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Microscopes have played an important role in recent research on harakeke (native New Zealand flax) at the University of Otago. Dr Bronwyn Lowe and other researchers have been working with Māori weavers to investigate a collection of harakeke plants at the Dunedin Botanic Garden (DBG).

The team explored the individual harakeke varieties under the microscope, including their surface waxes and their fibre (muka or whītau) content. They also looked at the weaving properties of the different varieties and have shown that weavers' experience of the plants correlates well with results from microscopy.

Harakeke's importance for Māori

Harakeke has great cultural significance for Māori. Traditionally, muka and leaves were used to make a wide variety of woven objects such as kete (baskets), whāriki (mats) and kākahu (clothing). Specific varieties of harakeke were valued for making different objects and were grown for that purpose. However, much of this mātauranga (traditional knowledge) is now fragmented or lost.

There is particularly scant knowledge about South Island (Te Wai Pounamu) harakeke varieties (although North Island weaving varieties have now been extensively documented). It's not clear whether southern Māori favoured harakeke varieties that were distinct from North Island ones and whether they traded harakeke with North Island iwi.

There's heaps and heaps of knowledge handed down and existing within any weaver, and what was really nice was often there'd be affirmation of the weaving knowledge with the scientific knowledge.

- Dr Bronwyn Lowe
A South Island harakeke collection

Over 100 years ago, a collection of 50 varieties of harakeke and wharariki (mountain flax) plants was gifted to the DBG. It now includes 214 individual plants. The collection is regarded as taonga by local iwi (Kāi Tahu). However, the origins and purpose of the collection are unclear. Why was it gifted? Were the harakeke varieties in the collection important to Māori? Could it include South Island-specific varieties?

To answer these questions, researchers at the University of Otago and the Botanic Garden formed partnerships with Māori weavers and others. Together, they set out to explore many characteristics of the harakeke varieties in the collection, including their appearance under the microscope and their weaving properties.

A cross-cultural approach

Because of the cultural significance of harakeke, the research on the DBG collection was done using a kaupapa Māori approach. Kaupapa Māori research aims at positive outcomes for Māori: extensive consultation precedes research, and findings are publicised widely throughout the community. Kaupapa Māori researchers also think carefully about the implications of their research from a Māori perspective. Who does it benefit? How might the findings be used?

The involvement of Māori weavers Kahutoi Te Kanawa, Roka Ngarimu-Cameron, Anna Gorham and Christine Holtham was an important part of the project. The weavers chose which harakeke plants would be studied in detail and assessed the weaving properties of each one. Along with Rua McCallum (who consulted on matāuranga Māori for the project) and others, they were also involved in setting the overall direction of the research and the way it was shared with the community.

Exploring harakeke with microscopes

Dr Bronwyn Lowe used microscopes - particularly the scanning electron microscope (SEM) - to analyse leaves from the harakeke varieties in the collection. SEM is a particularly useful microscope for studying structures like leaves, because it shows the leaf surface (or a cross-section) in three dimensions and at high resolution.

Bronwyn used a particular SEM technique (cryoSEM) in which the leaf is frozen rapidly before being looked at through the microscope and remains frozen throughout the experiment. Freezing the leaf means that it looks as similar as possible to the living leaf, because it bypasses the complex preparation steps that would otherwise be needed to remove all the water from the leaf. (Liquid water would damage the microscope extensively, but frozen water - ice - is OK!)

Bronwyn was especially interested to look at high-resolution images of the waxes on the surface of the harakeke leaves. She found that the waxes formed crystals with interesting shapes that differed among varieties. She also looked at stomata on the leaf surface and found that some varieties had far more than others. Finally, she viewed cross-sections of the leaves to see what the bundles of muka looked like in each variety.

Microscopy and matāuranga Māori

Nature of science

For Bronwyn, one of the most rewarding aspects of the work was seeing how mātauranga Māori and western scientific knowledge could fit together. Often, Bronwyn's observations on the microscope echoed the weavers' knowledge of the different harakeke varieties. For example, the varieties that appeared under the microscope to have the biggest, most even muka were also chosen by the weavers as having good muka yields.

Activity idea

Published 29 February 2012

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Microscopes have played an important role in recent research on harakeke (native New Zealand flax) at the University of Otago. Dr Bronwyn Lowe and other researchers have been working with Māori weavers to investigate a collection of harakeke plants at the Dunedin Botanic Garden (DBG).

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Maori management of natural resources - fishing

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Maori management of natural resources - fishing

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Geology of Auckland through Maori myths & legends

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Geology of Auckland through Maori myths & legends

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Rongoā is the Māori term for medicines that are produced from native plants in New Zealand.

Early Māori and rongoā

Although early Māori may not have known what today's scientists know about our immune system, they had worked out how to treat diseases and infection. The use of rongoā prevented many sicknesses and provided remedies for those who were already sick. Joseph Banks, an 18th century scientist who travelled with Captain James Cook, observed that Māori were in good health and appeared to suffer from few diseases.

