Introduction:

This book is called Hangi.
Hangi is about a whanau group in a school who raise money by having a hangi. The two children in the book, Peniamina and Darcel, tell us how they make the hangi to cook the food in the traditional Mäori way.

Text:

Sunday afternoon, and we're at school. Our whanau group needs money, so we've decided to have a hangi.

The adults are the bosses - kids are the workers. The first thing we have to do is dig the pit. It doesn't have to be very deep, so it doesn't take long to dig.

Then we have to get the wood ready. Most of it's manuka, brought down from the East Coast. The longest, biggest bits go on first - they have to reach over the sides of the pit. Pretty heavy, too. The rest stacks up on top.

Next, the railway irons go on. They're good because they heat up well, and don't cool down too fast. They don't look that big, but boy, they're heavy...and black...and sooty.

Now the stones. Not just any old stones, either. These are volcanic stones from Taupo. They won't explode in the fire like other stones do. I suppose because they've been in a volcano.

Big pile, eh!

Taller than I thought it would be. We're going to light it tomorrow. Uh-oh ... what if it rains? What if some vandal comes along in the night and lights it?

Can't worry about that. Back to school to get the veges done. There are two sacks of potatoes.

"How many do we have to peel?"

"Enough for two pieces each."
... two hundred meals, so that's ... "Oh no!"

Counting's a hassle. Everyone's talking. We keep losing count and having to start all over again.

[Excerpt]