Ko te raranga harakeke he taonga tuku iho nā te Māori te iwi taketake o Aotearoa. Hei tā te Māori, he kawa, he tikanga ranei ōna e pā ana ki te tiki me te raranga i te harakeke. Kāre e taea e au te tohutohu tikanga te take, kare ōku toto Māori engari ki oku nei whakaaro, he mea nui te tauwhiro i ngā tikanga.
Ka paku rereke tēnei kawa ki ngā wāhi rereke o tēnei whenua engari koinei ōku nā māramatanga o ngā kawa, o ngā tikanga e mōhio whanuitia:-
I mua i te kohi, i te tiki ranei i te harakeke, e tika ana te tuku karakia whakamoemiti. I te wā o te tapahi harakeke, ka waiho te tipu o waenga i ngā whā, te rito ranei, kāre i
tapahi, kāre hoki i tapahi i ngā whā o waho atu o te rito, ko 
ngā awhi rito, kei ia taha (tirohia ngā tohutohu me ngā whakaahua kei raro rawa o te wharangi nei). Ka tapahi whakararo ngā wha o waho atu e tata ana ki te putake. (Ka pēnei kia noho hauora te pū harakeke, ā, tipu haere kia taea te tapahi anō. Kāre i tapahi harakeke i te pō, kāre hoki i tapahi i te marangai, i te hukapapa hoki, ā, ka tapahi i ngā whā e rawaka ana kia tutuki i tō kaupapa raranga.
E ai ki ngā tikanga kāre i tapahi harakeke i te wā e ikura ana ngā wāhine, engari ki taku mōhio, e rereke haere ana ngā whakaaro i ēnei wā – kāre e tino whai ana i tēnei tikanga e te katoa. Kāre i takahi ngā harakeke kua tapahi, ā, kāre e taea te kai me te inu ki te wāhi raranga. Ka horoi ringaringa i muri mai o te raranga, ā , i mua tonu o te kai. (Ki te kore, ka tino mōhio pēnā he iti noa iho nei te wai harakeke ki o ringaringa, ka mate tikotiko koe.) Ka mutu te raranga, kāre i tahu ngā maramara harakeke, ka whakahoki kē ki te whenua ki reira pirau ai. I ngā rā o mua, ka whakahoki kē ki raro i te pū harakeke i tapahi ai ngā harakeke engari i ēnei rangi, kaua ki te pū engari ki tētahi atu wahi kei matemate haere te harakeke. Ko ngā mahi raranga kua tīmata, me oti rawa, ā, ko ngā mea tuatahi i raranga, ka tākoha atu ki tētahi atu.
Kapu Taka (Glossary)
ikura – haemorrhage/menstruate
kawa – protocol
aturi komore – wristband (bangle)
pirau – rot
rawaka – enough
taketake – indigenous
tākoha – to gift
tauwhiro – respect
toto – blood
whā – flax leaf
There’s also an English version of these instructions.
My thanks go to the translator of this page, Wi Pohatu, Ngai Tamanuhiri / Ngati Kahungunu ki Te Wairarapa, Weaver, Member of Raranga Whatu ki Kahungunu (Napier) and Te Muriwai Weavers (Muriwai, Gisborne), presently Principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Ara Hou (Napier).
Any mistakes are ones I’ve made in transcribing the translation into HTML.
© Ali Brown 2021