AstronomyNZ

FORWARD TO WORK OF THE GODS
by David Simmons, Ethnologist

Knowledgeable elders of ancient times, and their descendants today, studied the heavens and the stars - such was matai whetu, study of the stars - to identify the heavenly bodies and their relationships to each other. The knowledge gained was arranged in whakapapa, genealogies. Recitation of the star names was known as tatai whetu; navigation across the seas was tatai aro rangi: finding the appropriate path by the stars. The maramataka, or literally moon calendar, and the seasons were determined by the heliacal rising (rising just before the Sun) of certain stars.

Knowledge of their world was the tool the ancients used to order their lives. From the first twitch in Te Kore, which gave life, to the continuous flow of creation, carried in the waters of life, even unto the breath of life, which allows creatures to move under their own mana, all the universe shares the tapu and the mana of the gods, to a greater or lesser degree.

When an ariki dies he or she is said to be wheturangitia, to be made into a star in the sky; their eyes become stars in the heavens. So, in a very real sense, the ancestors are all around us, as the mountains and the stars in the sky. People live on Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother, while above us the ancestors' eyes adorn the cloak of Ranginui, the Sky Father.

Changes brought about by the introduction of a new religion and the effects of colonization resulted in much of the ancient knowledge being lost to view, with few being taught in the colleges of learning for chiefly children and those with special aptitudes. However, the elders were wise and were able to foresee a time when more would be lost. In the ancient way the knowledge was incorporated in stories and songs, then in more modern times they made use of the new art of writing. In this way the knowledge is there; some is lost, but much has been kept. Those who wish to access the learning to their ancestors may do so, but as the elders point out, to obtain knowledge is a privilege: the hinengaro or desire of those who wish to learn must be matched by the payment, the utu. Today that utu is the use of brain power in obtaining the knowledge; in making use of it, the principle of mana, respect applies. Whether the person is Maori or not there is a duty of respect to the elders of the past and the present, recognizing their ownership in the knowledge and in its use, so as not to diminish their mana or that of their descendants.

Kay Leather and Richard Hall have taken that learning and placed it beside star lore. Polynesian and Maori astronomical knowledge is separate from the ancient systems of Mesopotamia, Greece, the Moorish world, Europe, China, Yucatan or other places and cultures. However, all deal with the same phenomena and so may offer valid comparisons and insights to those who study them. Modern world astronomy is built on the knowledge of the past and the way in which the universe came to be and is ordered according to the theories or myths.

The ancient Maori view of the heavens is only one small part of the total religious philosophy. We of this time and age, can appreciate that philosophy even if we may not completely understand it. In the myths and stories from Polynesia a particular map of the heavens is invoked. As the ancestors moved south so they adapted to the map to incorporate the stars seen from these latitudes. This was the work of learned people, scientists. Today we can take their work further into the far realms of Te Kore, to the origin of matter.

The work of Kay and Richard follows the insight of the nineteenth century elders in recording their knowledge in writing, by making that knowledge available in published form. Young and old people of today and tomorrow may look and learn to see the heavens from a Maori perspective.