Story: Maramataka – the lunar calendar

Maramataka expert, Tūtakangahau

Maramataka expert, Tūtakangahau

Tūtakangahau, a Tūhoe chief from Maungapōhatu, stands on the left. He was an acknowledged expert on genealogy, and the last tohunga to be schooled in the tribe’s traditional whare maire (school of learning). He provided the ethnographer Elsdon Best with detailed and important information about the maramataka. Best called him: ‘the most trustworthy of authorities on old-time lore.’

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Alexander Turnbull Library
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How to cite this page:

Paul Meredith, 'Maramataka – the lunar calendar - Lunar months', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/5383/maramataka-expert-tutakangahau (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Paul Meredith, published 12 Jun 2006