māra tautāne
1. (noun) ceremonial garden - the signal to plant this garden is when Matariki rises in the Māori new year. All the crops grown in this garden, called huamata, were offered to Rongo, atua of cultivated food, and Matariki.
I mua o te onoono i ngā kūmara ki te māra nui, ka whakatōhia te māra tautāne (Te Ara 2011). / Before planting the kūmara in the main garden, there was a ceremonial planting in the special kūmara garden.
