Kōanga Whakaaro from Pā Ropata
In Te Āo Māori, we look for tohu, or signs for the changing of the seasons and what they’ll bring. The closer you are to whenua, the more you actually get to know all of the little indicators of the place that you live.
For me, Kōanga, Spring begins when Kūmarahou comes out. When the rākau is getting close to ripening, it will start to go yellow, and then it will burst into beautiful soft yellow flowers. On the whenua where I live, the flowers have just bloomed this week, so Kōanga has arrived in my rohe!
Generally it flowers about mid September; the earliest I’ve seen it open here in Waitao, Welcome Bay near Tauranga is in the last week of August, and the latest is in the first week of October.
An early bloom might indicate it is going to be an early spring and early summer, so best to get crops in the ground early. And a late bloom might indicate that Spring is late and growth is slow. Sometimes a late bloom indicates that it won’t be a good fruiting season.
Kūmarahou only grows in the top half of Te Ika a Māui, the North Island, and it was used as a Kōanga tohu for many iwi from this part of the motu. For other parts of the country, there are different tohu to know the seasons are changing.
Humans used to survive by being attuned to Te Taiao. As we’ve become more and more disconnected from our environment through modern technologies, we’ve lost our ability to tune into what’s happening around us.
Back in the day, it was the old people who actually noticed these things. They’d spent a lifetime learning and observing through direct experience, and as their physical tinana slows down and they aren’t able to work like they used to, they have time to really finely attune to what’s happening around them. They were the ones who would watch for the tohu. Now of course, many of our old people end up in homes and it’s easy to neglect their lifetimes of wisdom.
Reclaiming the old ways won’t send us backwards, it will actually help us to find a way forward. Who are the people in your area who have lived there for a long time, perhaps generations and have learned to live with the whenua and the seasons? Do you know the mana whenua in your area? What are the tohu they are watching for in Kōanga? These vary from place to place so it is important to learn from those who live nearby, close to where you live.
Mātauranga Māori is the knowledge held by those who live with the whenua. It’s not something you’ll learn from a book; it’s a living, breathing wisdom that speaks from this land of Aotearoa. It is people who live close to the land that know true Mātauranga. Listen to them, and be aware of your surroundings and actually start making it your business to respond to what the whenua is telling you.
I’ve had this sense for some years now that Te Taiao is confused and others, who have long-standing relationships with the places they live, have been confirming this concern. That’s a big worry. Trees flowering out of season, birds building nests at obscure times. I saw baby swans in July this year at my local park - even the swans can’t work out what's going on!
The environment is constantly changing, it always has. From ice ages to times of global warming, climates have changed for millennia. And right now, we’re in the midst of big and sudden environmental changes, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse. Everyone has different opinions about what’s causing this, but we simply cannot deny that human activity is responsible for so much of the environmental destruction we’re seeing. We have to take it seriously.
Kōanga is a time of hope, a time of new growth, a new beginning. The things we dreamed about over Matariki, now we start to see the sprouts from these dreams. I have a feeling that for lots of people in Aotearoa, having experienced last summer and all its floods, and watching the other extreme weather events happening in the world, this year brings hope tinged with a certain amount of fear and anxiety, being unsure as to what this year is going to deliver.
We need to do what we can now. It's not a question of waiting for a change of Government for the shifts that need to happen. We all have to make up our minds to live differently, in a way that is in line with what Papatūānuku can provide for us. Capitalism exists because we buy into it. So what can we learn from the recent environmental devastations? How can we build more resilient systems and communities? And let’s take these whenua-aligned actions not out of begrudging obligation, but out of joy and aroha for Papatūānuku.
People always ask me, “What can I do that will make a difference?”. Over the winter, I might say, help to get as many rākau in the ground as you can. And Spring is a time for planting kai, if you don’t have a māra already, can you start one? If you don’t have space, what can you grow in pots? Or who can you help in their garden?
Growing kai may seem mundane, but it is, in actual fact, a huge act of rebellion against the systems that capitalise on our wellbeing. When you grow kai, you know where it comes from, you know what went into what you get on your plate, you don’t have to drive your car to get it and you aren’t at the whim of fluctuating prices and fragile supply chains. Scientists are telling us now that gardening is good for our mental health, the soil microbes are actually beneficial to our own microbiome, which is foundational to our immune function, gut health and even neurotransmitter production - it makes us happier!
Most importantly, you will start to learn directly about the rhythms of the whenua; when to sow seeds, when to plant what, when to harvest and so on. We need to start caring for the earth beneath our feet. I encourage you to do what you can, and then see how good you feel.
Ngā mihi nui,
Pā
