Let the stars help guide your planting
Ever wondered what time of the year you’ll get the best haul of fish, or the most vegetables out of your garden?
The latest maramataka, or calendar, from Ka¯piti Coast’s Te Whakaminenga o Ka¯ piti is here and ready to help.
The traditional Ma¯ ori calendar runs from one Matariki to another. In this case, the calendar runs from June 30, 2018, to July 1, 2019. Inside it contains information on the best time to plant certain seeds, when to harvest them as well as the best times to hunt and fish.
Iwi relations manager Mahinarangi Hakaraia said the maramataka was generally launched on Matariki, when the first new moon can be seen following the predawn rise of Matariki. ‘‘Traditionally, Matariki was both a time to commemorate those who had passed on and celebrate a time of plenty when stores were abundant from horticulture, hunting and fishing,’’ she said.
The idea for a Ka¯piti maramataka was first floated in 2005. Hakaraia said at the time the three iwi in the area, Nga¯ ti Toa Rangatira, Te A¯ tiawa ki Whakarongotai and Nga¯ti Raukawa led a series of hı¯koi to educate the Ka¯ piti Coast District Council and community on the iwi’s guardianship role.
‘‘From these hı¯koi it was decided to develop and print an annual maramataka,’’ she said.
Since 2014 the maramataka have commemorated the contribution iwi made during World War I. The 2018/19 maramataka is dedicated to Te Hokowhitu-a¯ -Tu¯ and the New Zealand Ma¯ ori Pioneer Battalion.
According to the history website, Te Hokowhitu-a¯ -Tu¯ was the motto of the first Ma¯ ori contingent to sail from Wellington in WWI and translates as ‘‘the 70 twice-told warriors of the war god’’.