Mānawatia a Matariki

In 2022, Matariki became Aotearoa, New Zealand’s first public holiday to recognise and celebrate Te Ao Māori. Matariki has long held an important place throughout the Pacific. The star cluster is important for navigation, migration and growing and harvesting food. It is also believed to be a significant constellation by many other cultures around the world.

Matariki (Pleiades) is the name of an individual star within the cluster of stars, as well as the name for the cluster itself. The group of stars rises together in June or July, signalling the start of the Māori New Year. For some iwi, the new year is marked by the rising of Puanga (Rigel). This star is found in the Orion constellation, which rises before Matariki.

The word “Matariki” is a shortened version of “Ngā mata o te Ariki o Tāwhirimātea”. Tāwhirimātea is the atua (god) of the wind. He was so upset by the separation of his parents – Ranginui (sky father) and Papatūānuku (earth mother) – that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens. They became the stars we now know as the constellation Matariki.

In this story, we are reminded of the grief and anger we feel after being separated from those we love, and of the close connection between the earth and the sky. The importance of looking up and observing the world around us is also made clear to us.

Matariki went on to marry Rehua (Antares). She gave birth to eight children, each forming stars in the cluster and providing information about the environment for the year ahead:

• Matariki (Alcyone): Connected with the health and wellbeing of people.
• Pōhutukawa (Sterope/Asterope): Connected with those who have passed on, especially those who have passed since the last rising.
• Tupuānuku (Pleione): Connected with everything grown in the soil that is harvested or gathered as food.
• Tupuārangi (Atlas): Connected with food from the sky, or up in the trees. For example, birds, fruits and berries.
• Waitī (Maia): Connected with freshwater ecosystems.
• Waitā (Taygeta): Connected with the ocean and the food sources within it.
• Waipuna-ā-rangi (Electra): Connected with the nature of rain.
• Ururangi (Merope): Connected with the nature of winds.
• Hiwa-i-te-rangi (Celaeno): Connected with granting our wishes and realising our hopes and setting intentions for the coming year.

The cold winter days of Matariki not only allow Papatūānuku to replenish but also offer the opportunity for people to come together with those they love to reflect. It is an

awesome time to get creative, to celebrate traditions, tell stories, and remember loved ones that have passed. We acknowledge the past, practise gratitude in the present, and look ahead to all the possibilities of what the new year might bring.