Tītī for Kūmara

Southern muttonbirds exchanged for kūmara grown in the north.

Back of Tītī for Kūmara: the Kaihaukai food exchange: tītī for kūmara tradition, how a note would work, and the traits of Noun #17 — Back · the tradition

Security Edition v2

The same note set like a banknote: full engraved portrait of Noun #17, guilloche, watermark, thread, foil stripe and microtext, all printed art. What's on it

Security Edition front of Tītī for Kūmara: a line-engraved portrait of the full actual Noun #17 in a guilloche oval beside a watermark window, thread and holographic-look stripe — Security Edition · front

Security Edition back of Tītī for Kūmara: a color medallion of Noun #17 in a guilloche rosette, with the note's story — Security Edition · back

v2 front SVG ↓ v2 back SVG ↓

The tradition · pre-European to 19th c.

Kaihaukai food exchange: tītī for kūmara

Southern iwi preserved tītī (muttonbirds) in kelp bags and exchanged them for kūmara and other foods from the north; Te Ara notes that such gifts called for an equal or better return, building mana.

Source: Te mahi kai – food production economics (Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand) ↗

How a note would work

Gourds are earned by preserving or growing food for a partner community and spent on what grows best in theirs; each gift invites an equal or better one. They are never bought or cashed out.

Design concept inspired by this tradition, not issued by or for the people who keep it. Not legal tender, not for sale, no cash value, no redemption and no investment rights.

Front SVG ↓ Back SVG ↓ Machine edition

PlaceTe Waipounamu, Aotearoa NZ
Erapre-European to 19th c.
RegionOceania & the Pacific
UnitGourd · Gourds
Face value2 Gourds
SerialGB-G065-N0017
NounActual Noun #17 ↗
Why this NounHue, the gourds that travelled south in these exchanges, are cousins of the pumpkin.
Headpumpkin
Glassessquare pink purple multi
Bodyrust
Accessorylines 45 greens
Seedbg 1 · body 25 · acc 64 · head 166 · glasses 14