'Hai tā Jade Kameta, 'Kai te whakahonohono anō tātou te Māori me te iwi Poronēhia ki tō tātou taiao taketake e piki anō ai te hauora me te mātauranga o ngā tūpuna'. Me te mea anō hoki hai tāna, ' Ehara noa iho i te terenga a Mārama noa iho, kāore! He hohonu kau te momona o te kōrero ka whakapūhaina atu e ngā tōhunga i a Rereata me Rangi, a Rikki me Kalei hoki. Ka teitei te mana o tēnei kaupapa i a rātou'.
Kai te kaha pōwhiringia te hunga ihuatamai e Jade ki a whakatata mai ki tēnei kaupapa ataahua ka whakapāohotia ki a uru atu ai ki ngā kāinga huhua kia kite kau ngā kanohi ki te ihi o te mātauranga taketake.
'He mōhio kē nō tātou nā te māramataka ngā tūpuna i akiaki kia māngaro te tupu mai o te kai Māori – engari anō he kaupapa tāna ko te manaaki i te hauora ā hinengaro o te tangata, ka rua, ko te whakapakari hoki i te marau mātauranga me te atawhai tahi i ngā wāhi mahi'.
'Ko tētehi wānanga e whā hāora te roa ā rorohiko nei ka whakaatuhia te mātauranga o te māramataka ki te ao – hai aha i a koe! Engari he aha rā kai tua o te paerangi ? koinā kē te mea whakawehi nei i ahau.
Kua kite kau mātou i te whakapakaritanga o te mātauranga māramataka i ngā tau e rima kua pahemo atu – e oioi ana ngā kauwae o te tangata, he timatanga noa iho tēnei!' Hai tā Jade.
Ka whakapāohotia Te Hekenga-ā-Rongo mai i te paetukutuku o Healthy Families Rotorua a te Rātahi te kotahi o Noema 2021. 10 am – 2 pm.
Ko Te Hekenga-ā-Rongo he kaupapa nā Healthy Families Rotorua kai te kaha tautokongia e Te Arawa Whānau Ora, 'Ai Malama, Ngā Pātaka Kōrero O Te Arawa, Te Arawa FM, NZ Arts & Crafts Institute me te Society of Māori Astronomy Research & Traditions.
Ka huri.
The resurgence of māramataka is influencing the way many people go about their lives – and Rotorua is preparing to showcase it to the world.
Healthy Families Rotorua is hosting worldwide online symposium, Te Hekenga-ā-Rongo on Monday.
The livestream event will feature experts and practitioners from Aotearoa who are creating pathways for the revitalisation of mātauranga Māori and positive outcomes to Māori health, by using māramataka to increase self-awareness, connect more intimately with the environment and organise their lives using a holistic system based on an indigenous division of time.
Healthy Families Rotorua Manager Jenny Kaka-Scott says the team has been hosting wānanga and gathering insights from across the rohe for several years to support the growth and development of more passionate Te Arawa practitioners.
"How people have interacted with and applied māramataka in their lives has been both innovative and inspiring, and these journeys we're proud to share through Te Hekenga-ā-Rongo.
"We've found by working with our community, there's a growing demand for holistic approaches and solutions that are not only underpinned by mātauranga Māori and 'kōrero tuku iho' but successfully grow identity and wellbeing simultaneously," she says.
Keynote speakers are Rereata Makiha, Dr Rangi Mataamua and Rikki Solomon, along with special guest from Hawai'i, Kalei Nuuhiwa, who is the co-founder of the 'Aimalama symposium, which featured Hawaiian practices of the māramataka.
The livestream will also include panelist speakers and video examples of mātauranga Māori regeneration.
Healthy Families Rotorua Rautaki Māori & māramataka practitioner, Jade Kameta, says Māori and other Pacific societies are currently reconnecting with their ancestral māramataka to restore hauora wisdom, activate knowledge systems and amplify the whakapapa connections between all living things.
He says he is looking forward to hearing from the stellar line-up of both new and experienced māramataka practitioners who will demonstrate how mātauranga Māori systems, traditions, and practices, although ancient, have an important place in today's suite of prevention practices.
"Māramataka is so much more than a lunar calendar. We'll hear insights, data, and discoveries from a combination of contemporary māramataka practitioners and tohunga such as Rereata, Rangi, Rikki and Kalei. We're extremely fortunate to have this calibre of mātauranga in our midst."
Jade encourages anyone interested in māramataka to tune in to the live symposium where mātauranga Māori will be evidenced as a credible health prevention approach.
"We know māramataka informed our tūpuna around kai, but we're also hearing how mātauranga Māori can support mental wellness, strengthen our school curriculum, and inform our workplaces regarding staff wellbeing and productivity.
"Our four-hour online symposium will showcase māramataka to the world – it's monumental – and I'm excited about where this may lead. We've seen the māramataka movement grow within the last five years. More people are talking about it and more people are aware of it. There's still so much more to explore," says Jade.
Te Hekenga-ā-Rongo will be livestreamed from the Healthy Families Rotorua website on Monday 1 November 2021 from 10am to 2pm.
Te Hekenga-ā-Rongo is brought to you by Healthy Families Rotorua, in collaboration with Te Arawa Whānau Ora, 'Ai Malama, Ngā Pātaka Kōrero O Te Arawa, Te Arawa FM, NZ Arts & Crafts Institute, Society of Māori Astronomy Research & Traditions.
