There are 13 months in a traditional Māori year, measured by a lunar cycle. Māori also measure by nights rather than by days with a simple example being: āpōpō literally meaning after the night – i.e: tomorrow.

The Māori New Year starts with the new moon of the first month of the cold season, Pipiri. Pipiri being the month when people started to come together or to piri back at the main settlement after living in the various food gathering sites during summer and autumn in preparation for the cold months ahead.

Most Māori would call this celebration Matariki though throughout the Whanganui and Taranaki region it is called Puanga. Puanga is celebrated as you are unable to view Matariki on this section of the West Coast of the North Island. A celebration in the cold months is no different to the pagan celebrations of the northern hemisphere and the origins of what is now known as Christmas.

With a direct connection to another Pacific culture, the Japanese name for Matariki, Subaru, brings a close connection between the Whanganui sister city, Nagaisumi-cho, Shizuoka, Japan.

Puanga is the star Rigel, part of the Orion constellation. Puanga features in the sky just prior to Matariki and is seen as a precursor to Matariki for the tribes that can see Matariki.

Puanga is most commonly known for the following whakataukī:

Puanga kai rau
An abundance of food at Puanga
Ka hua ai ngā pua, koia ko Puanga

This whakataukī literally means the time when the pua (blossoms) become hua (fruit) – ka hua ai ngā pua. This is directly connected to the abundance of food in the autumn months and to ensure that the cold season is seen in a positive light. This statement also acknowledges the key indicators of the summer gathering of resources like flax to process ready for weaving in the winter months. Added to this is the gathering of food during autumn to ensure that the storage pits are full for the cold months ahead.

Puanga festivities start the year with the fruiting of the miro tree which ensures that the kererū is fat and ready to be caught. The festivities then conclude when the piharau run is completed in August.

Traditional Activities
It is during these cold months that the following activities were traditionally acknowledged:

Huka mātahi – first snow fall Incantations were said to acknowledge the first snow fall and ceremonies connected to fire.

Hanga manu-aute – kite making Kites were made to fly during the winter winds and again during spring to acknowledge the God of the Wind who brings the first snow fall and later brings the warm winds.

Wānanga – going into oneself, a time for learning After months of physical activity during the warm months, winter was a time to feed the spirit and mind, to learn chants, genealogy and history.

Rāranga me te whatu – clothes making Following the summer collection of resources like flax, during autumn the fibre was then processed ready to be woven in the shelter of the home during the cold months.

Kohi kai – collecting winter foods Most of the food collected earlier would be stored in subterranean pits or elevated storehouses though some fish and food like kōmata (cabbage tree) were gathered during winter.

Mīroia e Tāne – transplanting or planting of shrubs and trees
As the cold months endure, the native trees go into a semi state of hibernation which is ideal for transplanting of trees and especially flax. It is also during this damp time that it is good to plant native trees so they can accustom themselves before the growing time of spring and summer.

Puanga begins with the showing of the miro berries and is acknowledge during the month when people come together, Pipiri. It concludes after the running of the piharau with the August fresh. This is the third month of winter – Here-turi-kōkā, a time when you connect (here) your knees (turi) to the warm fires of Mother Earth (kōkā).