First for Far North District Council
Māori lunar calendar will be part of yearly planning
In a historic move, the Far North District Council will soon become the first council to implement Maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar, as part of its yearly planning.
The decision forms part of a larger kaupapa (policy) to integrate more matauranga Māori throughout the council, led by the district’s new mayor, Moko Tepania.
Elected members were taken through a wananga (workshop) last week with esteemed Maramataka expert Matua Rereata Makiha, who explained the significance of the Māori lunar calendar and the traditional beliefs centred around the benefits of following the moon cycles.
Mayor Tepania said the Maramataka was nothing new to him as he’d used the four-weekly planning cycle during his time as a kaiako (teacher) at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kaikohe.
He felt using the Māori lunar calendar would be helpful, particularly with regard to understanding what days were better (or not) for performing certain tasks.
“I remember times we’ve had meetings where people would go head-to-head, and when I looked at the timing, it would always fall on days that didn’t align well with the Maramataka,” Tepania said.
“I think we probably are the first council or government organisation to actually use Maramataka, but it’s something our kura have been using for some time. It’s nothing new. This is how our tupuna used to plan their activities around the best times to fish, to plant — it’s understanding the best way to work with, rather than against, our environment.”
Tepania was pleased with how open-minded elected members and staff had been in trying a new way of doing things, and felt it was an exciting time for the council and region moving forward.
He said it was a great privilege to have the “godfather’’ of the Maramataka present to the council and to act as a korowai (cloak) to guide them on this new journey.
“I’m so excited that everyone understands we’re all on the same waka (canoe) together,” Tepania said.
“This is not about me just doing something cool because I’m mayor; it’s because I want to implement meaningful change. I envision this becoming a normal part of the council, normalising and revitalising the way our tupuna used to do things. This forms part of a change in culture I want to see throughout the council, so we need to start by modelling that from the top.”
Makiha (Ngati Whakaheke, Te Aupouri, Te Arawa), from the Hokianga, is a leading authority on Maramataka, a world-renowned Māori astrologer and expert in traditional food planting, harvesting practices and korero tuku iho (Māori history) handed down through the generations.
He understood some people may be sceptical, but was hopeful the knowledge would have a flow-on effect on how the council worked with its communities.
“I don’t know if this will make many changes in council initially, but I understand they want to align their meeting dates to suit the most productive days, which is good,” Makiha said.
“While I think it’s good the council is doing this, I’m more excited about the impact of this going into our kura, our primary schools, and about the community taking this up. It’s taken so long for us to finally get recognition for the Matariki/Puanga holiday and to get our tupuna korero [ancestors’ stories] to the general public, so I’m hoping it won’t take that long to get our tuku iho about Maramataka out there to help our communities with the restoration of our environment.”
The Maramataka will be adopted as part of FNDC’s final formal meeting on December 15, which will also confirm all council committees and structures for the next triennium.
Tepania said one of the key changes to come for the council was the implementation of a new Māorifocused standing committee, which he said was already being used in other councils around the country.