Whānau Mārama - Family of Light coins
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Tamanuiterā (the Sun) and Marama (the Moon) together with Ngā Whetū Matariki (the Pleiades star cluster) make up the family of heavenly bodies known as te Whānau Mārama (the Family of Light).
One of the names for Marama is ‘the eye of the night’. The bright face of Marama and its lunar phases (maramataka) help Māori to interact with the stars of Matariki. One story tells of Rona, who stumbles in the dark after Marama (the Moon) passes behind a cloud. When Rona abused Marama and after she refused to stop, she was captured and taken to reside with Marama forever.
Tamanuiterā has two wives, Hineraumati (summer) and Hinetakurua (winter). The pathway that Tamanuiterā follows in summer is different to that which he traces during winter. This means the Matariki star cluster is positioned differently during each season. The Sun is also referenced in the legends of, Māui who slowed the journey of Tamanuiterā across the sky. Each day Tamanuiterā sped across the heavens leaving no time for work to be completed. Using his grandmother’s jawbone, Maui harnessed the Sun to create the pattern of sunrise and sunset we experience today.
Take a look at our commemorative stamps also available for this issue. Click here.