Professor Rangi Matamua

Ngāi Tūhoe
University of Waikato

Associate Professor Matamua of Tūhoe, is a senior lecturer based in the School of Māori and Pacific Development at Waikato University. He has undertaken significant research in the areas of Māori language revitalisation, Māori culture, Māori astronomy and broadcasting. In his MA thesis Rangi focused on traditional Tūhoe weaponary, and his PhD examined the role of Māori radio in Māori language revitalisation. In addition, Dr Matamua has produced a number of publications in his specialist areas, and sits on a number of related boards including Society for Māori Astronomy Research and Traditions (SMART).

Related Projects

Internship project

Project commenced:

Te Poutuarongo o Te Whare Kōkōrangi

Building on the 2013 project Ringihia i te kete – the language of the stars, this research developed a Māori astronomy database to preserve and expand mātauranga Māori about the stars. It aimed to strengthen the foundation for future Māori-led research by exploring how astronomical knowledge was embedded in language and cultural landscapes across Aotearoa.

Project commenced:

Ringihia i te ketenui a Tane: The language of the stars

Astronomy is the study of the objects in the sky (stars, planets, moons, galaxies, comets etc). Traditionally Māori held great knowledge of astronomy and their studies of the night sky played an important role in everyday life. Much of this knowledge remains recorded in te reo Māori and sits within karakia, waiata, whakataukī, and within place names. This project explores the language of Māori astronomy to understand how important it was to our ancestors. It will also help to revive the language of Māori astronomy exploring how this knowledge can be used in a modern world.