Healthy families Rotorua hold Maramataka wānanga

He wānanga o te Maramataka at Pounamunui Marae. Photo / Supplied

Healthy Families Rotorua hosted He wānanga o te Maramataka to bring together well-known practicioners and champions of Maramataka to share their knowledge.

Maramataka is the traditional Māori lunar calendar which is a guide for reading the various phases of the moon and its influence on the natural environment.

People were welcomed in a pohiri at Pounamunui Marae before hearing from a variety of speakers, filling out their own diaries with important dates and taking notes on how Maramataka influences the wai and kai systems.

The aim of the wānanga was to increase the application and practice of Maramataka across a range of settings and environments.

Presenters at the wānanga were experts on Maramataka including Rereata Makiha, Heeni Taipari and Maui Te Pou.

Speakers in the afternoon were people from Te Arawa who are also practising Maramataka in their everyday lives and applying it in settings such as kohanga reo.

Gareth Boyt, who spoke at the event, said Maramataka and words and connections go right back to Asia, South America and the connections being made through migration at that time.

"We focus on mātauranga Māori and science as a way to move ourselves forwards."

Manager for Healthy Families Rotorua Mapihi Raharuhi hoped to create a cluster of Maramataka champions.

"With knowledge of applying Maramataka in a contemporary context, that will be accessible across the Rotorua region and wider."