Some articles describing the basics of the Māori calendar
Articles describing the Māori framing of the days, Moons, and years. There has been a dearth of daykeeping systems from the Southern Hemisphere, and this is a fascinating insight.
The Hui: Maramataka, Matariki and the revival of Māori sciences
Ahead of the official celebration of Matariki, a special episode of The Hui has taken a deeper look at the resurgence of the traditions associated with the Māori New Year and lunar calendar.
The Matariki star cluster will soon be visible in our night skies, signalling the start of the Māori New Year. According to the Maramatakac – the Māori lunar calendar – the reappearance of Matariki brings the previous lunar year to a close and marks the beginning of the next. It is regarded as a time of renewal and celebration in New Zealand.
Over the last decade, there’s been a resurgence of traditional knowledge like Matariki across Aotearoa. Dr Rangi Mātāmua, an astronomy academic and lecturer in Māori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Waikato, is helping to lead this revival.
This year, Dr Mātāmua – who descends from the Tūhoe iwi – became the first Māori recipient of a Prime Minister’s Science Prize. The Victoria University alum was awarded the Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize as part of the 2019 honours.
Yet despite his academic achievements, Mātāmua is still having to fight to have Māori sciences recognised in mainstream spaces.
“I’ve had people say to me, ‘that’s not proper science’. I feel like saying, ‘you go out on that ocean, and you see how far you get on myths and legends’,” he told The Hui. “It irks me that, you know, it’s such a racist point of view.
“When I look up into the sky, that’s the same sky that my ancestor viewed. I love the narratives of the stars… their meanings and their purpose.”
Historically, tohunga – priests or chosen iwi experts – would look to Matariki to predict the abundance of the next harvest. The brighter and clearer the stars appeared, the warmer the growing season would be. Tohunga kōkōrangi – expert astronomers – also historically used stars and star clusters, including Matariki, to navigate across the Pacific.
Dr Mātāmua, regarded as a go-to expert on Matariki or the Māori New Year, has authored a book on the subject. He has also recently released an online series, ‘Living By the Stars’, where he shares his knowledge on the subject.
“I think isolationism actually speeds up the death of a culture. The way culture survives is by being shared with other people,” he told The Hui. “And I hope that it continues to grow, continues to be shared.”
This year, Matariki will officially begin on Monday, July 13. Auckland’s annual Matariki Festival began on June 20 and will conclude on July 15.
The rise of Maramataka
Like Mātāmua, mātauranga Māori – the body of knowledge originating from Māori ancestors, including the Māori world view, perspectives and cultural practices – plays a big part of Rikki Solomon’s life. He has been an embalmer for more than 20 years.
By using the Maramataka – the traditional Māori lunar calendar passed down through generations – to guide him, Solomon wants to provide more comfort to whānau by changing the way the funeral industry operates.
Each iwi has their own distinct Maramataka. The different phases of the moon signalling when to undertake certain activities, such as when to plant and harvest kai, when to fish or when to rest.
“It’s about reconnecting back to an environment – not just connecting at any time, but at specific times so that we move in sync with it too,” Solomon told The Hui.
He is opening up his own funeral home, Te Rangi Kahupapa, and is letting whānau behind the mortuary doors.
“We wanted to take a multi-dimensional approach to different types of healing, using arts, using music, using our raranga, using traditional Māori instruments.”
Solomon says although some funeral homes do follow tikanga – Māori values, customs and practices – many whānau still feel excluded from the process.
He wants to indigenise the funeral industry, and believes the Maramataka Māori can help achieve this.
Te Iwa o Matariki
The Nine Stars of Matariki
Matariki is the Māori name for a cluster of stars which is visible in our night sky at a specific time of the year. In June/July, Matariki will re-appear in the dawn sky – signalling the start of the Māori New Year.
It is a time to celebrate new life, to remember those who’ve passed and to plan for the future. And it’s a time to spend with whānau and friends – to enjoy kai (food), waiata (song), tākaro (games) and haka.
Our tūpuna (ancestors) would look to Matariki for help with their harvesting. When Matariki disappeared in April/May, it was time to preserve crops for the winter season. When it re-appeared in June/July, tūpuna would read the stars to predict the upcoming season – clear and bright stars promised a warm and abundant winter while hazy stars warned of a bleak winter.
Because Māori follow the Māori lunar calendar, not the European calendar, the dates for Matariki change every year.
How many stars does Matariki have?
Matariki has nine visible stars, according to leading Māori astronomer, Dr Rangi Matamua, who’s been researching Matariki for over 30 years. As part of his research, Dr Matamua found that some of his own tūpuna were able to see nine stars.
The nine visible stars include: Matariki, Tupuārangi, Waipuna-ā-Rangi, Waitī, Tupuānuku, Ururangi, Waitā, Pōhutukawa and Hiwa-i-te-Rangi.
