Te Waka O Rangi Portrait - Paper Print

Te Waka o Rangi  Paper Print A2
Archival print | Limited edition of 100

I created a portrait version of this painting, a cropped and edited version from the original, to make framing easier for those wanting a large format print of this artwork.

Matariki is part of a larger constellation in māori astronomy called Te waka o Rangi, a celestial waka. Matariki sits at the front and Tautoru, or Orion's Belt, sits at the back. This waka is captained by Taramainuku. He has a cosmic net that he drops to the earth every night, collecting the souls of the dead onto the waka. For 11 months this celestial waka is visible in the sky until it sets in May/June. The souls stay on this canoe until the star cluster rises again in June/July, at this time Taramainuku releases these souls into the sky to become stars. This is the origin of the māori proverb “Kua whetūrangihia koe” you have now become a star.