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Maramataka – the lunar calendar

by  Paul Meredith

Ki tā te maramataka Māori, nā te kaha makariri o te marama o Hereturikōkā, ‘ka kitea ngā turi o te tangata kua rāngai e te ahi’. Waihoki, ka hua, ka riko te marama. Nāwai ā, ka mahana haere te ao; tae rawa ki a Kohitātea, e tautau ana ngā hua i ngā rākau.


Lunar months

Tekau-mā-rua ngā marama o te maramataka Māori. Ko te tikanga o te kupu ‘marama’, mō te atarau/marama me te wā marama. Rua tekau mā iwa me te hāwhe ngā rā ki te marama, kei runga i te hua me te riko o te marama.

Ka rapu ngā Māori mō tētahi tikanga ka whakarite i ngā marama o te maramataka Māori ki te tau Pākehā, i te mea ka inea te tau Pākehā i runga i ngā huri o Tamanui-te-rā, kāpā i te marama. He rahi atu ngā rā o te tau Pākehā – tekau-mā-tahi – tērā i ō te tau Māori. Ka tāpiri ētahi iwi i tētahi marama anō kia e 13 ngā marama i te tau, he tohu ki te mea hei ētahi wā ka tāpiritia tētahi anō marama hei whakakapi i ngā rā kei te noho tāwēwē. Ko te whakapae, he tikanga atu anō tā ngā iwi ka ū ki ngā marama e 12, e kapi ai ngā rā tāwēwē.

He wā ka tātaitia ngā marama: ko Mei-Hune koia tērā ko Te Tahi, ko Hune-Hūrae koia tērā ko Te Rua, haere ake. He ingoa tō tēnā marama, he ingoa tō tēnā marama, ka mutu, he rerekē ngā ingoa kei tēnā iwi, kei tēnā iwi. Nā Tūtakangahau o Ngāi Tūhoe ēnei ingoa me ngā whakamārama i kōrero ki a Te Pēhi (Elsdon Best):

  1. Pipiri (Mei-Hune). Ka pipiri ngā mea katoa i te whenua i te mātao, me te tangata.
  2. Hongonui (Hōngongoi, Hune-Hūrae rānei). Kikini te makariri; ka tahutahu ahi te tangata, ka pāinaina.
  3. Here-turi-kōkā (Hūrae-Ākuhata): Kua rāngia ngā turi o te tangata i te ahi.
  4. Mahuru (Ākuhata-Hepetema): Ka mahana haere te whenua, ngā tipu, ngā rākau.
  5. Whiringa-ā-nuku (Hepetema-Oketopa): Kua tino mahana te whenua.
  6. Whiringa-ā-rangi (Oketopa-Nōema): Kua raumati, kua kaha a Tamanui-te-rā.
  7. Hakihea (Nōema-Tīhema): Kua noho ngā manu i roto i te kōhanga.
  8. Kohi-tātea (Tīhema-Hānuere): Kua makuru te kai, ka kai te tangata i ngā kai hōu o te tau.
  9. Hui-tanguru: (Hānuere-Pēpuere): Kua tau te waewae o Rūhī-te-rangi (he whetū o te raumati) ki te whenua. Ka pakari ngā kai katoa.
  10. Poutū-te-rangi: (Pēpuere-Maehe): Ko Poutū-te-rangi te mātahi o te tau, te putunga o te hinu. Kua hauhake te kai.
  11. Paenga-whāwhā (Maehe-Āperira): Kua putu ngā tupu o ngā kai i ngā paenga o ngā māra.
  12. Haratua (Āperira-Mei): Kua kōputu ngā kai ki ngā rua. Kua oti ngā mahi a te tangata. 1

Ngā whetū

He marama me tōna whetū, he marama me tōna whetū. E ai ki tētahi tohunga o Ngāti Kahungunu, ‘ko ngā whetū ngā ariki mō ngā marama’. 2 2 Hei tauira, mō te nuinga o ngā iwi Māori, ko te putanga o Matariki i te Mei, Hune rānei ka tohu ki te mātahi o te tau.

He tau e tekau marama te roa?

Hei ētahi ka kīia te maramataka Māori, ko te ‘ngahuru-mā-rua’. Ko Poutū-te-rangi (Pēpuere-Maehe) te tuangahuru o ngā marama, tapaa ai mō te whetū ka ara i taua wā. He wā ki te hauhake i ngā kai. E rua marama ka hipa kātahi anō ka tīmata te whakatō kai. Ki te Māori, kāore he take o ēnei marama e rua nei, koirā te take i ētahi maramataka Māori, tekau anake ngā marama.

Ka ara anō te maramataka Māori

I te tau 1990 ka whakaaratia e Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori te maramataka Māori. Kāore rātou i hiahia ki ngā ingoa i takea mai i te reo Pākehā mō ngā marama, pērā i a Hānuere (January), i a Mei (May); ka whai kē rātou i ngā ingoa i kōrerohia e Tūtakangahau. Hāunga tērā, ka whakatahangia te wātaka ka whai i te marama / atarau, ka whāia ko te wātaka a te Pākehā kē, hei tauira, ka whakaritea a Pipiri kia taka i te wā i a Hune.

