Maramataka with Rereata Makiha: How to use the Maramataka in modern life

Rereata Makiha has made it his mission to revitalise the knowledge of the Maramataka since 2010. Photo / File

For some, they grew up with it but for others, they are trying to fit it into their world. It is not uncommon for organisations to change what they do based on it and Rereata Makiha (Te Mahurehure, Te Arawa) has made it his mission to ensure it doesn't get lost. Reporter Leah Tebbutt speaks to Makiha about his passions, the evolution and the lessons we can take from the Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar).

A knowledge that spans back 1500 years and has led Māori to be the indigenous people of Aotearoa was soon to be lost.

Or at least that was the fear of Maramataka expert Rereata Makiha (Te Mahurehure, Te Arawa) in 2010 when he, along with others, decided it was time to do something about it.

The Maramataka or Māori lunar calendar, has no months, just periods or ngā wā o te tau and today the Maramataka has been aligned with the Gregorian calendar to fit into a modern time.

Makiha believes people could learn a lot about themselves through the teachings of Maramataka. Photo / File

For Makiha, he grew up with the traditional calendar as a child but didn't understand it until later on and just understood the elders knew exactly when the fish or the eels would run through the water.

"We thought about our mokopuna and we suddenly realised that if we didn't go back teaching then this was all going to become lost.

"The idea is to bring it back as a curriculum in our kura. It's for future generations."

It can be hard to live the Maramataka entirely because of the Gregorian calendar and the commitments people now have, but Makiha said kura, sports teams and organisations were starting to recognise the effect the Maramataka had.

"People's behaviour has always been affected with the changing moon phases and we see that in the work we do.

"You can learn when the best days are to do things and when not based on the energy flows. It [the maramataka] teaches you there's a day to take a break. There are days to be loud and days to be quiet."

Rereata Makiha has made it his mission to share his knowledge of maramataka. Photo / File

To keep track of the days you can print out a Maramataka dial and set the date to the moon phase of that night.

"You can also use it in the kura with engaging with education. So on the high energy days, some of our kura don't teach kids, they just get them out and keep them active.

"It is a waste of time teaching them on those days because they just don't listen."

Even sports groups are using the rhythm of the Maramataka in their training.

"The high energy days they train right through the night because they can do it on those days.

"Where on the low energy days they call it passive training, they do more mindful days like meditation."

Makiha said the effect of the moon was so prevalent it led him to think about the behaviours of drivers and the connection it had to crashes.

Therefore, he was currently waiting for statistics from Auckland Transport and New Zealand Transport Agency about incidents which might align with the behaviours of the Maramataka.

A dial is the easiest way to keep track of the moon phases in the Māori lunar calendar. Photo / File

But it doesn't stop there - he said the maramataka was telling people the climate was changing because it could be witnessed in the flowering of the trees and the migration of fish and birds.

On July 18, Makiha visited the Rotorua library as part of his mission to further educate.

"When we started out if you got 12 people in a room that was a big hui but now they are all packed out. They actually have a cut-off point.

"I was at the Sky City recently and a 500 seat theatre was packed out and they had others standing outside."

The Maramataka uses tohu (signs), different parts of the country will have different tohu relevant to their area, including Te Arawa.

"The thing I worry about is Maramataka is very individual. You couldn't take a Maramataka from one coast use it for the other coast."