Ko Matariki e ārau ana the gathering of Matariki series of talks

KO MATARIKI E ĀRAU ANA THE GATHERING

OF MATARIKI SERIES OF TALKS

Professor Rangi Matamua (Tūhoe) shared his detailed knowledge about Matariki and highlighted connections between cultural knowledge and science in a 20-talk series in New Zealand and Australia during 2019. Rangi is passionate about Māori astronomy and is the author of the best-selling book Matariki: The Star of the Year. As Associate Dean Postgraduate within the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Waikato, Rangi is heavily involved in researching how Māori studied and applied their knowledge of the celestial bodies. Rangi and his whānau have an astronomical connection with Royal Society Te Apārangi that stretches back to the late 1800s. His ancestor, Te Kōkau Himiona Te Pikikōtuku, was a tohunga and friend of Society member Elsdon Best. Their relationship set in course the collection and recording of Māori astronomical knowledge by Te Kōkau. This lecture series revived the relationship between Rangi’s whānau and Royal Society Te Apārangi, and helped celebrate and disseminate Māori knowledge of the cosmos to a new generation.

“In association with Royal Society Te Apārangi, I took my whānau, my sisters, on tour with me and we were able to disseminate information on Māori astronomy, particularly pertaining to Matariki, to near on 8,000 people, which is fantastic. We’re getting great coverage and that’s helping to normalise a traditional cultural practice of our ancestors in a modern context.”

RANGI MATAMUA

WATCH INTERVIEW WITH RANGI ON MĀORI TELEVISION’S MARAE PROGRAMME

TOHATOHA

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