11th Month of the Māori Year - April/May (2nd Year)

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 - Tītī

Sign of the Season - Mutton Bird (Puffinus griseus)

‘Manawa tītī.’

‘The heart of a muttonbird.’

This whakatauākī (proverb) refers to the tenacity of the muttonbird to stay aloft for long 

periods of time while out at sea. A reflection that resolve such as this will be rewarded.

When the young chicks of Tïtï are ready for harvest during Paenga-whäwhä (11th Matariki month) kümara are being cured on the edge of the fields in preparation for storing, daylight is shorter and earth is much cooler. 

Tītī, known also as Sooty Shearwater and part of the petrel family, is an impressive medium-large chocolate-brown seabird found throughout the worlds oceans. They grow to 50cm in length and have a wingspans between 90-110cm. They have silver-grey strips on their underwings and webbed lilac feet with brown markings. Their upper bill is curved with a sharp hook on the end.

Although they belong to a huge global migrating community of around 60 million members, they lay only one egg in a season and return to the same burrows each year. Tītī will only breed  in the temperate and subantartic regions of the southern oceans. The largest known colony, estimated at 2 million breeding pairs, lies 100 km to the south of Rakiura (Stewart Is.).

They depart on a solitary long-distance migration at the end of the nesting season. Muttonbirding (harvesting of young chicks) takes place over two consecutive stages, Nano, where chicks are taken by day from their underground burrows and Rama, where chicks are captured above ground on windy dark wet moonless nights. Birds were traditionally preserved in their own fat and stored in tītī-poha, inflated blades of hollowed bull kelp.

10th Matariki Month - Poutū-te-rangi (2nd Year)

Te Marama o Matariki He Maramataka Māori - Poutū-te-rangi

10th Month of the Māori Year - March/April

Ki te kitea a Poutū-te-Rangi e maranga mai ana i te Rāwhiti, he tohu tēnei mo te wā Hauhake. Tïmata i te wā o te maranga o Whānui e kitea ana ki te tahatū o te rangi o te Raki ki te Rāwhiti. Kei te whai huarākau te Kaikōmako te Māhoe me te Karaka. He wā ngahuru ka taka ngā huruhuru o ngā manu. He wā rerenga atu o te Koekoeā, ka timata tōnā haere ki te whenua o Papua New Guinea, me te rere hoki o te Pīpīwharauroa ki ngā moutere te taha Rāwhiti o Fiji. 

When Altair is seen rising in the east, prepare for the harvest. It is time to begin when Vega is seen rising in the northeast. White Wood, Kaikōmako and NZ Laurel are fruiting. Birds lose their feathers. Long-tailed Cuckoo leave for Papua New Guinea and the Shining Cuckoo fly to the islands east of Fiji.

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Te Tohu o Kaupeka - 

Whānui

Sign of the Season -  Vega, 

Alpha Lyrae

'Ko Whānui e! Ko Whānui!’ 

‘Here is Vega! Here is Vega!’

This karanga (call) was heard when Whānui was first seen rising before dawn on the horizon.

When Whānui appears before dawn on the north eastern horizon at the time of fullmoon during Poutū-te-rangi (10th Matariki month), kūmara are lifted.

Whānui, known also as Alpha Lyrae, is a rapidly rotating navigational star 25.3ly from Earth in the constellation of Lyra and the 5th brightest star of the heavens. Whānui served as the North Celestial Pole Star from between 12’000 to 10’000 B.C. and will do so again in another 10’000 years.

Whānui descended from Rangi and Papa through Urutengangana (the God of Stars) and is the celestial parent of Kūmara (sweet potato), Ānuhe (caterpillar), Tūpoupou, Hīhue (kūmara moth), Toronū (caterpillar) and Moko (caterpillar). Kūmara was brought to the world as a food source by Rongo-māui, younger brother of Whānui, who concealed some kōpura (kūmara tubers) in his maro (loin cloth) after visiting Whānui in the celestial realms. On returning to the world he impregnated Pani-tinaku his wife who gave birth to kūmara on earth. Whānui was so angered by the deception of Rongo-māui he sent forth Ānuhe, Toronū and Moko to the world where they continue to ravage and wreak havoc on kūmara leaves to this day. Pani-tinaku was so disturbed by the infestation of caterpillars on her offspring she fled underground to cultivate the plants from below.

