Maramataka
The Maramataka is the lunar calendar of the Māori people. The Maramataka is traditionally used to assist in the cycles of food gathering, such as fishing, eeling, and planting.[1]
Within the calendar, there are 30 days in one month represented by their own moon phases from the new moon (whiro) through the full moon (atua) to the full waning (mutu). Linguists suggest that the names of these phases may indicate a split in the Eastern Polynesian language family that separates the Māori language in part of a proximal group with Hawaiian and Tahitian from a distal group that includes Marquesan and Rapa Nui, which could lead to further dating of migration and settlement patterns of Polynesians across the Pacific Ocean.[2]
Etymology
[edit]Maramataka in the Māori language means "the turning of the moon."[1]
Following the arrival of Christian missionaries in the early 19th century, the Māori adopted phonetic variants of the English names for the days of the week and the months of the year. Since about 1990, the Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori has promoted traditional sets reflecting the original Māori language before anglicisation.[3]
Calendar
[edit]The Maramataka is a 12-month calendar, though the two months following the harvest month of Poutū-te-rangi are unremarkable periods of little activity and may be customarily removed from the calendar.[4]
| Day | Anglicisation | Official |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Mane | Rāhina |
| Tuesday | Tūrei | Rātū |
| Wednesday | Wenerei | Rāapa |
| Thursday | Tāite | Rāpare |
| Friday | Paraire | Rāmere |
| Saturday | Rāhoroi/Hāterei | Rāhoroi |
| Sunday | Rātapu/Wiki | Rātapu |
| Month | Anglicisation | Official | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| December–January | Hānuere | Kohi-tātea | "Fruits are now ripe, and man eats of the new food of the season." |
| January–February | Pēpuere | Hui-tanguru | "The foot of Rūhī (a summer star) now rests upon the earth." |
| February–March | Māehe | Poutū-te-rangi | The crops are now harvested. |
| March–April | Āperira | Paenga-whāwhā | "All straw is now stacked at the borders of the plantations." |
| April–May | Mei | Haratua | "Crops are now stored in pits. The tasks of man are finished." |
| May–June | Hune | Pipiri | "All things on earth are contracted because of the cold; likewise man." |
| June–July | Hūrae | Hōngongoi | "Man is now extremely cold and kindles fires before which he basks." |
| July–August | Ākuhata | Here-turi-kōkā | "The scorching effect of fire is seen on the knees of man." |
| August–September | Hepetema | Mahuru | "The earth has now acquired warmth, as have vegetation and trees." |
| September–October | Oketopa | Whiringa-ā-nuku | "The earth has now become quite warm." |
| October–November | Noema | Whiringa-ā-rangi | "It has now become summer, and the sun has acquired strength." |
| November–December | Tīhema | Hakihea | "Birds are now sitting in their nests." |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "Nights in the Maramataka: the Māori lunar month". Museum of New Zealand. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- ↑ Valério, Miguel; Tamburini, Fabio; Corazza, Michele (July 2026). "Computational analysis reveals historical trajectory of East Polynesian lunar calendars". PLOS One. 21 (7) e0353287. Public Library of Science. Bibcode:2026PLoSO..2153287V. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0353287. PMC 13419179. PMID 42525621.
- ↑ "Māori Orthographic Conventions". Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission). Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- 1 2 Taonga. "Lunar months". Te Ara. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.