name="TeAoHou"/> During harvest time, the first kūmara of the season were offered to atua at a ceremony.<ref name="Hiakai"/><ref name="TeAoHou"/>
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 [[File:Kumara.jpg|thumb|Owairaka red, a variety created by [[Fay Gock|Fay]] and [[Joe Gock]] in the 1950s, is the most commonly grown cultivar of sweet potato in New Zealand.]]
-Kūmara became less of an important crop after the introduction of the potato in the 1780s by Western sailors.<ref name="NutritionSociety">{{Cite conference| publisher = Nutrition Society of New Zealand| volume = 18| pages = 19–19| last1 = Savage| first1 = G. P.| last2 = Bolitho| first2 = K. M.| title = Kumara – a traditional food for Maori| date = 1993}}</ref><ref name="TearaKaiPākehā"/> The potato was able to grow in colder climates, and was considered noa (not tapu, or needing sacred rituals), so could be grown by women or slaves.<ref name="TearaKaiPākehā"/> Traditional cultivars of kūmara continued to be grown, however in the 1800s were mostly supplanted by American varieties that were grown on Western whaling ships.<ref>{{Cite web| last1 = Collins| first1 = Hugh | title = Rare kumara flower discovered in Freemans Bay garden | date = 9 May 2017 |publisher=Stuff.co.nz |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/92352304/highly-rare-kumara-flower-discovered-in-freemans-bay-garden |access-date=9 June 2021}}</ref> Around the year 1819, an American whaler introduced a North American variety to Bay of Plenty Māori, that was larger than traditional crops. This variety became known as the merikana (American).<ref name="Yen1963"/><ref name="TearaKaiPākehā">{{Cite web| last1 = Petrie| first1 = Hazel | title = Kai Pākehā – introduced foods | work=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand| publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga | access-date = 17 June 2021| date = 24 November 2008| url = http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/maori-foods-kai-maori/}}</ref> The waina (vine) variety was introduced by a whaler in the 1850s, who had sailed from [[Rarotonga]].<ref name="Yen1963"/> This variety of kūmara was propagated by vine cuttings, instead of the traditional Māori method of root planting (and is the source of the variety's name).<ref name="Yen1963"/> The varieties of kūmara descended from these whaling ships formed the basis of the modern commercial kūmara crop grown today,<ref name="Teara"/> including the owairaka red, which is a descendent of the waina variety.<ref name="decline">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.30843/nzpp.2011.64.5976| volume = 64| pages = 160–167| last1 = Lewthwaite| first1 = S. L.| last2 = Fletcher| first2 = P. J.| last3 = Fletcher| first3 = J. D.| last4 = Triggs| first4 = C. M.| title = Cultivar decline in sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas)| journal = New Zealand Plant Protection| date = 2011| doi-access = free}}</ref> In the 21st Century, most commercial kūmara is grown in [[Northland Region|Northland]],<ref name="Teara"/> and is typically one of three varieties: owairaka red, toka toka gold and beauregard (orange), with owairaka red being the most commonly found in the country.<ref>{{Cite web| last1 = Collins| first1 = Hugh | title = Kumara claim becomes hot potato | date = 1 February 2007 |publisher=[[NZ Herald]] |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kumara-claim-becomes-hot-potato/2XS6BN3PLLQSDSBET6HQ3BDICY/ |access-date=17 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="cui">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1002/jsfa.9702| issn = 0022-5142| volume = 99| issue = 10| pages = 4624–4634| last1 = Cui| first1 = Rongbin| last2 = Zhu| first2 = Fan| title = Physicochemical and functional properties of sweetpotato flour| journal = Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture| date = 2019}}</ref> The toka toka gold variety was introduced by the [[Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (New Zealand)|Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries]] in the 1960s from an unknown source,<ref name="1997DNA"/> and was made commercially available in 1972.<ref name="Lewthwaite2006">{{Cite conference| doi = 10.17660/actahortic.2006.703.2| isbn = 90-6605-387-9| conference = II International Symposium on Sweetpotato and Cassava: Innovative Technologies for Commercialization 703| pages = 31–38| last = Lewthwaite| first = SL| title = Sweetpotato products in a modern world: the New Zealand experience| date = 2005}}</ref> It is named after the Tokatoka Peak near [[Dargaville]].<ref name="cui"/> Beauregard, developed at [[Louisiana State University]] in 1987, was introduced to New Zealand from the US in 1991.<ref name="decline"/><ref>{{Cite journal| issn = 0018-5345| volume = 22| issue = 6| pages = 1338–1339| last1 = Rolston| first1 = LH| last2 = Clark| first2 = CA| last3 = Cannon| first3 = JM| last4 = Randle| first4 = WM| last5 = Riley| first5 = EG| title = Beauregard sweet potato| journal = HortScience| date = 1987}}</ref> Two new varieties were released commercially by [[Plant & Food Research]] in 2014: purple dawn (purple skin and purple flesh), and orange sunset (purple skin with orange and purple flesh).<ref name="cui"/>
