PAPATAPUWAE NGĀ PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD O NGĀ TŪPUNA • MĀORI HERITAGE
A Matariki hākari Mahinga kai, the maramataka and Matariki all draw together for a special event at Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House WORDS: HELEN BROWN • IMAGERY: KIRSTY MIDDLETON
The return of the lone star Puaka or the Matariki constellation to our pre-dawn winter skies has traditionally been regarded by Māori as a signifier of the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the new year. It is a time for wānanga and whanaungatanga, for coming together to share stories, pass on knowledge, remember those who have passed away, and plan for the year ahead. It is also a time to share and enjoy the bounty of a full pātaka. So this year, as Aotearoa New Zealand marks Matariki as a public holiday for the first time, Nigel Harris (Ngāi Tūāhuriri), Pouārahi for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, decided to combine his professional heritage interests with his culinary
22 Hōtoke • Winter 2022
skills and a lifetime of experience as a food gatherer to showcase and host a traditional hākari for whānau and colleagues at Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Fittingly, Te Whare Waiutuutu is named for a stream flowing through the property, which is part of an interconnected network of waterways that flow into the Ōtakaro Avon River towards the Ihutai Avon estuary and were highly treasured by Ngāi Tahu as a mahinga kai area. A pā kid, Nigel was born and raised at Tuahiwi, where he developed a passion for food when he was just a pēpi. As the youngest in the whānau, he was often left at home with his Taua Beck (Elizabeth Mataputaputa Harris (née Rūpene)) when his father (Ray Harris), a gun shearer and horse trainer, travelled away for work. When Taua Beck baked a batch of scones or her renowned plum duff, it was young Nigel’s job to bring in the wood and coal for the coal range, and mix the butter and flour or
Heritage New Zealand