9th Matariki Month - Hui Tanguru (2nd Year)

Te Marama o Matariki He Maramataka Māori - Hui Tanguru 

9th Month of the Māori Year - February/March

Kua maranga mai a Rēhua ki te paerangi, te tahatū o Tonga ki te Rāwhiti. He tohu tēnei o te mutunga o te wā tupu o te huawhenua, huarākau. Kei te maoa mai ngā huarākau o te Ngaio me te Mokopapa, e kitea ana e inaina mai ana i roto i ngā ringa o Tama nui te Ra. Kei te tino wera me te tino maroke a Papatūānuku. 

Antares is seen rising on the southern horizon bringing the end of the growing season. Berries are ripening on the Ngaio and Skinks are seen basking in sun. Earth is now very hot and dry.

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Te Tohu o Kaupeka - Rēhua 

Sign of the Season -  Antares, Alpha Scorpii

‘Haere, e whai i ngā waewae o Rēhua.’ 

‘Go and follow in the footsteps of Rēhua.’

This whakatauākī (proverb) is a reference to Rēhua as a skilled and esteemed chief

and one who inspires great leadership qualities.


When Rēhua appears on the southern horizon during Hui Tanguru (9th Matariki month), it signals the end of the growing season. Earth is now very hot and quite dry. 

Rēhua, seen in the heavens as the bright heart of the Scorpio, is an important navigational star and red supergiant sometimes mistaken for Matawhero, the Red Planet, Mars. 

Rēhua is the eldest offspring of Rangi and Papa, tūpuna of Māui and parent of Kaitangata (eater-of-people, in name only), known also as Awa-nui-a-rangi (great river of heaven), husband  of  Whaitiri (thunder). The blood of Kaitangata  marks the red sky of the morning, warning of storms. 

Rēhua illuminated the sky as lightening before ascending the celestial realms as an extremely noble and sacred personage to live in Te-Putahi-nui-o-Rēhua in Rangi-tuarea, the tenth and highest of heavens. When his brother Tāne made the long journey to see him, Rēhua, on having nothing to feed him, unwound the knots in the top of his hair and released the tui that lived there. The birds were then caught and cooked carefully over a fire by the people of Rēhua before being placed in an elaborately carved large empty gourd and offered to Tāne for sustenance. Tāne declined as the birds had been living on lice from the sacred head of Rēhua and were tapu. Rēhua then taught his brother the art of bird snaring and gave Tāne live birds to return to the world with.  

8th Matariki Month - Kohi Tātea (2nd Year)

Te Marama o Matarik He Maramataka Māori - Kohi Tātea

8th Month of the Matariki Year - January/February

Kei te kai ngā manu i ngā huarākau o te Kōtukutuku kei te rongohia te waiata o te tātarakihi i te atatū. He maha ngā putiputi o te Rātā me te Kānuka. Kua reri ki te hauhake i ngā huawhenua tuatahi.

Birds feed on the fruit of the Fuchsia. The songs of Cicadas are heard in the first light. Northern Rata and large Teatree are covered in flowers and the first foods are ripe.

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Tātarakihi Cicada
Melampsalta cingulata

‘Te tātarakihi, te pihareinga; ko ngā manu ēnā o Rēhua.’
‘The cicada and the cricket are the song birds of Rehua.’

This whakatauākī (proverb) is a reference to the heat of the summer,
 when the sounds of cicadas and crickets are heard.

The days are long and hot and the first foods have ripened when the entrancing sounds of Tātarakihi are heard during Kohi Tātea.

 
Tātarakihi, known also as Tarakihi and Kihikihi, are large tropical cicadas found in grasslands and scrub, sand dunes and swamps from the coast to the subalpine regions of the North Island and some parts of the South Island of New Zealand. They appear from their dark underground burrows to mate during hot summer months.

