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Story: Tāwhirimātea – the weather

Describing clouds

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Describing clouds

Māori likened this cloud pattern to planted rows of kūmara (sweet potato), and called it te māra kūmara a Ngātoroirangi, ‘the kūmara garden of Ngātoroirangi’ – an important ancestor.

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by Christina Troup

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How to cite this page

Basil Keane, Tāwhirimātea – the weather – Clouds, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/8268/describing-clouds (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Basil Keane, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 March 2022.