In Lake Takapō, Learning to Reconnect With Darkness the Māori Way

It is part of silentA collection of stories that highlight our discovery for peace in a fast noise world. Read more here.

It is midnight and I stand on a mountain in Southern Alps, New Zealand. In front of me, the scene of swoop is completely in the dark. Silence settles and it seems that the noise of the day is sucked in a vacuum. The cloud-busting mountain, honey-honey valleys and the huge expansion of the clici lakes, which usually sits under a tight-blue sky, have gone. Recently, a area dressed in the most sunny place in New Zealand is Lake Takapo, a different aspect. Aoraki/Mount Cook Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, 4,300 square kilometers (over 1,600 sq mile) in Alpine rural areas, with minimal light pollution, is one of the world’s largest stargazing sanctity.

In 2019, The Dark Sky Project, one of the largest IWI (tribes) in New Zealand, is co-owned by NGAI TAHU, was manifested on the edge of the Glassy Alpine Lake Plassa. Concrete and glass building, named Rehua- a holy Atua, or the head of God, is considered to be the head of the stars- with scientific knowledge and multimedia exhibitions with Kombins Tatai Aroraki (Maori Astronomy), which attracts themselves to the makesgery region for their unexpected stargagsing and uninterrupted refreshing.

Indicating the vastness of the universe is part of the mission of such astroturism, where darkness is not only the absence of light, but something that requires protection, such as our coastline or coral reefs. It is important for environmental health what is beyond the clouds and being able to detect the pattern of twilight. Victoria (Zucchini) Campbell, an astronomical Maori guide and astronomer, sees the night sky “as part of the landscape and a holistic system that connects to the environment and re -connects us with lost knowledge and our ancestors.”

In traditional Maori culture, stars and constellations provide insight into everything from seasonal changes to human life.

For the EV Maori Katoa (Maori Tribes), the stars served as a map for their Polinesian ancestors, which took to the sea in their handmade development (donga) in Prashant Mahasagar, before the European settlement, before the European settlement, New Guinea and Solomon island, ‘Nui/Easter Islands, and New Zealand. He had a complex understanding of astrology and would rely on constellations to run them during long journeys. “In Maori culture, there was a huge map of sky stories, rich with each star and constellation meaning, providing insight into everything from seasonal changes to human life. Their astronomical beliefs were a mixture of navigation, spirituality and universe.” Campbell says.

Currently, about 80% of people live under light polluted sky; And Milky Way is no longer visible to one third of us. Here in Takpo, there are strict rules when it comes to light pollution, such as capping the streetlite and restricting some types of artificial lighting. As the night descends, it gets thrilling darker than most places in the world, and up, the milky they wave like a shiny ribbon. Meanwhile, the scorpion’s tail hook indicates Scorpious constellation and omnipresent the southern cross – which is seen on the flag and symbol around the southern hemisphere – shiny.