Maramataka 101
For me, Maramataka is not something I teach—it’s something I live. It’s a practice that grounds my wellbeing, guides my decisions, and shapes the way I move through the world as a Maori practitioner.
Maramataka is how I listen to te taiao. It’s how I understand energy, timing, and rhythm, not just in my own life, but in the lives of whanau, hapori, and kaupapa I work alongside. It helps me plan when to act, when to rest, when to hold space, and when to step back.
This practice isn’t fixed or formulaic. It’s relational, intuitive, and shaped by place. It asks us to observe closely, to slow down, and to make decisions in alignment with the natural cycles around us.
Living by Maramataka has deepened my cultural integrity and sharpened my ability to support others in a way that feels sustainable and tika. It’s helped me understand patterns, of energy, emotion, crisis, and healing, and respond with intention.
To me, Maramataka isn’t a calendar. It’s a practice of remembering. Of reclaiming Indigenous time. Of being in right relationship with Papatuanuku, with whanau, and with ourselves.
01
Mōkai Pātea
A maramtaka that has evolved from my koroua Utiku Potaka, Chief and Rangatira of Ngaati Hauiti who lived across the lands of modern day Mookai Paatea. The original maramataka was discovered in a diary dated 1868. The phase names and discoveries continue to present themselves in tohu, tuhi and tirotiro every day, having been tested and developed since its discovery by descendants. A true taonga tuku iho!
02
Whanganui River Trust Board
This Maramataka was made developed on behalf of Ben Potaka in line with his research around paa tuna and was developed from Maramataka sources from John Tuera and Te Wera Firmin of Ngaati Hinearo, Tuera hapuu of Atihaunuiapaparangi.
03
Ngā Rauru - Ruatiti
This Maramataka was discovered amongst documents with a descendant belonging to our whanau of Nga Rauru, Ngati Ruatiti
04
Maramataka
While we have so much evidence that looks at Maramataka within our relationship with taiao, in a more modern context it would be interesting to explore the nature of maramataka contextualised within contemporary settings as it evolves and as the world evolves.