Traditionally, Māori had a holistic approach to healing. It included the mind, body and spirit - mauri (spark or life force), tapu (natural law) and wairua (spirit). Whakapapa (genealogy) was also a factor to consider in the healing process. Tohunga, the medical practitioners or healers of the Māori world, passed their knowledge down through the generations, and modern Māori healers still use many of the concepts and practices.

Rongoā fighting infection

Rongoā is still used extensively today - many of the medicines from plants are used to fight infection. It was, and still is, important that the gathering of rongoā plants be carried out in a sustainable way to ensure that there will still be some the next time it is needed. Some of these plants can be toxic and should only be prepared by people who have been trained in the art of rongoā.

The following plants are some examples of plants that can be used for rongoā and that are used to fight infection.

Koromiko
The young leaf tips can be chewed for diarrhoea and dysentery. Dried leaves sent to New Zealand soldiers in the Second World War for this purpose were very effective.

Koromiko leaves can also be used for ulcers and sores and have been used as a poultice on babies for skin sores. The active ingredient is phenolic glycocide.

Kōwhai
All the parts of the kōwhai including the bark, inner bark, flowers, leaves and juice can be used as rongoā. Kōwhai can be used for cuts, infected skin, wounds and skin diseases. Colds and sore throats have been treated with infused kōwhai bark. There are toxic alkaloids in the tree, so people have to prepare the rongoā carefully.

Harakeke (flax)
The sticky gum in flax is used as an external treatment for boils and wounds. Leaves can be used as a dressing to aid healing, and the juice acts as a disinfectant for wounds. A poultice of the root can be used to treat intestinal parasites.

In this article Stephen Tauwhare talks about The Harakeke Project and how scientific knowledge can be combined with traditional Māori knowledge. Watch this video to learn more about the medicinal benefits of harakeke.

Pōhutukawa
The inner bark, when infused, can be used to treat dysentery and diarrhoea (it contains ellagic acid), and the nectar of the flowers has helped to alleviate sore throats.

Pūriri
Pūriri leaves can be infused and used to treat ulcers and sore throats. The medicinal quality of the leaves has resulted in a germicide being patented.

Kawakawa
The leaves can be used to heal cuts and wounds. Chewing the leaves eases the pain of toothache and abdominal distress.

Nature of science

Activity idea

Useful links

Published 8 November 2010, Updated 12 July 2015

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Rongoā is the Māori term for medicines that are produced from native plants in New Zealand. Although early Māori may not have known what today's scientists know about our immune system, they had worked out how to treat diseases and infection. The use of rongoā prevented many sicknesses and provided remedies for those who were already sick.

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Due to the geographical isolation of New Zealand, pre-European Māori had little contact with neighbouring islands. Trade and commerce were internally based so there was no need for a precise measuring system. However, activities such as wharenui construction, waka making, woodcarving and weaving did require a high degree of precision. This precision was achieved more through the eye of the operator than by reference to a defined standard.

Human body used for measurement standards

Measurement standards used were most often based on the human body. For example, the span of the arms outstretched horizontally was the mārō, whanganga or aronui. When constructing a wharenui, the arm span (whanganga) of a designated person, most often a person of importance such as a high-ranking chief, would be marked on a cord or rod (rauru) for measuring purposes. These rauru were often handed down over many generations, particularly on the East Coast, and considered a taonga (treasure).

Another version of this unit was the pae, where the outstretched arms are bent to form a circle such that the girth of a tree or other such objects could be measured.

For longer measures, the length of the body with one arm outstretched (takoto) was used, and 1 kumi equated to 10 mārō, a distance of about 18 metres.

Shorter measures were based on the hand and arm:

Tuke - the length from the elbow to the finger tips (cubit).

Kōiti - the length of the little finger.

Kōnui - the length of the first joint of the thumb.

These personal standards of length measurement would vary from person to person, and within any one tribe, one person may have been selected to act as the length measurement standard.

Astronomical phenomena used for time measurement

Pre-European Māori based measurement of time on astronomical phenomena such as the transition of the sun (Rā) through the seasons. The phases of the moon featured as time measure, and 'nights of the moon' were referred to rather than days - 30 nights of the moon were commonly identified and named. The night of the first appearance of the new moon was whiro. Full moon (huanga) covered 3 nights - ohua, turu and rākau-nui.

Several series of names were in use for the 12 lunar months that were recognised. Each tribe recognised proper names for the months but also the use of ordinal numbers. For example, the 1st month was commonly named Pipiri but also known as te tahi.

New Year - Matariki, Puanga

The timing of the New Year varied from district to district. For example, East Coast tribes recognised the first new moon after the appearance, before sunrise, of the Pleiades star cluster (the rising of Matariki) as the start of the New Year.

This occurs in late May or early June. In northern and southern parts, it was the rising, before sunrise, of Rigel (Puanga) in the constellation Orion that was recognised as the start of the New Year. The New Year signalled the commencement of the winter season, and both these astronomical sightings occurred close together so there was not much difference as to the date of the commencement of the year.

Two main divisions of the year were recognised - winter (takurua) and summer (raumati) - and four main seasons, starting with winter (takurua), spring (kōanga - relating to digging and planting crops), summer (raumati) and autumn (ngahuru - relating to crop-lifting).

