Matariki – Māori New Year
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24 June 2022
This week on Friday 24th June 2022 is the first Matariki Public Holiday to be held in New Zealand. In New Zealand, the Māori New Year is named Matariki. It’s a time of renewal and celebration in New Zealand that begins with the rising of the Matariki star cluster known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. In Japan this star cluster is known as Subaru, meaning ‘gathered together’.
After the winter’s solstice,which was on Tuesday 21 June this year, the days get longer so this signals the start of the Māori New Year. Matariki Festivals takes place in June or July, aligned with the Matariki star cluster rising. The Public Holiday on Friday for Matariki, is the launch on this important Aotearoa (New Zealand) cultural event.
It has been interesting reading the Maori stories explaining Matariki and the stories of creation and the stars above.
https://teara.govt.nz/en/matariki-maori-new-year
Matariki is an abbreviation of “Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea” or the ‘The eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea’ and refers to a large cluster of stars, known in European tradition as the Pleiades. According to Māori tradition, the god of the wind, Tāwhirimātea, was so angry when his siblings separated their parents, Ranginui the sky father and Papatūānuku the earth mother, that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens.
Traditionally, Matariki was a time to acknowledge the dead and to release their spirits to become stars. It was also a time to reflect, to be thankful to the gods for the harvest, to feast and to share the bounty of the harvest with family and friends.
Matariki, or Māori New Year, celebrations were once popular, but had largely stopped by the 1940s. In the 2000s, they were revived. Now, thousands of people take part in events to honour the beginning of the Māori New Year, and in whānau celebrations to remember those who have died and to plan for the year ahead. From 2022, a public holiday marking Matariki will be held in June or July each year.
New Zealand’s Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern has confirmed the date of the first Matariki public holiday. The first Matariki public holiday will be held on Friday 24 June 2022.
The Government has committed to ensuring matauranga Māori is at the heart of celebrations of the Matariki Public Holiday. “Matariki will be a distinctly New Zealand holiday; a time for reflection and celebration, and our first public holiday that recognises Te Ao Māori".
I have also read this extract, the Story of Matariki, – Te Tau Hou Māori,
Story by Paul Meredith
https://teara.govt.nz/en/matariki-maori-new-year
Twinkling in the winter sky just before dawn, Matariki (the Pleiades) signals the Māori New Year. For Māori, the appearance of Matariki heralds a time of remembrance, joy and peace. It is a time for communities to come together and celebrate. In the 2000s, it became more common for both Māori and Pākehā to celebrate Matariki. From 2022, a public holiday marking Matariki will be held in June or July each year.
Main image: Matariki (the Pleiades) star cluster
It is very exciting to know that New Zealand is embracing the Maori Culture and acknowledging the Maori New Year, Matariki, and establishing a Public Holiday from 2022 to generations to come.
Each time we are looking at the Norfolk Island Magical Dark Skies, we will keep looking for Matariki. Just before sunrise, look North-East horizon or there are excellent star trackers which are fantastic to assist with exploring the night sky.
The location of Puanga and Matariki in the mid-winter sky. From early June, before sunrise, look to the north-east horizon. Find the constellation Tautoru, or Orion’s belt (sometimes called ‘the pot’). Trace a line northwards from the three stars of Tautoru. Look for a faint sparkle of tiny dots, about the same width as Tautoru is long. This is the Matariki star cluster. Matariki can also be seen during the summer months in this location of the sky after sunset.
I have also found another excellent internet link, which has educational links, activities and excellent explanations of Matariki and the stories of reading the stars, the Polynesian ocean navigation skills, and understanding the Maori stories of creation.
Matariki star facts Ngā Meka Matariki
Get the facts about Matariki – a star cluster known worldwide and treasured in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Matariki star cluster. The two meanings of Matariki both refer to stars: mata ariki (eyes of god) and mata riki (little eyes).
1. The reappearance of the Matariki stars signals the beginning of the Māori New Year.
However, not all iwi (tribes)celebrate at the same time. Some may begin festivities on the first full moon after the star cluster rises, or on the next new moon.
2. Matariki is a star cluster, not a constellation.
A cluster is a group of stars that are near each other in space. When seen from Earth, the stars in a constellation appear to be close together in a pattern, but they might actually be far from each other. There are about 500 stars in the Matariki cluster, but only six or seven are visible without a telescope.
3. You can see Matariki for yourself.
The location of Puanga and Matariki in the mid-winter sky. From early June, before sunrise, look to the north-east horizon. Find the constellation Tautoru, or Orion’s belt (sometimes called ‘the pot’). Trace a line northwards from the three stars of Tautoru. Look for a faint sparkle of tiny dots, about the same width as Tautoru is long. This is the Matariki star cluster. Matariki can also be seen during the summer months in this location of the sky after sunset.
4. Matariki is one of the star clusters nearest to Earth.
Compared with other star clusters, Matariki is close to Earth – but it’s still 440 light years away. If you drove there in a car at a speed of 100 kilometres an hour, you would arrive in 4.8 billion years!
5. Matariki has many different names around the world.
The star cluster is visible to the naked eye from most parts of our planet, and has many different names. In English, it is called the Pleiades (its ancient Greek name) or the Seven Sisters. The Hawaiian name is Makali‘i, or ‘eyes of royalty’, and in Japan it is Subaru, meaning ‘gathered together’.
6. Some iwi use Puanga (Rigel in the constellation Orion) as a signal for the new year.
Matariki’s reappearance in the north-east sky is not visible in all parts of New Zealand, especially in areas to the west of mountains. For some iwi in Taranaki and Whanganui, and on the West Coast of the South Island, the new year begins with the rising of Puanga.
7. In the past, tohunga looked to Matariki to predict if the next harvest would be abundant.
The brighter and clearer the stars seemed, the warmer the growing season would be, ensuring a good harvest. Tohunga - priests or experts
8. Many iwi speak of the Matariki stars as a mother and her daughters.
The mother is Matariki, and her daughters are Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rang, Waipunarangi, Waitī, Waitā and Ururangi.
Tupu-ā-nuku, star associated with everything that grows within the soil to be harvested or gathered for food.
Tupu-ā-rangi
– one of the stars in Te Kāhui o Matariki, the Pleiades star cluster.
Waipunarangi star associated with the rain.
Waitī star associated with all fresh water bodies and the food sources that are sustained by those waters.
Waitā star associated with the ocean, and food sources within it.
Ururangi star associated with the winds.
9. For some iwi, Matariki is connected to the creation story of Ranginui and Papatūānuku.
One Matariki story is about when Tāwhirimātea (Tāwhirimātea god of the wind)discovered that his parents Ranginui (Ranginui Sky father)and Papatūānuku (Papatūānuku Earth mother) had been separated. He tore out his eyes in anger and threw them into the sky – the stars are his seven eyes.
10. Matariki was used by the crews of voyaging waka
waka (Canoe) to guide them across the Pacific.
Tohunga kōkōrangi (Tohunga kōkōrangi expert astronomers) used stars and star clusters such as Matariki to help them navigate great distances across the Pacific. Today, there is a revival of these traditional navigation skills. Crews have sailed double-hulled waka from as far as Rarotonga to Aotearoa New Zealand, guided only by traditional methods.
I wish everyone a special first Matariki Public Holiday in New Zealand. To all our Kiwiland family and friends, Happy Maori New Year.
Betty Matthews
June 2022