They have four clear membranous wings attached to a tapering body with three sets of small legs and two bulbous eyes that protrude from the sides of its broad shaped blunt head. The large wings of the males quiver together to create clicking sounds heard at the end of each deafening chorus. It is only the males who are heard, females remain silent.

The eggs of Tātarakihi are laid on leaves of small shrubs and trees. On hatching, the lavae fall to the ground and tunnel into the earth where they feed on the root systems of trees. When the lavae mature they re-emerge from the earth  to climb up the bark on the trunks of the trees where they slip out from the backs of their brittle brown bodies. 

Tātarakihi are the offspring of Tūteāhuru and Hinepeke, who are the parents of all insects, vermin and lizards. Tātarakihi are known as the birds of Rēhua (Antares).

7th Matariki Month - Hakihea (2nd Year)

Te Marama o Matariki He Maramataka Māori -

Hakihea

7th Month of the Matariki Year - December/January

Ka maranga mai a Pareārau i muri atu i a Tamanui te Rā. Kei te pūāwai te Rewarewa me te Ngaio. E kī ana ngā manga o te Porokaiwhiri i te huarākau. E tākaro whiu teka te Tiemiemi me te Kapowai i roto i te wera. Ka rongohia te reo o ngā pīpī manu, e waiata mai ana i o rātou kōanga. He wā mutunga mō te whakatō i ngā huawhenua.

Jupiter rises after the Sun. Honeysuckle and Ngaio are in flower.Pigeonwood branches are covered with fruit. Blue Damselfly and Common Dragonfly dart around in the heat. Young chicks can be heard and seen in their nests. The last of the crops are now planted.

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Raupō Bullrush

Typha orientalis

‘He tānga kākaho koia kia kitea e te kanohi, 
tēna ko te kokonga ngākau e kore e kitea.’

‘If reeds used for thatching are not straight they are soon detected, 
but not so the corners of the heart.’

This whakatauākī (proverb) is a reference to the obviousness of what is visible to us, while that which is submerged can neither be appreciated, nor clearly understood. 

When the flowers of Raupō appear during Hakihea (7th Matariki month), the earth is hot and the crops have been planted. 

Raupō is a native marsh plant growing wild on the margins of wetlands and swamps from the coast to montane regions throughout New Zealand. Raupō, known also as kōpūpūngāwha, kōpūngūwhā, koare, ngāwhā and kārito, dies away in winter and regrows again in the spring from a matted network of thick starchy rhizomes. Its soft spongy aerated leaves provide oxygen to the submerged parts of the plant. The velvety chocolate-brown female flowers explode during summer and autumn dispersing their densely packed downy seeds on the wind. Male flower spikes produce an abundance of deep-yellow pollen in the middle of summer.

Raupō is a valuable habitat for all kinds of wildlife and a highly respected food, medicinal and building resource. The reeds were used for covering poi, thatching for whare and storehouses, building mokihi or small river boats, sails and kites. The rhizomes were peeled then steamed, or eaten raw. The downy seed heads provided protection for open wounds, softness to sleep on and stuffing for poi. The pua or pollen was gathered and made into pungapunga, sacred, sweet breads blessed by Tohunga. 

Raupō is said to be  sustained by Wai-nui-ata, the personification of water and partner of Tiki the first man, who was made of red clay and  Raupō.

6th Matariki Month - Whiringa-ā-rangi (2nd Year)

Te Marama o Matariki He Maramataka Māori -

Whiringa-ā-rangi

6th Month of the Matariki Year - November/December

Ka maranga mai a Pareārau i te tahatū o te rangi rawhiti tonga ki te rawhiti. Kei te tiki kai ngā manu mō o rātou pīpī. Kei te pūāwai te Pōhutukawa me te Hīnau. Kei te kitea hoki ngā pepe pūriri i te ngahere. Kei te kaha te whiti o Tama Nui te Rä, he wā wera mō Papatūānuku. 


Jupiter rises in the east-southeast. Birds gather food for their chicks. Pōhutukawa and Hīnau are covered in flowers. Puriri moths can be found in the forest. The sun is strong and earth is quite hot.