In Japan, the Subaru car brand is named after the Matariki stars.

Useful links

Published 17 August 2011

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Due to the geographical isolation of New Zealand, pre-European Māori had little contact with neighbouring islands. Trade and commerce were internally based so there was no need for a precise measuring system. However, activities such as wharenui construction, waka making, woodcarving and weaving did require a high degree of precision.

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Like the Sun, stars rise in the eastern horizon and set in the western horizon. Navigators who know the direction and position in which the stars rise and set can use the horizon as a compass. Knowledge of the night sky is the most important of the mental constructs of knowledge needed for wayfinding. The star compass was devised to help navigators memorise this knowledge.

The star compass

The modern-day star compass (kāpehu whetū) was developed by Polynesian navigator Nainoa Thompson and is based on the Micronesian star compass that grandmaster navigator Mau Piailug originally designed and used. Jack Thatcher made it useful for navigators from Aotearoa by translating it into te reo Māori.

In the star compass, the horizon is divided into quarters - named after the four winds:

Tokerau - the north-east trade winds

Marangai - the south-east trade winds.

Tonga (or Whakarunga - the head of the fish) - the south-west winds.

Whakararo (from the tail of the fish) - the north-west winds.

The full horizon is also divided into equal areas called houses. There are 32 houses in the full circle. The four main houses representing north, south, west and east are:

Whitinga - east where the Sun rises out of the ocean

Tomokanga - west where the Sun returns to the ocean

Raki - to the right of the Sun's passage through the sky

Tonga - to the left of the Sun's passage.

In addition to these houses, each quadrant has seven houses that further divide the horizon. Each house is replicated in each quadrant and helps with memorising star position and paths. Stars appear to rise out of the eastern horizon, cross the north/south line (meridian) and set towards the western horizon. Individual stars will rise and set in the same named house. The names of the houses and their meanings are:

Rā - the Sun

Kāinga - where the Sun lives

Ngoi - a land bird (the brown noddy) used by navigators to find land

Manu - the waka as a bird flying across the ocean

Ngā Rangi - the heavens are where we get our clues

Ngā Reo - the navigator listens to the voices of the stars that guide him

Haka - the void where there are no clues, where the true challenge begins.

This star compass is the basis of the navigation system. The various quadrants and houses, as well as the stars that rise and set in those houses, are then memorised.

Star positions

At least 220 stars need to be remembered. The brightest stars are used for navigating. The star compass shows where the stars will rise and set on the celestial equator - slightly different for our horizon in Aotearoa. Our latitude is roughly 35-45°S below the celestial equator. This means that we can't see some of the northern stars, and some of the more southern stars such as Māhutonga (the Southern Cross) become circumpolar (don't set).

As the latitude of the observer moves north or south of the equator, the rising and setting points (azimuths) will begin to shift north for stars north of east and west and shift south for stars south of east and west. The shift is smaller for stars near the celestial equator and greater for stars towards the north and south celestial poles. The shifting is due to the changing angle of the curved surface of the Earth over which the observer sees the sky.

As the observer moves toward the poles, the angles of rising and setting of the stars will tilt closer and closer to the horizon until, at the poles, the stars will not rise or set but circle above the observer. At the North Pole, only the northern half of the celestial sphere is visible. At the South Pole, only the southern half of the celestial sphere is visible.

A star is useful for determining direction when its angle as it arcs through the sky is within 30-35° of the horizon. Beyond this, it becomes difficult to tell exactly where it rose or will set. At the equator, where stars rise perpendicular to the horizon, a star may be traced back to the horizon from a greater altitude.

Meridian pairs

The meridian is an imaginary line from due north to due south passing through the zenith (the point in the sky directly overhead). The meridian is perpendicular to the horizon. Stars move from east to west through the sky and cross the meridian at the midpoint of their journeys from the east horizon to the west horizon. Pairs of stars that cross the meridian at the same time are called meridian pairs and are used to judge where north and south are as well as what latitude the waka might be at. Meridian pairs in the northern sky point north. Pairs in the southern sky point south. For example, the top and bottom stars of the Southern Cross (Gacrux and Acrux) are a meridian pair that point south when the Southern Cross is upright.

Published 13 November 2014

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Like the Sun, stars rise in the eastern horizon and set in the western horizon. Navigators who know the direction and position in which the stars rise and set can use the horizon as a compass. Knowledge of the night sky is the most important of the mental constructs of knowledge needed for wayfinding.

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In this activity, students read a legend of Kupe. They compare this with modern-day voyaging without navigational instruments to work out what might have happened during the Polynesian migration.

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Medicinal use of plants in Maori culture

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Medicinal use of plants in Maori culture

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Rongoā - medicinal use of plants - Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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Māori used a range of traditional methods to deal with illness. Plants such as kawakawa, harakeke (flax), kōwhai and mānuka were all important for healing, and so was a belief in the spiritual causes of illness. Today rongoā - Māori medicine - is seeing a resurgence of interest.