A child of stars - life stages and whakapapa of a forest taonga

One of our newest team members, Rosemary Thorne is undertaking a study of te reo Māori. In a recent assignment, she explored the life stages and whakapapa (genealogy) of a forest taonga that is currently blooming throughout the country; the native puawānanga (clematis). 

Indigenous wisdom speaks to the interconnectedness of all living things. The origin and life cycle of our native flora and fauna hold various embedded meanings in te ao Māori. One such piece of the ecological puzzle of Aotearoa New Zealand is the puawānanga (Clematis – forsteri), which is known in Māori to be a child of stars. 

E ai ki te iwi Māori ko Puanga rāua ko Rehua ngā mātua o Puawānanga. Māori believed the parents of the clematis were two stars - Puanga and Rehua.

Puanga is known in western astronomy as Rigel, the top and brightest star in the Orion constellation, while Rehua is Antares, the ruby-red star at the heart of the constellation of Scorpio. The two stars are prominent in the sky in opposite seasons. Rehua rises in the winter skies and when it drops behind the western horizon, Puanga rises in the east. It is between these two seasons that the clematis flowers. 

One can also appreciate the likeness puawānanga flowers hold to stars. The brilliant white petals reach out in every direction, and flower in clusters among forest treetops, visible for miles against the deeper green foliage. On a clear evening, when the full moon catches the white of the petals, the ‘stars’ can be seen clearly adorning the night sky canopy of the forest. 

He taonga te puawānanga ki ngā iwi tokomaha. The clematis was valued by many iwi

In some iwi, when the white flowers bloomed, it signified the beginning of the harvesting of eels which was specifically a spring event.  Wahine (women) adorned their hair with garlands of flowers and also used it in traditional medicine.

Whakapapa is understood in a number of ways. 

Puawānanga has other origin stories too. The tribal whakapapa below comes from the Ngāti Maru people of Thames/Coromandel. Clematis is recognised here under another name Pikiarero and its ancestors are the mother and father of all creation Ranginui and Papatūanuku. This record names Rongo-mata-aka-whau as a child of Ranginui and Papatūanuku and as the personification of the many vines that clasp or bind.

Characteristics of puawānanga.

  • He pounamu te tae o ngā rau. Ko te āhua hoki o te rau he orite ki nga ringaringa e toru.

    • The leaves are green with three fingers 

  • Ka puawai ai ngā putiputi mā i te kōanga.

    • White flowers welcome the spring 

  • Kei te pikia e te puawānanga ngā rākau.

    • The Clematis a climber 

  • Kāore te puawānanga i hiahia i te wairākau (te kai o he pata )

    • Clematis doesn’t like fertilizer.

  • Ka haria ngā kākano ki te hau.

    • The seed is windblown 

Reference list 

Rāwiri Taonui, 'Te ngahere – forest lore - Flowering plants', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/te-ngahere-forest-lore/page-4 (accessed 17 October 2021)

Fuji, A. (n.d.). rondeauprovincialpark.ca. https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/antares-rivals-mars-as-the-scorpions-heart/

Roberts, M., Haami, B., Benton, R. A., Satterfield, T., Finucane, M. L., Henare, M., & Henare, M. (2004). Whakapapa as a Maori mental construct: Some implications for the debate over genetic modification of organisms. The Contemporary Pacific, 16(1), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1353/cp.2004.0026

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