Tukua Te Toto Tapu
From a Tangata Whenua perspective, everything returns to the womb of the mother Papatūānuku, including Te Awa Atua. Each month we retreat to rest and purify ourselves through the blood flow. Our tīpuna used kohukohu and raupo fibres (amongst other things), as padding for the blood which was then buried in a quiet place. Womb to womb we nourish the connection to Papatūānuku with simple actions performed with intention.
We can connect with the atua wāhine through the blood flow in the same way that our tīpuna did using ikura knickers, cloth pads and /or diva moon cups. Here’s an example of how:
Soak cloth pads/ikura knickers in a bucket of water with a lid.
Each day take your bucket to a quiet corner of the garden away from any food areas.
Pour the blood back to the earth. Empower your action with silence, thoughtfulness, presence, reverence and love. In this way it becomes ritual. Let this short simple action deepen your connection to the atua waahine – Papa, Hineahuone, Hinetītama, Hinenuitepō and your matrilineal line.
When you pour the blood look up. Can you see Hineteiwaiwa the moon sailing above. What phase is she in? Our tīpuna bled on the dark moon. Like Hineteiwaiwā we retreated from the world to purify and replenish ourselves. When Hineteiwaiwā grew pregnant and full in the sky we ovulated and were at our most fertile. This is the sacred pattern of the womb, cycling in communion with Hineteiwaiwā each month.
Perform your ritual at sunrise to acknowledge the blood as a symbol of life, or at sunset to honour the return of an ancestor back to the land through the blood tide. Use your own intuition and curiosity to guide you. Craft your own sacred way.
The following is a karakia you are welcome to use to assist you in your own ritual.
It was composed by Matua Wiremu Huta Martin in wananga with Ngahuia Murphy.
Tukua te toto tapu ki a Papatūānuku
Maana e whakanoa ki toona ukaipotanga
kia ora te wairua o te ira tangata i te hipanga o te rakaunui
Raurohatia te wahine ia wa o tona awa atua
e nga mareikura e puawai tonu atu ai
kia mauri ora ki te wahine me te whenua
Hui e
Taiki e
Release the sacred blood to mother earth
She will embrace it to revive humanity
at each new moon phase.
May each woman be purified with the blood tide
by the divine feminine beings who renew the life process
that woman and land, the source of life, thrive!
Let it be done!
When you are finished clean your bucket and wash your cloth pads/ikura knickers in the washing machine. Dry them on the line in the sun.
Go have something yummy & nourishing to eat!
Tihei te whare tangata!