Hine-te-iwaiwa

Say it: HEE-neh-teh-ee-WAI-wah · A name associated with Hina and the rhythms of the moon.

Hine-te-iwaiwa presides over the maramataka, over birth, and over the crafts of women. She is cycle, care and skilled hands.

Te Kāwai (Line of descent)

Te Kore → Te Pō → Papatūānuku → Tāne Mahuta → Hine-ahu-one → Hine-te-iwaiwa

Te Kōrero (the story)

Associated with the moon, childbirth and the whare pora, where weaving knowledge and practice were held.

Associated with the moon and its phases, she is called upon at childbirth and in weaving. The maramataka — the lunar calendar that told our tūpuna when to plant, fish and rest — moves under her care.

Te Whakapapa (the genealogy)

Associated with the marama — the moon — and the maramataka that runs by it.

Called on at whānautanga (childbirth) and in the whare pora, the house of weaving.

Sister-figure to Hine-nui-te-pō: one holds beginnings, the other endings.

Her cycle governs when Tangaroa's tides run and when Rongo's crops go in.

Ngā Mana (domains and influence)

The moon and the maramatakaChildbirth and the first days of lifeRaranga and whatu — weaving and the crafts of the handsCycles, and knowing which part of one you're in

Kei Kōnei Rātou (they are present here)

Noticing the moon's phase without having checked.
Repetitive handwork settling your head.
A newborn in the whānau, or someone in their hardest week.
Your energy following a pattern you can finally see.
Following the moon through its phases.
Raranga and whatu, worked patiently by hand.
The care surrounding birth and the first days of life.

Ngā Huarahi Hono (ways to connect)

The new moon (Whiro) and the full moon (Rākaunui)

Step outside and find her. Name what you're beginning, or what you're finishing.

Starting handwork

Sit down properly, don't eat over it, and give it a whole hour. The whare pora had rules for a reason.

Someone is newly born or newly struggling

Turn up with food and hands, not advice.

If you are new to this

Notice the moon tonight, then check which phase of the maramataka it marks.

A Common Misunderstanding

She is not Hine-te-repo. Hine-te-iwaiwa is associated here with lunar cycles, birth and weaving; Hine-te-repo is associated with wetlands.

Ngā Taha o te Ora (aspects of life)

Wairua (Spirit)Hinengaro (Mind)Whānau (Family)

Ngā Uara (values)

Raranga · Weaving

Patient work, strand by strand.

Whakawhānau · Bringing forth new life

Honour beginnings and the people who tend them.

Ngā Pūrākau (the traditional stories)

Told in full, the way they would be shared out loud. Versions differ between iwi (tribe), hapū (sub-tribe) and whānau.

Te haerenga ki a Tinirau — the journey to Tinirau

A woman who crossed the sea to find the man she had chosen, and the birth that followed.

About 3 min read