A tradition almost lost to time is back...
Mei/May 9, 2025
Maramataka/Māori lunar calendar phase: Māwharu - productivity is high!
Tracked via our handy calendar from Tuhi - every region varies.
Phrase of the wiki: Ko koe taku oranga/You are my rock.
sourced from @reomaori social media.
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Kia ora e te whānau,
Nau mai, hoki mai ki Te Arawhata, the newsletter helping us all to keep up with, connect with—and just ruddy enjoy—te ao Māori ia wiki, ia wiki.
Tuatahi, tēnei te mihi to all of you who shared Te Arawhata with a friend last week. A roimata/tear may have escaped watching our new subscribers roll in (āe, we are THAT nerdy about this). Thank you so much. *If you’re feeling a little awkies reading that because you didn’t share us, you can always forward this email to a cool hoa/mate and tell them to subscribe right now 😁.
Coming up; a whole lot of kaupapa Māori news, events, and recommendations you don’t want to miss, including the new Matariki theme and a southern whakatakanga/mission we’d LIKE to say we’d be totally on board for but might struggle with in reality...
Then in kōrero we’re putting an ancient Māori tradition, almost lost to time, on show.
Haere tonu!/Keep going!
TALK OF THE TĀONE
🗞️ to keep you in the know
Ngātiwai have their first waka hourua in centuries (gifted by the best) 😉.
This Matariki is all about Puanga.
A new (and by the sounds of the teaser, pretty gnarly) tune is out by MOHI today.
Reo Māori experts all over instagram are helping those of us lucky enough to be writing Mother’s Day cards, like here, and here, and here.
Will Te Pāti Māori be punished for their haka in parliament? The answer is still aua/dunno.
Māori chart-toppers Hori Shaw, Shane Walker, and Te Wehi want to see you on their winter roadtrip.
*LOCALS’ KOKONGA - AOTEAROA
🤗 to help you connect kanohi ki te kanohi/face to face
An Evening for Exhausted Educators with Hautāmiro by Mataaho Collective
15 May I Dunedin Public Art Gallery I @d.p.a.g
Feeling the pressures of the neo-liberal knowledge economy? Join DPAG staff for a restorative evening beginning with a tour of this stunning artwork and finishing with refreshments and open conversation.He Riri Awatea: Filming the New Zealand Wars exhibition
9 May - 7 Sept I Canterbury Museum I @canterburymuseum
A fresh take on how stories about Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa (the New Zealand Wars) have been told on film.Ngā Reta reo Māori solo show
14 June I The Turner Centre, Kerikeri I @manukaluitenapirana
Urban Maori, Mia, rejects her Maoritanga. When a box of letters arrives from Nan her world is turned upside down. 12 Characters. 1 Actor. All in te reo Māori.Conversation with Patricia Grace & Titaua Peu
9 May I Palmerston North Central Library I @afpalmy
Drinks and nibbles from 5.45pm, fantastic kōrero with these Māori and Tahitian authors starts at 6.30pm.
*Get localised kaupapa Māori and Tangata Tiriti event options here when you subscribe . For a peek around the country, watch out for our weekly round-ups on instagram.
KETE FILLER RECOMMENDATIONS
💓 to add some cultural inspo to your wiki
The Call of the Tītī, Murihiku Kai article
It’s wild southern adventure, bts tītī harvesting, kai sovereignty, succession planning, 8 people in a tiny hut for a month, great for the soul BRILLIANCE.
5mins I Free I Mostly te reo Pākehā
Tukua podcast on Māori arts & culture
Part of the fun in going to Māori arts and cultural events is yarning about it afterwards. Listening to these experts just levelled up our debrief wānanga x1000.
30mins I Free I Mostly te reo Pākehā
E Tipu, E Rea - Eel, tv drama
This groundbreaking drama is a precious portal to post-war life for my (and many of your) tīpuna Māori which feels satisfyingly familiar and truly affecting.
30mins I Free I Te reo Māori & Pākehā
Digital puka ngohe/activity book
Call us old school but we LOVE a physical book for learning Māori. This is a fun (small Māori business supporting) option for beginners of all ages.
20+hours I $30 I Te reo Māori & Pākehā
KŌRERO
🗣️ to share the ups, downs, and in betweens of the connection journey
Te Arawhata Gallery—Nikau Hindin edition
Māori art is jam on fry bread packed with cultural learnings, mātauranga, and opportunities to connect, so we thought we’d turn Te Arawhata into a little digital gallery once a month or so to highlight different ringatoi/artists and their mahi.
Just like the fancy galleries, we want to give you some space to take in the mahi and form your own thoughts, before offering some extra info from the artists below, so scroll slow 😅.
To kick things off, the lovely Nikau Hindin provided us with some beautiful whakaahua/images of her latest collection. Nō Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, and Ngāi Tūpoto, Nikau is well known for her mahi reviving and preserving the artistry of aute making in Aotearoa. (Aute is a cloth made from the bark of the aute plant—the process is super cool and was nearly lost to time before she started this mahi, check her insta to witness it). Enjoy!
“The name of the piece I am holding is called Te Pō Tahuri mai ki Taiao and it is part of the body of work I have called Ruaki Pōuri which I showed at the Aotearoa Art Fair alongside N.Smith Gallery. There were many amazing ringatoi Māori at the Fair and I was proud to participate.”
“This body of work explores the shades of darkness within Te Pō. The phase in our Creation story that I’m sure resonates with many of us. It is The Great Night, the Long solitary Darkness, the Deepest Black, the Intense Unseeing Night and the Engulfing, Erasing Darkness.. Te Pō Nui, Te Pō Roa, Te Pōuriuri, Te Pō Kerekere.. Te Pō Tē-Kitea, Te Pō Tangotango.. it is the kind of Night that feels unending but I have come to learn that all phases transform and eventually pass.
These pieces are the kind that have spilled out of me with crashing eagerness but at the same time it has been slow work, sometimes cautious but always in reverence. These long processes that command my attention, have given me a steady focus. Helping me return to myself. And Re-remember my practice and the many pieces of it i have been building slowly over the last ten years.
Stunning photos by Seb Charles who really has captured all the shades of darkness I am trying to convey. Mauri ora!”
To learn more about these whakaaro and the traditional process Nikau follows (and resurrected) to make aute, follow her on instagram. We love her kites and star compasses too!
What do you reckon about running with this gallery idea for ‘Kōrero’ ia marama/every month or so e te whānau? Hit reply to let me know your whakaaro and/or recommendations.
We’ve got new recommendations coming out our taringa/ears for next week. See ya then!
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