What are you planning to eat this Matariki weekend?
Martariki is not new, but its new to many. For us newbies, its a chance to embrace some new food traditions that help us better appreciate the significance of the season. Christmas traditions involve oranges, almonds, gingerbread and other spices, Christmas minces, ham or turkey and a load of other trimmings. Easter has lamb and hot cross buns. Seder or Passover , and Eid , at the end of Ramadan, are other significant holidays associated with symbolic foods. The ceremonies of Matariki are no exception. Getting the food sorted is key to any successful celebration, and its the same with Matariki especially for the Whangai i te hautapu ceremony. Before this special meal, food is traditionally gathered from the land, sky, rivers and sea. Each represent a star in the Matariki cluster: Tupuanuku, Tupuarangi, Wati and Waita. The kai is cooked in a hangi early in the morning before Matariki appears. After karakia, or thanks is given, the lid is lifted, and the steam rises to the heavens. Traditionally wed save all the best foods for hautapu, says hunter and conservationist Hamiora Gibson. Wed offer the best of everything, from those ecosystems. Typically, wed go to the rivers and take tuna (freshwater eels), wed go to the trees and take kereru . Wed go to the oceans and have cod and kingfish and the patiki or flounder. All these delicious foods. The question, says Gibson, is can our ecosystems still provide all that? For Gibson and his partner Roimata Sinclair , embracing the spirit of Matariki involves intertwining old traditions and creating new ones that are meaningful for their whanau and sustainable in todays environment. Gibson is a catchments co-ordinator and educator at NZ Landcare Trust, working to restore the waterways and protect the threatened whio, or blue duck . He says when he goes to the rivers, he thinks, Should we take tuna, or should we take these big, fat juicy trout? The question is, are we in a position, as a whanau, to be able to do that any more? To take those things would be to detract from those ecosystems right now. Maybe smoked trout a non-native species is a more appropriate thing for the table during Matariki. Traditionally, wed take kereru and maybe stuff them with miro, but thats not legally on the cards! However, free-range chicken is quite sustainable, and miro you can still harvest off the ground. So we can stuff our chicken with miro and get that similar delicious flavour. Its something we can do in a more sustainable way. Gibson says, in a contemporary context, they can still practice hautapu. He and Sinclair are planning their first whanau hautapu, which to keep manageable with their young tamariki, is going to be a simple bonfire at the beach. Sinclair says the gathering will be a heartfelt tribute to honour and bid farewell to our loved ones who have passed, especially my dear nan, aunty Mihi, and whanaunga Wiremu. Gibson says as he and Roinmata talk and plan these things it helps them set their intentions for the coming year as whanau. We love to harvest kai from our ecosystem, but at the same time, we dont have to go beyond what the ecosystem can offer us. As with previous years, our intention is to do the mahi to bring those ecosystems back to state of abundance, where one day our kids, or our kids kids kids might be able to harvest kereru and add that food back into their hautapu. Its not about being a custodian, its about being a part of the ecosystem, and I have to play my role.