Story: Matariki – Te Tau Hou Māori

Matariki was a time between the work of harvesting one year’s crops and planting for the next year. Pātaka (storehouses) would be full of supplies. Two foods were gathered at this time, however, and so are particularly associated with Matariki. These were kererū (wood pigeons) and korokoro (lampreys). Often birds would be preserved in their own fat in a gourd like the tahā huahua pictured here.