+Kūmara became less of an important crop after the introduction of the potato in the 1780s by Western sailors.<ref name="NutritionSociety">{{Cite conference| publisher = Nutrition Society of New Zealand| volume = 18| pages = 19| last1 = Savage| first1 = G. P.| last2 = Bolitho| first2 = K. M.| title = Kumara – a traditional food for Maori| date = 1993}}</ref><ref name="TearaKaiPākehā"/> The potato was able to grow in colder climates, and was considered noa (not tapu, or needing sacred rituals), so could be grown by women or slaves.<ref name="TearaKaiPākehā"/> Traditional cultivars of kūmara continued to be grown, however in the 1800s were mostly supplanted by American varieties that were grown on Western whaling ships.<ref>{{Cite web| last1 = Collins| first1 = Hugh | title = Rare kumara flower discovered in Freemans Bay garden | date = 9 May 2017 |publisher=Stuff.co.nz |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/92352304/highly-rare-kumara-flower-discovered-in-freemans-bay-garden |access-date=9 June 2021}}</ref> Around the year 1819, an American whaler introduced a North American variety to Bay of Plenty Māori, that was larger than traditional crops. This variety became known as the merikana (American).<ref name="Yen1963"/><ref name="TearaKaiPākehā">{{Cite encyclopedia| last1 = Petrie| first1 = Hazel | title = Kai Pākehā – introduced foods | encyclopedia=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand| publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga | access-date = 17 June 2021| date = 24 November 2008| url = http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/maori-foods-kai-maori/}}</ref> The waina (vine) variety was introduced by a whaler in the 1850s, who had sailed from [[Rarotonga]].<ref name="Yen1963"/> This variety of kūmara was propagated by vine cuttings, instead of the traditional Māori method of root planting (and is the source of the variety's name).<ref name="Yen1963"/> The varieties of kūmara descended from these whaling ships formed the basis of the modern commercial kūmara crop grown today,<ref name="Teara"/> including the owairaka red, which is a descendent of the waina variety.<ref name="decline">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.30843/nzpp.2011.64.5976| volume = 64| pages = 160–167| last1 = Lewthwaite| first1 = S. L.| last2 = Fletcher| first2 = P. J.| last3 = Fletcher| first3 = J. D.| last4 = Triggs| first4 = C. M.| title = Cultivar decline in sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas)| journal = New Zealand Plant Protection| date = 2011| doi-access = free}}</ref> In the 21st Century, most commercial kūmara is grown in [[Northland Region|Northland]],<ref name="Teara"/> and is typically one of three varieties: owairaka red, toka toka gold and beauregard (orange), with owairaka red being the most commonly found in the country.<ref>{{Cite web| last1 = Collins| first1 = Hugh | title = Kumara claim becomes hot potato | date = 1 February 2007 |publisher=[[NZ Herald]] |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kumara-claim-becomes-hot-potato/2XS6BN3PLLQSDSBET6HQ3BDICY/ |access-date=17 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="cui">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1002/jsfa.9702| issn = 0022-5142| volume = 99| issue = 10| pages = 4624–4634| last1 = Cui| first1 = Rongbin| last2 = Zhu| first2 = Fan| title = Physicochemical and functional properties of sweetpotato flour| journal = Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture| date = 2019| pmid = 30895624}}</ref> The toka toka gold variety was introduced by the [[Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (New Zealand)|Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries]] in the 1960s from an unknown source,<ref name="1997DNA"/> and was made commercially available in 1972.<ref name="Lewthwaite2006">{{Cite conference| doi = 10.17660/actahortic.2006.703.2| isbn = 90-6605-387-9| conference = II International Symposium on Sweetpotato and Cassava: Innovative Technologies for Commercialization 703| pages = 31–38| last = Lewthwaite| first = SL| title = Sweetpotato products in a modern world: the New Zealand experience| date = 2005}}</ref> It is named after the Tokatoka Peak near [[Dargaville]].<ref name="cui"/> Beauregard, developed at [[Louisiana State University]] in 1987, was introduced to New Zealand from the US in 1991.<ref name="decline"/><ref>{{Cite journal| issn = 0018-5345| volume = 22| issue = 6| pages = 1338–1339| last1 = Rolston| first1 = LH| last2 = Clark| first2 = CA| last3 = Cannon| first3 = JM| last4 = Randle| first4 = WM| last5 = Riley| first5 = EG| title = Beauregard sweet potato| journal = HortScience| date = 1987}}</ref> Two new varieties were released commercially by [[Plant & Food Research]] in 2014: purple dawn (purple skin and purple flesh), and orange sunset (purple skin with orange and purple flesh).<ref name="cui"/>
 From 1947 into the 1950s, black rot (''[[Ceratocystis fimbriata]]'') began to effect kūmara crops in the [[Auckland Region|Auckland]] and [[Northland Region]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Slade |first1=D. A. |title=Black rot an important disease of Kumaras |journal=New Zealand Journal of Agriculture |date=1960 |volume=100 |issue=4 }}</ref> [[Chinese New Zealanders|Chinese New Zealand]] gardeners [[Fay Gock]] and [[Joe Gock]] developed a disease-resistant variety of New Zealand kūmara in the early 1960s, called owairaka red, at their market garden near the Pukaki Inlet in [[Māngere]].<ref name="Lee">{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Lily |title=The Joe Gock Story |url=https://zhongshan.nz/the-joe-gock-story/ |website=Auckland Zhong Shan Clan Association |date=18 April 2016 |access-date=24 December 2018}}</ref> The Gocks donated the new variety to farms in the main growing area of New Zealand for kūmara around Dargaville and [[Ruawai]], saving the crop from destruction.<ref name="Lee"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wong |first1=Gilbert |title='Saviour of the kumara' dies, aged 85 |url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/saviour-of-the-kumara-dies-aged-85 |website=[[Newsroom (website)|Newsroom]] |date=8 January 2019 |access-date=25 April 2021}}</ref>