Puanga kai rau – an abundance of food at Puanga…
Ngā mihi o te tau hou Māori ki a tātou! Happy Māori New Year to us all!

They say that the Māori new year begins on the new moon in June which was on the 1st of June and today the 15th of June is a full moon… I was in North Queensland when the new moon appeared so I’m having my own Māori New Year celebration right now on the full moon!
Many iwi around Aotearoa celebrate Matariki or the rising of Pleiades as an indication of the Māori new year, but in Taranaki in the west we celebrate the rising of Rigel or Puanga which appears in the west before Matariki.
So the Māori new year is a time when food storage pits are full and kai is plentiful as the whakatauki or proverb says… for many it is also an opportunity to start new projects, to set new goals and to celebrate being Māori. And many celebrations happen all around the country at this time of the year!
No reira, me whakanuia kahatia e tātou tēnei wā o te tau! Let us all celebrate this time of year wherever we are in the world.
Arohanui,
Jo x