Each star holds a certain significance over our wellbeing and environment, as seen from the Māori view of the world.
The nine Matariki stars
Matariki
Matariki tāpuapua. Matariki nāna i ao ake te kai ki runga. Matariki hunga nui. Matariki ahunga nui. Te ope o te rua Matariki. Ka rewa a Matariki, ka maoka te hinu. Ka rewa a Matariki ka rere te kanakana.
Matariki is the star that signifies reflection, hope, our connection to the environment and the gathering of people. Matariki is also connected to the health and wellbeing of people.
Pōhutukawa
Tērā a Pōhutukawa ka mōiri ki runga he pae whakamahara mō aku tau kahurangi kua ngaro.
Pīratarata mai rā koutou hei whetū i te pō, kōrekoreko mai rā hoki koutou i te rokiroki o ngā mahara mō ake tonu atu e.
Pōhutukawa is the star connected to those that have passed on.
Waitī
Waitī ki runga. Waitī ki raro, e rere nei ō wai hei manapou mō te whenua, hei oranga mō te tangata, hei kete kai mā te iwi. Kōriporipo tonu nei te ia o te awa, māreparepa ana ngā roto, kōrengarenga te puna a Tāne-te-waiora, he koira!
Waitī is connected with all fresh water bodies and the food sources that are sustained by those waters.
Waitā
Tērā te marae nui a Kiwa te kānapanapa nei i raro i a koe Waitā. Hīia mai rā ki runga te tini a Ikatere, rukuhia ki tai, kohia ki tātahi hei kai mā te tini o uta. Ka hiki mata te tapuwae a Tangaroa! Koia au nui, koia au roa, koia moana tuarangaranga koia moana i āio.
Waitā is associated with the ocean, and food sources within it.
Waipuna-ā-Rangi
Haramai te kōnehunehu! Haramai te hāuaua, Haramai te tarahi! Haramai te patapataiāwha!
Takataka mai i te kōmanawa o te hei tapu, whāinumia e koe e Waipuna-ā-Rangi ka tupu te whenua, ka tupu te tangata.
Waipuna-ā-Rangi is connected with the rain.
Tupuānuku
Tupuānuku ka pihi nuku, ka pihi rangi, ka makuru haere ake nei. Kia haumako roa hoki te puke ki a Rongo, i āhua mai i tawhiti. Ngā hua o Nukutū ka aohia nuitia, arā rā ngakingaki, ara rā tinaku. Hauhaketia rā te tau, he tau humi e.
Tupuānuku is the star connected with everything that grows within the soil to be harvested or gathered for food.
Tupuārangi
Ngaruru te waokū, matomato te waokū, māpuapua te puhikaioreore e tau ai ngā tamariki a Tāne, tērā koia te pua nui. Tupuārangi māu e mōmona ngā manu, ka mōmona ngā hua, ka puta ka ora!
Tupuārangi is connected with everything that grows up in the trees: fruits, berries and birds.
Ururangi
E Ururangi whakamāriretia te atua matakerepō koi pūkerikeri mai koi haurokuroku mai, koi huripari mai. Engari kē kia hau kōanga, kia kōtengitengi kia purea ai au, kia whakahauoratia ai au.
Ururangi is the star connected with the winds.
Hiwa-i-te-Rangi
Hiwa nui, Hiwa roa, Hiwa pūkenga, Hiwa wānanga! Hiwaiterangi tēnei e korou o te manawa koronga, tēnei te āwhero o te manako nui. Horahia nuitia mai ngā hua tuawhiti mātinitini o te tau. Purutia e au kia mau te angitū, tāwhia te mooho kia ita! Ka puta ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama.
Hiwaiterangi is the star connected with granting our wishes, and realising our aspirations for the coming year.
When to observe Matariki
The optimum time to observe the rising of Matariki is in the phase of the moon known as Tangaroa, the moon of plenty. The Tangaroa moon phase occurs in the three or four days leading to a new moon and will fall on different dates each year.
Matariki dates
| Year | Setting | Rise | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 15 May | 13-16 July | 13-20 July |
| 2021 | 2 June | 2-5 July | 2-10 July |
| 2022 | 23 May | 21-24 June | 21-29 June |
| 2023 | 13 May | 10-13 July | 11-17 July |
| 2024 | 31 May | 29 June-2 July | 29 June-6 July |
| 2025 | 21 May | 19-22 June | 19-25 June |
| 2026 | 8 June | 8-11 July | 8-14 July |
| 2027 | 29 May | 27-30 June | 27 June-4 July |
| 2028 | 16 May | 15-18 July | 15-21 July |
Matariki dates sourced from ‘Matariki – The Star of the Year’ by Dr Rangi Matamua.
Rethinking Time 