11th Matariki Month - Paenga-whawha

Te Marama o Matariki He Maramataka Māori - Paenga-whāwhā

11th Month of the Māori Year - April/May

E puāwai ana te Maire Tawake. E tipu ana te Harore ki runga ki ngā rākau i ngā wāhi māku. Ka whānau hēki hoki ngā Wētā. Kei te kohikohia ngā Kūmara ki ngā taha o ngā māra hei mau ki ngā whata, ngā pātaka me ngā hāpuke. He iti noa te kaha o Tama nui te Rā. Kei te āhua kōpeke a Paptūānuku.

Swamp Maire are now in flower. Turkey Tails grow on trees in damp places. Weta begin laying eggs. Sweet Potato are stacked by the edge of the field in preparation for storage. Day light is shorter and Earth is much cooler.

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Te Tohu o Kaupeka - Maire Tawake

Sign of the Season - Swamp Maire (Syzgium maire)

When the flowers of Maire Tawake appear the air becomes cool and daylight grows shorter.
Maire Tawake, known also as Whāwhākou and Tuhuhi, is an evergreen tree, native to New Zealand with smooth bark and a multi-branched canopy growing to a height of 15 m. It is found growing in the marshes of the North and upper South Island forests from sea level to 450 m where it develops a system of breathing roots to cope with the waterlogged soils of the swamplands. It also survives when surrounded by water.

Clusters of creamy-white flowers (similar to those of white rata) are borne upon single stems with paired opposite leaves during Paenga-whāwhā (11th Matariki Year). Flowers follow the juicy red berries of Maire Tawake hold only one seed and take twelve months to ripen. The berries were relished by Mäori and earlier settlers who made Waiwaka pudding, a deliciously mouth-watering sweet with an abundance of juice. The berries contain an extremely high concentration of antioxidants (18 times higher than blueberries).

The bark and leaves of Maire Tawake were used as rongoa, traditional medicine and a blue-black dye was obtained from the bark and leaves of the Tuhuhi.