2nd Matariki Month - Hōngongoi

Te Marama o Matariki He Maramataka Māori - Hōngongoi

2nd Month of the Māori Year - July/August

Ka maranga mai Kōpū te whetū o te Ata i te 08:18 ki te Rāwhiti. Kei te whai hua te Putaputaweta, ka kitea hoki ngā pūāwai o te Kötukutuku ki runga i te whenua. Kei te tino makariri a Papatūānuku. Me noho tonu te tangata ki te pāinaina i te ahi, kia whai mahana tonu.

Venus, as the morning star rises at 08:18 in the east. Marble Leaf is covered in fruit and flowers of the Fuchsia Tree are found on the ground. Earth is now very cold, people must stay by their fires to keep warm.

Te Tohu o Kaupeka - Kotukutuku

Sign of the Season - Tree Fuchsia

‘I whea koe i te tahuritanga o te rau o te Kōtukutuku, i te raratanga o te waha o te Koekoeā?’

‘Where were you when the Fuchsia shed its leaves, when the song of the Longtailed Cuckoo was heard?’

This whakatauākī (proverb) uses Kōtukutuku and Koekoeā as a reference to time when questioning someone who expected to receive part of the harvest without contributing to its cultivation.

When Kōtukutuku flowers appear the season is very cold, people stay close to their fires to keep warm.

Kōtukutuku belongs to a small family of native New Zealand deciduous trees and is one of the largest Fuchsia species in the world growing to 30ft tall. In New Zealand it is common from sea level to 1060 m and is found along river banks and in second growth areas.

Kōtukutuku, known also as Kōhutuhutu and Matoutou, is descended from Tāne Mahuta, guardian of the Forests and Birds. Its name refers to the fine purple-green hanging bell flowers seen during Hōngongoi (2nd Matariki month) and the deciduous nature in Haratua (12th Matariki month) of its red papery bark and leaves. Its fruit is formed during Kohi Tātea (8th Matariki month), the sweet purple-black egg shaped kōnini, or berry, was a source of food for Māori and made into kōnini pudding and jam by early settlers.

Kōtukutuku flowers provide nectar for Tui, Korimako and Hihi during the cold winter months when food is scarce. The birds in return cross-pollinate the flowers enabling fruit and seeds to be formed, ensuring each others survival. Kōtukutuku was also used as rongoa, traditional medicine, in combination with other plants.

1st Matariki Month - Pipiri

Te Marama o Matariki He Maramataka Māori - Pipiri

1st Month of the Māori Year - June/July

Ka kitea a Matariki me Puanga i te atapō tonu i te tahatū o te Raki ki te Rāwhiti ki te paerangi o te Rāwhiti. Kei te pūāwai te Kohekohe, me te taka o te huarākau ki te whenua. E makariri ana a Papatūānuku me ōna uri katoa.

Pleiades and Rigel can be seen just before dawn in the east-northeast and eastern horizon. Kohekohe is in flower and Supplejack fruit is found on the ground. Earth is now cold, so too are her people.

Te Tohu o Kaupeka - Matariki

Sign of the Season - Pleiades Constellation

‘I haere mai koe i te ao o Puanga, i te Huihui o Matariki, i a Pareārau, i a Poutu-te-rangi. Ka mutu, e tama, ngā whetū homai kai ki Aotea.’

‘You came hither from the realm of Rigel, from the Assembly of the Pleiades, from Jupiter and from Altair. These alone, o child, are the stars which provide food at Aotea.’

This mōteatea (lament) is a reference to signs of the Heavens associated with cultivation in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

When Matariki is seen before dawn the earth is still cold and so too are people however, the appearance of Matariki signals a time to start letting go of the old year and prepare for new life and new growth.

A time to focus on whakapapa or genealogy to know who we are, where we have come from and where we are going. A time to bring whānau or family together, to share stories and knowledge and honour all those who have recently passed. A time for sharing, compassion, to realise dreams and set goals for the future. A time to reflect on the outcome of our actions.

Matariki, known also as Te Huihui o Matariki, Aokai, Hoko-kūmara, M45, Seven Sisters and Little Eyes, an open star cluster of some 500 members seen traversing the sky as a small ‘kite’ of bright hot blue stars, is the most esteemed constellation of the heavens.

A tawhito kōrero (ancient story) tells of Tāne Mahuta drawing the brightest star out of the sky and smashing it back on the breast of Ranginui, created the seven stars that are Matariki and her six daughters, Waiti, Waita, Tupua-nuku, Tupua-rangi, Waipuna-a-rangi and Ururangi. Matariki is said to be the offspring of Raro and Raumati, the personified forms of the underworld and summer. Matariki departs the southern hemisphere during summer for the cold winter of northern hemisphere skies, reappearing again on the tail of Mangōroa the Milky Way in late Haratua (12th Matariki month).

matakite

www.matakite.co.nz/pleiades