By Te Ataahia Hurihanganui, Reo Rua Ltd. Māori Language Consultancy
This year, the Matariki season will begin on the 21st of June during the Tangaroa lunar phase or last quarter of the first lunar month Pipiri, with Aotearoa’s very first Matariki public holiday being celebrated this Friday 24th June. The Government has committed to ensuring mātauranga is at the heart of this Matariki public holiday celebration, and it will be a time for:

• Reflection – remembering those we have lost since the last rising of Matariki
• Celebrating the present – gathering to give thanks for what we have
• Planning for the future – looking forward to the promise of a new season and year

Matariki signals the beginning of the New Year according to the Maramataka – the Māori Lunar Calendar and indigenous time-system. Matariki is a star-cluster comprised of nine individual stars – a Māmā and her 8-children. Each star is connected to either the natural environment or to us and traditionally, tohunga kōkōrangi (star lore experts) would read and interpret these stars to forecast the year ahead such as the weather patterns and the abundance of food resources, or the wellbeing of the hapū and community.

The word "Matariki" derives from the phrase “Ngā mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea”, which translates as “The eyes of the God Tāwhirimātea". Tāwhirimātea is the god or element of the winds and is one of the many children of Ranginui (the sky) and Papatūānuku (the land). After his brother, Tāne Māhuta successfully separated Ranginui and Papatūānuku from their eternal embrace at the beginning of time, Tāwhirimātea expressed great sadness and mourning – crying so hard that his tears stung, and eventually gouging out his own eyes. He crushed them in his hands and cast them into the sky to be caught on Ranginui’s chest – a welcome light for his mother Papatūānuku to see her lover above her in the dark of night.

Each year Matariki rises in the Tangaroa lunar phase during the last quarter of the moon – Pipiri – according to the Maramataka. The best time to view Matariki is before dawn, low on the north-eastern horizon, at the tail end of Te Ikaroa (the Milky Way). For the Astronomers out there, find Orion’s Belt, look to the left to find the face of Taurus (a triangle), and you will find Matariki to the left of that.

Matariki was traditionally a time when people would be gathering and resting in the warm indoors – much like hibernation as the past month would have been one of inactive planting, harvesting, hunting, fishing, and food gathering due to the colder, frostier weather and shorter days. It was a time to mourn the dead and acknowledge those who had passed away during the past year – sending the names of loved ones lost to the star Pōhutukawa. A Hautapu, or Umu-kohukohu-whetū ceremony was performed which included unearthing a hāngī and releasing its steam to the heavens. The steam would rise to Matariki and the variety of kai was an offering to each of the stars. This included freshwater kai (for Waitī), saltwater kai (for Waitā), food grown in the ground (for Tupu-ā-Nuku), and food from the sky – birds, berries, and seeds (for Tupu-ā-Rangi). The ceremony would always include a time to wānanga or to think critically, reflect, discuss, and debate. The stars Ururangi (winds and change) and Matariki (beauty and wellbeing) were called upon for the overall wellness and safety of the people, while Hiwa-i-te-Rangi (the wishing star) was where everyone’s goals and resolutions would be sent to for the year ahead.

So…now that you know more about this beautiful time of the year, how do you think you might celebrate Matariki 2022?

Click here for a few ideas on how to celebrate Matariki.
Clcik here to see Mānawatia a Matariki 2022 Learn about Matariki on Youtube.