Introduction

"Tahia te ara kia kite ai te huarahi

Ahu atu te mata ki te ao marama

Kei kona nga uri whakatipu

Kahore ano i whanau mai

E tatari mai ana ki a koe”

"Clear away the obstacles so that the pathway forward may be seen. Turn your face to the world of light, for there the unborn generations are waiting for you”.

Puawānanga - is a white Clematis plant known to Māori as a child of two stars of heaven. 

Rehua – the father star, whose appearance is a sign of summer coming.

Puanga – the mother star, whose twinkling foretold the kind of season we are about to have.

Twinkling to the North indicates a prosperous year and an abundance of food. Twinkling to the south, a leaner year. 

When Puawānanga star-shaped flowers appeared, Tohunga would start their school of learning. People would also take this as a sign to become active again, a time for feeding and preparing the grounds ready for spring.

In this context, it is about bringing to fruition / to blossom and growing our learning, our own understanding of identity and relationship to Tangata Whenua in Aotearoa, as NZAC Members and Applicant members.