Ngā Hine Tokowhitu o Matariki

Seven Stars, Seven Sisters, Seven Daughters, Seven Kōtiro, Seven Kaitiaki, Seven Atua Wāhine, Seven Mothers — The power and the beauty of the feminine principle - Ngā Hine tokowhitu o Matariki.

Showcasing an installation that celebrates Matariki and expresses the importance of Māori women telling our own Māori stories through the eyes of Wāhine.

Matariki is a time for togetherness and for sharing knowledge. It is also a time for new beginnings and to also remember the past. Acknowledging our pūrākau and oral traditions play a big part of Matariki, which further nurtures our culture and helps it to thrive and survive. Whether it is nine or seven stars, all narratives are considered tika (correct), therefore one oral tradition should never supersede all others, no matter how popular and widely accepted it has become. Because if it does, this would mean that all other kōrero would be invalid … no longer shared … eventually lost to us in memory and thought. We must be careful to respect the diverse knowledge surrounding the times of Matariki, because this period of the year, with the differing night sky of each region, means different things for different Iwi and Hapū.

From my Māori cultural lens, during this season of remembering I want to celebrate and pay homage to the significance of the feminine essence and her life generating energies — these energies that were instrumental in the process that formed our Universe and shaped the Creation Story of our existence. Without the nurturing aspects of these feminine energies, there would be nothing and no-thing.

The seven stars — the seven energies — our seven tuāhine (sisters). The names I give to them are — Hine Pūtake (the sensory base of matter and form), Hine Uwha (the reproductive cycles through our living waters), Hine Pito (the Universal spiral of renewal), Hine Manawa (the heart channel to our truth), Hine Korokoro (the breath of life and the opening that released the seed-breath into the world), Hine Rae (the threshold of consciousness where the mind and the Cosmos meet), and Hine Wairua (the Spiritual pathway).

Bronwyn Waipuka-Callander - authentic and contemporary Māori artist — My new artist's studio and gallery is now based in Grey Lynn. Every year I try and aim to showcase my mahi during the Matariki celebrations. This year I will be depicting my version of the seven sisters, which will be in the form of an installation display in my studio window. Some AR and creative video will also be part of the installation. My studio is only open via appointment, however, you can visit my website to view many of my artworks online. Ngā mihi nui