A celebration of love, life, and people
Matariki gives us an opportunity to celebrate bringing people together, the warmth of people together, celebrating one another in life.
The New Zealand calendar is filled with holidays of great significance, however one celebration that is rapidly growing in popularity is the Māori New Year, known as Matariki.
Matariki is a constellation of stars also known as the Pleiades star cluster. Myths and legends surrounding Matariki talk of the stars representing the ‘six sisters’ with Matariki being the central star surrounded by the remaining six:
Waitī, Waitā, Uru-ā-rangi, Waipuna-ā-rangi, Tupu-ā-rangi, and Tupu-ā-nuku.
Matariki literally means the ‘eyes of god’ (mata ariki) or ‘little eyes’ (mata riki). Some stories say that when Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother, were separated by their children, the god of the winds, Tāwhirimātea, became angry, and tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens. Others explain that Matariki and her daughters appear to assist the sun, Te Rā, whose winter journey from the north has left him tired.
Matariki is a time to reflect with family and friends on the loved ones who have passed on and to acknowledge the blessings that you have in your life. Matariki is a celebration orientated around family, food, and music, and it is one that all people from all cultures should engage in, as it is not only a celebration of one’s culture, but a celebration of all people as one.
