Matariki

Matariki - Maori New Year Matariki is the Māori name for the small cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters, in the Taurus constellation. In New Zealand it comes into view low on the north- eastern horizon, appearing in the tail of the Milky Way in the last days of May or in early June, just before dawn. This heralds the Māori New Year.

Early Maori and Matariki The ancestors of Māori used Matariki (as well as other stars and natural signs) to navigate across the Pacific Ocean to Aotearoa New Zealand. Here on land, Matariki was strongly connected to the seasons for harvesting and planting. The couple of months just before its rising were the season when Māori would harvest and preserve birds and other food for sustenance over the winter months. Māori astronomers used Matariki to identify if the weather would be good or bad for the coming season. Around the end of April, they would await the first rising of Matariki. Stars shining brightly signalled that it would be a warm year and that crops would be abundant. Blurry or dim stars were a sign that the year would be cold and that crops would be scarce. This also determined when crops would be planted for the coming year. The first sighting of Matariki was acknowledged and celebrated by a tohunga (priest) with karakia (incantations) to acknowledge the new year. Matariki was also a time when those who had passed away in the previous year were commemorated – a practice that continues today. Some iwi would lay down a small hāngī to acknowledge the arrival of Matariki. They believed that, by checking how well-cooked the food in the hāngī was, they could foresee whether it would be a good or a bad year.

Legends of Matariki Matariki literally means the ‘eyes of god’ (mata ariki) or ‘little eyes’ (mata riki). Some say that when Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother were separated by their offspring, the god of the winds, Tāwhirimātea, became angry, tearing out his eyes and hurling them into the heavens. Others say Matariki is the mother surrounded by her six daughters, Tupu-ā- nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipuna-ā-rangi and Ururangi. One account explains that Matariki and her daughters appear to assist the sun, Te Rā, whose winter journey from the north has left him weakened.

Robyn Kahukiwa

Gourds (hue) Hine Pū te Hue is the spiritual entity for the hue - a marrow-like vegetable brought to Aotearoa and cultivated by Māori. She is a daughter of Tāne Māhuta (god of the forests and birds). Dried and hollowed gourds were used as containers for water and preserved food. Smaller ones were used as containers for perfume. Hine Pū te Hue is associated with calming storms. The sounds created from the hue are soothing and peaceful, like the spirit of Hine Pū te Hue.

Hue uses Taonga pūoro were originally used for many purposes - as a call to arms in warfare, as a signalling device, and to warn of imminent danger. They are also known to have been used to sound the dawning of a new day, to communicate with Māori gods, and to signify the planting of certain crops at different times of the year.

Designs need to celebrate Indigenous Maori culture

Tracey Tawhiao Matariki Installation

Matariki Exhibition Arts night Around the second week of June we are planning a Matariki art night where parents and community can come and celebrate Matariki and enjoy seeing your creative talents. For this Exhibition we are aiming to create a light cosmic installation that relates to Matariki. Media we will be using will be paint, gourds, lacquer, and lighting devices.