He Kupu whakataki – Introduction

What is Matariki

I ia tau, i te wāhanga o te takurua, ka kōwhitiwhiti mai a Matariki e rikoriko ana i te rangi i te ata hāpara. I te ao Māori, koia nei ia te tohu mō te tīmatanga o te tau hōu; he wā tēnei hei maumahara me te poroporoaki i ngā mate, hei whakanui i te ao mārama me te āwhio o te ora; hei aro hoki ki mua ki te tau e heke mai. Nā reira, i tēnei rautau, kua whakarauora ēnei ritenga, ā, he maha ngā momo mahi i Aotearoa hei whakanui i a Matariki.

Ko Matariki te kāhui whetū e kīia ana e te Pākehā, ko Pleiades. Tārewa tū ai a Matariki i Aotearoa i te marama o Pipiri, i te Hōngongoi rānei. He rerekē ngā rā i ia tau, nā te mea ka whai Maramataka ēnei tikanga. Hei te ata pō ka kitea a Matariki i te pito o Te Ika-whenua-o-te-rangi (Milky Way), e tārewa ana i te pae o te uru-mā-rāwhiti.

Kei tēnā iwi, kei tēnā iwi āna tikanga, tōna wā hei whakanui i a Matariki. Ko ētahi iwi ka whakanui i te putanga mai anō a Matatriki me tōna matenga hei te mutunga o te marama, ko ētahi iwi ka tatari kia hua te marama, ko ētahi atu iwi ka tatari kia kōwhiti te marama hōu. Ki ētahi iwi e iwa ngā whetū, ki ētahi e whitu noa. Ka whakanui ētahi iwi i a Puanga/Puaka hoki.

Heoi, kei tēnā iwi, kei tēnā iwi Māori āna momo kōrero, āna waiata, āna whakataukī hei whakanui i a Matariki.

Every year during winter twinkling in the sky just before dawn, Matariki (the Pleiades) signals the Māori New Year. Traditionally, it was a time for remembering the dead, celebrating new life, reading signs for the upcoming new year, and planning for the future. In this century, observing Matariki has been revitalised, and is celebrated in a number of different ways in Aotearoa.

Matariki is the Māori name for the small cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades in the Taurus constellation. In Aotearoa Matariki reappears in June or July. This date changes each year as tikanga Māori follow the lunar calendar. Matariki comes into view in the tail of the Milky Way, low on the north-eastern horizon just before dawn.  

Various Māori tribes celebrated Matariki at different times. Some held festivities when Matariki was first seen in the dawn sky; others celebrated after the rise of the full moon or at the beginning of the next new moon. Iwi recognise differing numbers of stars within the constellation Matariki, some iwi also recognise and incorporate the star Puanga or Puaka. There are different knowledge and traditions relating to the meanings of the stars.

Kāhui Whetū o Matariki – Stars of the Matariki Cluster

Reference: Moorfield, J. (n.d.). MāoriDictionary. 

How to find the Matariki cluster