I Roto i te Pōuri Te Maramataka e Whiti ana
Maramataka Wānanga
Te Puna Ora o Mataatua is inviting whānau to provide kōrero on their lived experiences of suicide. Join us at a wānanga near you.
“I roto i te pōuri, te maramataka e whiti ana”
“In the darkest skies, the moon shines the brightest”
We’re currently undertaking suicide prevention rangahau in the Mataatua rohe, showing the hononga between Maramataka Māori (the Māori Lunar Calendar System) and suicide statistics.
To facilitate this project, we will be hosting a series of consultation wānanga across the Mataatua region from August 2024 to January 2025.
Your kōrero is vital in this mahi, and we invite you to have your say on suicide prevention online or at an event in person.
We also wish to reassure whānau that all personal details included in this research, of those who have died by suicide, will remain anonymous.
The Coroner’s Office has not released personal details; the information provided includes only the date of death, age, gender, ethnicity, and location of death.
Need to talk? | Kōrero mai
He mana, kei tō reo | Why your voice matters
Your voice and lived experiences of suicide are crucial in this rangahau as we examine this taumaha kaupapa through a traditional te ao Māori lens.
Facilitated by hau kāinga in each rohe, together with our wider network of mental health professionals, our wānanga aim to foster kōrero, whakawhanaungatanga, and blend mātauranga Māori with modern data, identifying potential strategies to support the waiora of our hapori.
Kia tātou, kia tātou, let’s explore how mātauranga Māori me ngā kōrero tuku iho might offer new perspectives on protecting life.
Pōhiritia tō mātou kairangahau | Meet our researchers
This project is being undertaken in collaboration with Te Rina Ransfield (Ngai Tai, Ngāti Raukawa), who is best known in her mahi as “the Maramataka Mum” where she connects with whānau to help them understand life through the lens of Maramataka Māori, pūrākau and kōrero tuku iho.
Her extensive research in Maramataka Māori is key to helping us build understanding of how we can use mātauranga Māori for the betterment of our whānau.
This rangahau will be peer reviewed by Dr. Rangi Mataamua.
Whakatō te kākano: Ngā nekehanga e whai ake nei | Applying our rangahau: Next Steps
In our rangahau, we aim to map all confirmed deaths by suicide (as recorded by the Coroner’s Office NZ) in the Mataatua rohe from 2007 to 2023 to the maramataka (Māori lunar calendar).
Our goal is to identify any patterns or trends between deaths by suicide and the various phases of the Māori moon.
This data will be published and made into a report which we will release publicly in early 2025.
