Ngahi Bidois: Matariki and indigenous knowledge can make a difference

Matariki is a complex deep pool of indigenous knowledge and untapped wisdom. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

Manawatia a Matariki ... Happy Māori New Year!

Many years ago I studied under Sir Mason Durie. He was teaching us about the three forms of knowledge that existed in the world.

The first was scientific knowledge, the Western form of knowledge based on the use of scientific methods to establish facts through sciences and theories. The aim of scientific knowledge is to establish verifiable knowledge that is derived through hypothesis and induction.

The second form was faith. Simply put, you either believed it or not.

Tā Mason outlined a third form of knowledge that was developing faster than any other matauranga (knowledge). That third form was indigenous knowledge.

Indigenous knowledge is based on the understandings, skills and philosophies developed by people and societies over time, in a Māori context, whānau, hapū and iwi who have a long history of interaction with their natural surroundings. Matariki is a piece of Māori indigenous knowledge.

Matariki has existed for tens of thousands of years, so we should not think we are going to learn about it in 10 minutes. It is a complex deep pool of indigenous knowledge that contains many cubic litres of untapped wisdom.

Ta Mason was on point when he gave that lecture many years ago regarding indigenous knowledge. Aotearoa New Zealand is one of the many countries embracing indigenous knowledge.

Whether it is the indigenous fire management techniques that now protect large areas of the planet, or the Antarctic animal herd management techniques learnt from the Sami and Nenets reindeer herders, through to the diverse traditional cropping strategies learnt from the tangata whenua of Kenya, Bolivia and China, or rainwater harvesting techniques from India, or even the sustainable management of marine resources as practised by our South Pacific brothers and sisters.

All of these are aspects of indigenous knowledge that are making a positive difference for us and our planet.

Matariki has the potential to do the same.

My introduction to Matariki took place many years ago as a Kura Kaupapa Māori teacher at Otepou in Tauranga. We had a kuia there who was very knowledgeable on Matariki and just as all indigenous knowledge requires passing on to stay active and vibrant, she passed her knowledge of Matariki on to all of us.

We learnt waiata (songs) such as the following about the names of the stars in Matariki: E iwa ngā whetū o Matariki e, Tupu-ā-rangi, Pōhutakawa, Ururangi, Tupu-ā-nuku, Waita, Waiti, Hiwa-i-te-rangi, Matariki, Waipuna-a-rangi, tahi, rua, toru, whā, rima, ono, whetu, waru me te iwa. E iwa ngā whetū o Matariki.

I also recall climbing a hill one freezing cold June morning at 4am, along with other school whānau, with my son Eruera on my shoulders. Who was I, as a younger fitter me, to say I couldn't make it when an old kuia was going to be leading us up that hill! Once we reached the summit there were karakia (prayers) recited by a local tohunga (priest), followed by hīmene (hymns) and waiata and we all shared some kūmara together before descending back down through the fog, all feeling a bit warmer.

It was during that hīkoi that I realised the depth of knowledge associated with Matariki. I also knew that the things I had witnessed that morning and participated in had been a tradition of our people for many years. Indigenous knowledge is like that.

Ngahihi o te ra Bidois is an international keynote speaker, businessman, author, husband, father and MBA. Photo / NZME

So, what does Matariki mean for us all today?

For a start, it is the acknowledgement of an important piece of Māori indigenous knowledge that has been passed down through many generations to get to us for our safe keeping. It is knowledge that arrived in Aotearoa when Māori first arrived here many Matariki ago.

Matariki imbues knowledge from other indigenous cultures such as the Japanese who call the Pleiades cluster Subaru or our Hawaiian brothers and sisters who know them as Makali'i, the eyes of royalty.

In the Māori world they are associated with acknowledging and mourning our loved ones who passed since our last Matariki, celebrating Papatūānuku (earth) and the kai we receive, and acknowledging the aspects of our environment that are greater than ourselves, including wairua (spirit) who sit in the realm of knowledge categorised as faith.

Matariki is about whānau, hapū and iwi and communities getting together to celebrate each other's failings and successes over the previous year while rebuilding and planning for the next. Matariki is about hope.

Matariki is far more than a new public holiday and, like one of our local freshwater springs, has a depth and sustenance of untapped wisdom for us all to partake of one handful at a time, or one star at a time. Mānawatia a Matariki.

- Ngahihi o te ra Bidois is an international keynote speaker, businessman, author, husband, father and MBA. A Māori boy from Awahou. "Ōku whakaaro - My thoughts".