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Nīkau Cabbage Palm Rhopalostylis sapida

‘Te wao tapu nui a Tāne.’

‘The great sacred forest of Tāne.’

This whakatauākī (proverb) is a reference to Tāne as kaitiaki, or guardian of the forest and that all that grows or lives within it is sacred.

The sun has grown strong and earth is quite hot when the soft, sticky, lilac-pink flowers of Nīkau burst from their pods in Whiringa-ā-rangi (6th Matariki month). 

Nīkau, the only species of palm native to New Zealand, can be found growing in coastal and low mountainous regions  from North Cape at the far top of the North Island to Banks Peninsula on the east coast and Okarito on the western seaboard of the South Island. It also grows 800 km east on the cold windswept Islands of Rēkohu (Chatham) and Rangiauria (Pitt) at a latitude of 44° 18’S making it the worlds’ southern most palm. Those in the south are likely to be more frost-tolerant than those in the north, and those on the coast somewhat hardier than those in the bush. 

Shaped by their environment, they can vary from upright and stout to gracefully arching. Nīkau are very slow growing. They can take between 40 to 50 years to form a trunk and over 200 years to reach 15m, or full maturity. About two, 3m long fronds, are shed from the tree every year, leaving a band of leaf scar behind on the trunk. The nectar filled clusters of sweet smelling flowers are a rich source of food for many insects and birds especially Kereru, as are its red berries. 

It was also a valuable resource for māori. Care must be taken with the central leaf bud or rito, as damaging it will bring death to the tree.  Nīkau is an offspring of Tāne Mahuta (God of the forest) and  Tunarangi (Guardian of Koromiko, Fern-Root, Harakeke and Nīkau).

5th Matariki Month - Whiringa-ā-nuku (2nd Year)

Te Marama o Matariki He Maramataka Māori -

Whiringa-ā-nuku

5th Month of the Matariki Year - October/November

Mai i ngā huringa āwhio o Aotahi me te hokinga mai o te Koekoeā i tōna haerenga tawhiti nui tawhiti roa, he tohu tēnei me tīmata te whakatikatika i te whenua mō te whakatō i te kūmara. Kei te kai te Tūi i ngā putiputi o te Harakeke. Kei te mahana ake a Papatūānuku kua rite te wā mō te tō i te kākano. He maha, he nui ngā mahi ahuwhenua.

The celestial movements of Canopus and the return of the Long-tailed Cuckoo from migration signals the time to prepare ground for planting the kūmara crops. Tui are feeding on the flowers of Flax. Earth is now warm and ready for seed. People are busy with gardens.

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Koekoeā Long Tailed Cuckoo 

Eudynamys taitensis

‘Kawe tonu, Kawe tonu.’ 

‘Carry on, carry on.’

This whakatauākī (proverb) refers to the focused determination and strong will displayed by the Koekoeā during its long migration. A reminder that we too can overcome adversities with these qualities.

When the shrill piercing sound of Koekoeā rides in on warm westerly winds from the north during Whiringa-ā-nuku (5th Matariki month), it is time to prepare kūmara for planting.

Koekoeā, known also as Kōhopereoa and Kawekawekā, are a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family and are native to New Zealand. They spend most of their time in the canopies of New Zealands’ tall forests. Adults grow to about 40cm and weigh around 125gm. Their striking dark brown and buff speckled breast and long tail feathers were prized by the māori for cloaks.

They fly over 3’500km to return to the place of their birth for the warm months of summer, where they lays eggs to be reared in the nests of small birds such as whiteheads, yellowheads and brown creepers. Koekoeā chicks hatching first, throw the host chicks from the nest and then mimic their calls. Māori believed Koekoeā was supernatural and of heavenly origins, a child of Rakamaomao, brother to the God of the winds. When the cold winds return from the south in Poutū-te-rangi, the Koekoeā song disappears from our land and they leave home once again for the warmth of the tropics. Kūmara are now ready for harvest. 


Some māori believed Koekoeā lost all its feathers in the cold months of winter and crept into holes where it hibernated in the form of a lizard, shifting its shape once again in the summer.