Umu kohukohu whetū, Tāmaki Makaurau's welcoming of Matariki, set to be bigger
Friday, 7 July 2023
As Aotearoa prepares to mark the second official Matariki public holiday, Karanama Ruru discovers Ngāti Whatua Ōrākei’s plans for Umu Kohukohu whetū – the ancient ritual that welcomes in the Māori New Year.
Friday morning, Matariki Day, will see the umu kohukohu whetū – the ritual to welcome Matariki, the Māori new year, to our lands.
The process involves lighting an umu (earth oven) before sunrise to welcome the new year with food offerings to the star cluster.
Matariki has different names around the world. In Europe, it is called by its ancient Greek name Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. In Hawaiian it is Makahiki and in Japan it is Subaru, meaning gathered together.
What is umu kohukohu whetū?
Umu kohukohu whetū, or hautapu, is an offering.
To give thanks to the atua (gods) rising in the sky at dawn, steam is lifted to the stars from a specially curated hangi, enabling te atua – Matariki and her daughters Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Waipunarangi, Waitī and Waitā, and Ururangi – to be nourished as they rise across the whenua.
The opportunity also presents a moment for whānau to remember loved ones lost over the past year.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei hosts the most attended umu kohukohu whetū in Aotearoa from their whenua at Takaparawhau/Bastion Point in East Auckland, with over 1000 attending in 2022.
It’s expected to be bigger this time around.
Chairperson Marama Royal said the process is different to the typical hangi, with much more emphasis being placed on the type of kai that goes into it.
“It’s about the uniqueness of the kai that goes into the umu,” she said.
Royal explained there were four elements that needed to be considered: Tupu-ā-nuku, something from the earth, Tupu-ā-rangi, something from the sky, Waitī, something from freshwater, and Waitā, something from the ocean.
“In this instance we use chicken, because of our ability to access it…kūmara, potato or pumpkin…kina or watercress…and fish,” she said.
“Once the kai is cooked it’s taken out of the hangi and it remains covered. At the appropriate time at the hautapu, the kai is uncovered and the steam is released.”
Te Maramataka and the gathering of kai
Māra kai manager Etienne Neho learned a lot from last year's event, and was looking forward to using that knowledge this time around, the biggest being using te maramataka (the Māori lunar calendar) as a guide to when to gather the kai for the ritual.
Firstly, all the kai was to be gathered from their own whenua.
“Last year we grew the kūmara, it's the same this year. Last year we had chicken from the supermarket, but this year we’ve gone out and got our own manu (birds),” he said.
“We’ve got a pūkeko as our offering to Tupu-ā-rangi, it's a really common manu around the Ōrākei isthmus. In the māra kai setting however, it's something that’s been eating all the crops.”
Neho said te maramataka was the guiding factor in the cultivation of the kai this year.
“[Te Maramataka] was a way we expanded on things, knowing when the best phases were for planting, for fishing, has helped us in the planning and timing of when we go out and get these things,” he said.
Looking to the future
Marama Royal said the large attendance last year, and the larger gathering expected this year, showed the people of Tāmaki Makaurau – both Māori and non-Māori – were embracing Matariki.
“Those numbers will definitely be higher this year. A lot of people that work and play in Tāmaki Makaurau know they can come to Takaparawhau and be welcomed and well looked after.”
For Neho, he hopes the use and learning of the Maramataka for the umu kohukohu whetū will showcase just how significant and important matauranga Māori is to Aotearoa.
“Revitalisation of the Matariki celebrations has really highlighted the matauranga Māori that we’ve lost. The beauty of it has been able to showcase that it’s not just looking up at the stars but a solid form of science,” he said.
“Hopefully, the rest of us can utilise the maramataka…I think it's so important, especially for rangatahi in the next generation, to really highlight the importance of the maramataka, and its simplicity as well.
“It’s something we don’t have to overthink too much, the phases are always the same, the timing is just a bit different.”
Neho said the maramataka is now being expanded from kai gathering, to moods and how people are feeling too.