Tama nui te rā - balance in all things
Chelita Kahutianui o-te-Rangi Zainey, Waitaha/Ngāpuhi/Ngāti Kahu/Ngāti Haua
I’ve had the good fortune to be basking in a fair bit of Rā energy over the last few months, courtesy of the Aussie sunshine.
It’s 6am here on Kabi Kabi country, and already 18°C. It’s going to be a warm day blessed with a fair bit of sun and inevitable heat.
As I sit and meditate with the morning sun breaking through the banana tree leaves, I smile at the memories of raumati or summer. A flood of blissful, sensory memories envelops me, many of which revolve around long summers spent at my grandparents’, devouring delicious food and immersing in the simple joys of playing in nature.
Day after day, we would scramble down the hill to the beach to swim, dig out crabs from under the rocks, get bitten by lord knows how many sandflies, and then gently, over the holidays, our sun-kissed skin would turn a caramelised brown – no sunblock back in those days!
Our daily adventures would only be interrupted by the clanging of my grandmother’s dinner bell, which would be rung for morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. We were lovingly fed at every opportunity and would then race back off after each meal to the beach or bush.
Memories of sun and kai always seem to go hand in hand, perhaps because raumati intertwines itself with Christmas and the inevitable feasting or perhaps because of the bountiful produce – cherries, berries, apricots, nectarines, and peaches spring to mind – all of the good things that stir the taste buds and the puku.
In Te Ao Māori, the Rā or Sun is personified as Tama-nui-te-rā – the “great son of the sun”, and it is interesting to note how the Rā energy and connection permeates throughout many cultures and timelines, including into Egypt.
The purakau or story goes that Tama-nui-te-rā has two wives, Hineraumati, the summer maiden and Hinetakurua, the winter maiden. In the cyclic unfolding of a year, Tama-nui-te-rā divides his time evenly between the two, marking the transition and balance between the seasons.
‘Balance in all things’ and ‘too much of a good thing’ are often spun catchphrases, and as we begin to emerge from the coldness of takurua into the warm embrace of raumati with all its festivities and fun, it’s good to keep the matter of balance in one’s mind’s eye.
Just like Tama-nui-te-rā, it’s a good idea to keep oneself in balance and harmony with the natural lore and progression of things. As you merge into Raumati with all of its joys, be sure to temper yourself with some solitude, self-care, and introspection.
“Kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana, kia tere te kārohirohi i mua i tō huarahi.”
May peace be widespread, may the sea glisten like greenstone, and may the shimmer of light guide you on your way.