Te maramataka Māori.

Bill Rogers (Ngāti Hine) shares his kōrero on the Maramataka Māori | Māori Calendar guidelines he uses to celebrate Matariki and the time for fishing.

The Maramataka Māori is a guideline for people to use when gathering and planting of kai, going fishing, or diving for kaimoana.

It is all monthly orientated and for many years I did not consider or use the Maramataka Māori to go fishing, nor did I acknowledge that there is a “right time“ and a “not so productive time” to restock the fridge with fresh fish.

I would look outside and think, today will be a good day for fishing (I have yet to look outside in the morning and say, “it doesn’t look like a good fishing day”). The days when I would just go out and fish was essentially a “hit or miss” chance at success.

With the advancing years I find there is a need to be more productive and take advice from those who have a depth and wealth of knowledge handed down through the generations for everyone to use. If only people would take the time to learn, admit we are sometimes wrong and don’t always know what we are doing – i.e., we aren’t the experts we think we are.

There are still examples of people who do not entertain or recognise that Māori Mātauranga applies in this digital age. For many, I know I used to be one, it takes years of making the wrong decision to finally realise that there are Māori belief systems and other people who have and care for this Mātauranga Māori. Hence, looking back, the practicalities of fishing were explained in DVDs, CDs, and TV programmes. These days, however, the Maramataka Māori is in the public arena more and therefore Mātauranga Māori has gained wider use and further validity through knowledge such as the Maramataka Māori.

Whānau can celebrate Matariki by sharing Mātauranga Māori through hui whānau to wānanga about Matariki and the Maramataka Māori.