Footnotes
  1. Mai i te pukapuka a Te Pēhi, The Maori division of time. Dominion Museum monograph no. 4. Wellington: Government Printer, 1986 (nō te tau 1922 whakaputangia tuatahitia ai), pp. 18–19. › Back
  2. The Maori division of time, p. 20. › Back

Nights of the month

Ko te marama/atarau ka tohu ā hea tīmata ai te marama. E 29 me te hāwhe rā te roa o ia marama. Kāore te Māori o mua e kōrero mō ngā rā o te marama, kōrero kē ia mō ngā pō. He ingoa tō tēnā pō, he ingoa tō tēnā pō. Hei te nuinga o ngā maramataka ko Whiro te pō tuatahi, ko Mutuwhenua te pō whakamutunga. He pai ētahi pō mō te whakatō kai me te hī ika, ko ētahi pō kāore i pai.

Ngā ingoa o ngā pō

He ingoa ō tēnā iwi, he ingoa ō tēnā iwi mō ngā pō me te huri o te marama. I ahu mai i a Ngāti Kahungunu te rārangi ingoa o ngā pō ka whai iho nei:

Whiro: he rā kino, ka ea te kōhiti, arā, te marama hōu.
Tirea: ririki te marama.
Hoata: he rangi pai, ririki te marama.
Ōuenuku: me mahi! He pai tēnei pō mō te mahi tuna.
Ōkoro: hei te ahiahi ka puta he rangi pai, he pai tēnei pō mō te mahi tuna.
Tamatea-ngana: ka kino te āhuarangi, kei te tuarangaranga te moana.
Tamatea-kai-ariki: ka pai haere te āhuarangi.
Huna: he kino te āhuarangi, ka kino ngā kai.
Ari-roa: he pai mō te mahi tuna me te matarau.
Maure: he rā paki.
Māwharu: he pai mō te mahi kōura.
Ōhua: he rā ki te mahi.
Hotu: he rā kino, kei te tuarangaranga te moana.
Atua: he rā mōrikarika.
Turu: he rā kia kohi kaimoana.
Rākau-nui: ka tōhua te marama; ka kai i ngā hua o te moana.
Rākau-matohi: he rā paki; ka taha te marama.
Takirau: he paki te ata.
Oike: he pai te ahiahi.
Korekore-te-whiwhia: he rā kino.
Korekore-te-rawea: he rā kino.
Korekore-hahani: āhua pai tēnei rā.
Tangaroa-āmua: he rā pai mō te hī ika.
Tangaroa-ā-roto: he rā pai mō te hī ika.
Tangaroa-kiokio: he rā tino pai mō te hī ika, pūkohukohu te whenua.
Ōtāne: he rā paki, he pō hei mahi tuna.
Ōrongonui: he rā ātaahua, ka heke te īnanga.
Mauri: he ata paki, kua pōuri te marama.
Ōmutu: he rā kino.
Mutuwhenua: he rā tino kino, kua roku te marama. 1

Footnotes
  1. Mai i te pukapuka a Te Pēhi, The Maori division of time. Dominion Museum monograph no. 4. Wellington: Government Printer, 1986 (nō te tau 1922 whakaputangia tuatahitia ai), pp. 34–35. › Back

Planting and fishing

He maramataka mō ngā mahi

Ko te tikanga nui rawa atu a te maramataka a te Māori, ko te tohu i ngā wā ki te whakatō me te hauhake i ngā kai, te hī ika, te whaiwhai manu, kiore, aha atu. E whā ngā kaupeka o te tau - raumati, ngahuru, kōanga, takurua, ka mutu, he mahi ki tēnā kaupeka, he mahi ki tēnā kaupeka. He rerekē anō ēnei wā ki tēnā, ki tēnā iwi, nā te wāhi noho ai rātou, te āhuarangi o tō rātou rohe, te āheinga ki ngā tupu, ngā manu, ngā kai o te moana.

He wā mō te whakatō kai

Ko ngā rā ka whakatō kai te Māori, ko Ōuenuku (rā 4) ko Ari (rā 9), ko Rākau-nui (rā 16), ko Rākau-matohi (rā 17), ko Takirau (rā 18), ko Ōrongonui (rā 27). Kāore i whakatōngia he kai i te wā ka hua te marama, i ngā rā Korekore rānei (ngā rā 20, 21, 22). Ko Hepetema, Oketopa, Nōema ngā marama kia whakatō kai.

Te ao hurihuri

Tatū rawa ki te tau 2000, kua kaha anō te whāia o te maramataka Māori mō te whakatō kai me te hī ika. Ka whakapono te tini kaihī ki te maramataka. Nā Bill Hōhepa - tohunga hopu ika - tētahi maramataka i whakaputa e tautokohia ana e te tini tāngata, Māori mai tauiwi mai.

Tērā a Pouaka Whakaata Māori ka pānui i te huri o te maramataka Māori –he aha ngā tai, he aha te wā pai hei whakatō kai, tae rawa ki ngā tohu huarere. Kei Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa (Massey University) i Te Papa-i-ōia tētahi tauira pai mō te haerenga ngātahitanga o te maramataka Māori me ngā mōhiotanga o te ao hurihuri. Otirā, kua whakatōngia e ētahi kairangahau ngā momo e 25 o te taewa, i raro i ngā tohutohu a te maramataka Māori. Ko te whāinga o tēnei mahi, kia puritia ngā mātauranga tuku iho, kia hoki mai hoki te taewa hei kai mō te hokohoko.


Hononga, rauemi nō waho

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How to cite this page: Paul Meredith, 'Maramataka – the lunar calendar', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/maramataka/print (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Paul Meredith, i tāngia i te 12 o Hune 2006