During the coldest time each year the Matariki
star cluster comes rising up for the first time in
the eastern sky. This occurrence marks the
beginning of an important time of year
– the Māori New Year.
Matariki animation
Traditional Matariki celebrations
‘Matariki ahunga nui’ (Matariki, provider of plentiful food).
These occurred at the end of the harvest season
when storage houses (pataka kai) were filled with
food and the land was unproductive. People
gathered to survive the winter, remember the past
and plan for the new year. It was a time where
people learned about their genealogy (songs were
composed).
Sharing of food is very important during Matariki.
Conservation and respect for the
environment are strong themes
during Matariki.
This is a time for coming together with
whānau (family) to think about the past
year, plan for the future, and to take action.
In doing this, we come
to understand how
each member of our
whānau plays their
own special part.
Sharing in, and
appreciating the
wisdom and skills of
our family members,
especially our elders,
can help us to shape
what we do for and in
the world.
The seven stars of Matariki are a family too.
The star Matariki is the whaea
(mother), surrounded by her 6 daughters:
Tupu-ā-nuku; Tupu-ā-rangi; Waipunarangi;
Waitī and Waitā; and Ururangi.
Astronomy and the discovery of Aotearoa
(Slide show will run automatically)
Maori legend has it that Kupe discovered the Land of the Long White Cloud (Aotearoa).
Kupe would have used star navigation during his exploration of the South Pacific.
Knowing where South is important if you are travelling in that direction. Kupe could easily
find the Southern Celestial Pole using two constellations:
The Southern Cross
The Pointers,
or Alpha and Beta Centauri
Take the middle of the Pointers
and draw a line that intersects
with the bottom star of the
Southern Cross
Southern Celestial Pole
Where would the Southern Celestial Pole be in this picture?
At the very bottom of the screen:
Southern Celestial Pole
Most constellations were named by Astronomers in the Northern Hemisphere:
They looked at this constellation and saw….
A Scorpion (Scorpius)
Maori and Polynesian Astronomers saw something different being on the Southern
Hemisphere:
They looked at this constellation and saw….
The Hook of Maui, Te matau a Maui
How did the Fish Hook end up in the sky? According to Legend Maui threw it up
there when he and his brothers caught a Giant Fish:
Can you guess what happened to
the Fish, Canoe and Anchor?
They became Aotearoa!
When is Matariki?
Of the many stars and constellations whose
movement denoted milestones in the traditional
Māori calendar, Matariki is one of the most
significant.
Matariki is a small but distinctive star cluster that
disappears below the horizon in April and whose
reappearance in the north eastern pre-dawn sky in
late May or early June marks the start of a new
phase of life.
Before Māori were introduced to the
Gregorian calendar they used their own
system of distinguishing specific time periods.
Naturally occurring events acted as markers to
indicate the end of one time period and the
beginning of the next. These markers included
the migration and movement of birds, the
flowering of plants, the migration and
spawning habits of fish and eels and the
movements of the stars across the sky.
While the middle of the night might be the
most obvious time to view stars, Māori
traditionally observed stars in the eastern
sky just before sunrise.
Where is Matariki?
Matariki is sometimes hard to spot if you are
not sure what you are looking for but if you
follow the line of Orion’s belt (the bottom of
the ‘pot’) down to the left then Matariki can be
seen as a small twinkling mass of light.
Matariki is Pleiades and is the shoulder of
Taurus the Bull.
Early Mäori 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 was 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.
Matariki beyond Aotearoa New Zealand
The star cluster that Māori call Matariki is seen at
different times throughout the year in different
countries, where indigenous peoples have their
own names for it.
In Samoa, Matariki is called Matali‘i, and the star
cluster can be seen in the evening sky during the
month of October.
In some countries, such as Japan, only six stars
can be seen. The Japanese name for Matariki is
Subaru.
Interactive activity
Go to the website below and work through the
activity
http://www.wicked.org.nz/Interactives/Maorithemed-interactives-in-English/Matariki
‘Everything there is to know about
Matariki
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/80739387/MatarikiEverything-there-is-to-know-about-it
Conclusion
Matariki is a good time to reflect on your
place in the world, to reawaken old skills
or try out new ones and to set new goals.
There are many things you can do to
mark Matariki in your own special way.
Some may be based on traditional Māori
ways of celebrating. For some ideas to get
you started view the next few slides……
Activity: The stars of Matariki / Ngā whetu o Matariki
What you need:
4 x 45 cm strips
of curling
ribbon/florists
ribbon that is 10
mm wide
(2 strips per
colour)
How to make them:
https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/maori-stars-whetu/
Activity: Hot air balloon making
How to make them - see hot air balloon folder
Activity: Maori kite making
Manu Tukutuku
The point of the kite is
upwards towards the
stars/ancestors
How to make Manu Tukutuku
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-f4MVvcmLk
Find out about Maori kites
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/kites-and-manu-tukutuku
Activity: Sprout your own kumara
Lay your kumara or piece of kumara, in
damp sand, or suspend it in a jar of water
using toothpicks. Keep in a warm sunny
place. Change the water once a week.
After a couple of weeks, you will notice
shoots growing off the kumara.
When the shoots are about 10 centimetres
long, pull the toothpicks away from the
kumara. Plant your kumara in pots and
water them well. Give them to your friends
and whanau (family) as gifts.
Planting kumara shoots/slips in the
garden
• You can also cut off the shoots, place them in a
glass/jar of water to grow lots of roots. When
the weather warms up, plant the new plants in
the garden.
Kumara
• Discuss the Maori proverb
Kaore te kumara e korero mo tona ake reka
(the kumara/sweet potato does not say how sweet it
is)
• Find out about where kumara came from, and in
pre-European timeswhen they are harvested, how
they are stored, how they are eaten, where they
grow best and how they are protected.
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/kumara
Plan a shared morning tea or lunch
Posters about Matariki