Freshwater and Marine eels in the Pacific and New Zealand: Food Avoidance Behaviour and Prohibitions

Abstract

Eels are ubiquitous throughout the Pacific and New Zealand, and offer a rich source of protein and fat. However, bones of eels are rare in archaeological sites. This contrast has been noted several times in archaeological literature, not just in the Pacific, but also in Europe. Explanations for the dearth of bones range from taphonomic processes, the bones are too small, or too fragile, or they preferentially self-destruct because they are rich with oil. We show that each of these reasons is false. We review the presence and absence of eel bones in 144 archaeological sites in the Pacific region, finding only 1,151 eel bones of a total NISP of 188,351 (0.61%). Allometric equations are established for estimating live length and weight from cranial bone measurements of freshwater eels. Prehistoric catches were mostly in the range of 430 to 500 mm, length with only 5 greater than 800 mm, with no sign of the huge eels about 1800 mm long recorded in historic episodes of mass harvesting by M?ori. A review of myths and oral traditions in the Pacific about eels revealed some common themes. Eels represent the incarnation of a male deity, symbolising the penis, and that the personified eel tempts and defiles a woman sexually. A male, often an heroic ancestral figure, punishes the eel by cutting him up into pieces. We found that there is often a strong association of eels with danger, and that eels are either venerated or feared, but seldom considered food. In some Pacific societies, the arrival of Europeans resulted in the lifting of the prohibition of eels as food. We also found two historic instances in among M?ori that eels were tapu, requiring an elaborate tapu removal ceremony before they could be eaten by people who were starving. We conclude that mass harvesting of eels in New Zealand, so evident in the historic era, was a post-European development with important implications for M?ori settlement patterns, making it possible to establish permanent villages in the interior of major river systems in Central New Zealand.