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Ngā Tohu o te Ao: Maramataka and marine management

We are investigating maramataka (Māori lunar calendars) as a framework to develop cultural coastal indicators to inform marine monitoring practices.

Project LeaderDurationBudget
Waiaria Rameka (Manaaki Te Awanui) & Caine Taiapa (Manaaki Te Awanui)April 2020 – June 2023$580,900

Overview

Māori lunar calendars, or maramataka, are an ancient knowledge system developed over many millennia though an intimate connection with the environment. Maramataka are a natural timekeeping system that use the movement of the moon through any given month or season to determine appropriate times for various customary activities. Although maramataka are not as widely applied today, the knowledge and practices surrounding lunar calendars have been preserved in indigenous communities across the Pacific.

In Aotearoa, maramataka are still applied by indigenous practitioners to inform interaction with the environment and guide ecosystem management practices. The cultural marine and coastal seascapes of Aotearoa have undergone rapid ecosystem change. Understanding the extent of change and the associated impact to social, economic and cultural well-being is critical to effective implementation of ecosystem-based management (EBM).

One of the principles of EBM for Aotearoa is that it is ‘knowledge-based’, meaning based on science and mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and informed by community values and priorities.

This project addresses the need to reposition mātauranga Māori as an integral and vital knowledge system for understanding coastal ecosystems and informing knowledge-based EBM. Maramataka will be used as a tool to explore mātauranga Māori specific to coastal and marine ecosystems.

We are investigating 3 questions:

  1. How do we reclaim maramataka knowledge and practices to inform transformative practice in coastal and marine assessment?
  2. How can maramataka be used as a catalyst to reclaim mātauranga Māori for the coast and marine environment?
  3. How do we utilise both the maramataka and reclaimed mātauranga Māori to reframe cultural indicator framework development?

Ngā Tohu is set across three case study areas, Pākirikiri Wānanga – Tokomaru Bay, Ngātaki Collective – Ngāti Kuri, and Manaaki Te Awanui – Tauranga Moana.

Research Team

Waiaria Remeka (Manaaki Te Awanui)
Caine Taiapa (Manaaki Te Awanui)
Kelly Ratana (Manaaki Te Awanui)
Te Rerekohu Tuterangiwhiu (Wheiao Whakaaro)
Karen Pewhairangai (Pākirikiri Wananga)
Rawinia Olsen-Kingi (Pākirikiri Wānanga)
Karauria Ratapu (Pākirikiri Wānanga)
Wayne Petera (Ngātaki Collective)
Ayani Ferens (Ngātaki Collective)
Phil Ross (University of Waikato)

Related News

Project proposal

227 KB | pdf

Location

Tools & Resources

This project has produced or contributed to:

Te Piringa
Report
The process of engagement, co-development, kawa and tikanga for the Ngā Tohu o Te Ao project.
View
Te Au o Te Moana – The Voice of the Ocean (UN Ocean Decade Laboratory)
Presentation
Webinar presentation by Linda Faulkner, Caine Taiapa, Andrew Luke, and Jason Mika. March 2022 (1 hour + 30 mins Q&A)
View
Te Au o Te Moana | Special webinar series: He Waka Taurua – navigating dual worldviews to strengthen the voice of the ocean
Presentation
This webinar was presented by Shaun Awatere, Dan Hikuroa, Ian Ruru and Caine Taiapa, April 2022 (40 mins + 25 mins Q&A).
View
Reclaiming indigenous knowledge for marine management
Summary
This impact case study describes incorporating mātauranga Māori into marine management strategies to improve coastal indicators (August 2022)
View
Ngā Pou
Graphic
Interactive poster describing the guiding principles of engagement.
View
Te Korowai
Report
Reclaiming and preserving indigenous knowledge of coastal and marine ecosystems
View
Wao Tupuna
SummaryVideo
Reclaiming ancestral knowledge of maramataka to inform cultural environmental indicator development.
View
Wao Atua
Report
Maramataka informed cultural environmental indicator development.
View
Wao Tāngata
Report
Reclaiming maramataka practice: Enabling cultural environmental indicator development through the restoration of ancestral practice.
View
Ngā Tohu
Graphic
Reclaiming and preserving traditional knowledge of maramataka to inform transformative practice in marine monitoring and management.
View

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