The Polynesians, including the Māori, have a long history of navigating the seas using the stars and other heavenly bodies to guide their voyaging canoes over long distances. SOFIA’s journey to fly in the clear air of the southern skies is in some ways akin to the long, sea journeys of the Māori people. To mark this connection, a tribal elder came to the Christchurch International Airport in New Zealand on June 15, 2015, to conduct a traditional ceremony emphasizing a safe and successful mission for SOFIA, her telescope, and all who use them.
Such ceremonies for a telescope and the land that an observatory sits on are a long-standing Polynesian tradition. SOFIA’s staff were happy to continue those traditions and participate in the traditional ceremony of, and pay respects to, the astronomical history of the Māori people.
Two days after SOFIA’s arrival in Christchurch, Māori elder Aroha H. Reriti-Crofts came to perform the traditional ceremony. Reriti-Crofts is from the Ngāi Tahu, the local Māori tribe in the Canterbury area. There are nearly 50,000 Ngāi Tahu tribal members; their ancestors came from somewhere in the central Pacific to New Zealand’s South Island more than 800 years ago in voyaging canoes, navigating by the stars.
Elder Reriti-Crofts is a very distinguished leader, having been a past national president of Te Ropu Wahine Māori Toko i te Ora (Māori Women’s Welfare League), a group that is dedicated to improving the spiritual, economic, educational, and social well-being of the Māori people.
A typical traditional ceremony is conducted at the telescope. However, SOFIA is unique in that the telescope and the airplane are considered one, and the telescope cannot be accessed from the ground without opening the large door on the aircraft’s left side. The door is usually kept closed to prevent the infrared telescope and its instruments from potential damage by the sun.
To work around the access issue, the crew gathered under SOFIA’s tail, near the telescope cavity, where elder Reriti-Crofts began the Ngai Tahu Māori ceremony.
“We gathered around Reriti-Crofts and she got out her Māori chant book and proceeded to chant. The chant lasted about 10 minutes, all in the Māori language,” said SOFIA telescope operator Jeff Cox. “At the conclusion of the ceremony Reriti-Crofts translated her chant, which emphasized that SOFIA and her crew take off and return safely on all missions. She also included our families in her blessing.”
The SOFIA deployment staff contributed personal funds as a gift for performing the ceremony, which will be used to help local Māori churches, schools, and children in need.
The sky and the stars are considered both sacred and useful by Polynesians. SOFIA’s flights of discovery study objects in the same celestial constellations the Māori’s ancestors used to find their way to New Zealand.
— Nicholas A. Veronico