MATARIKIBy June Kim

Order

What is Matariki?

When is the maori new year?

What does Matariki mean?

Why is Matariki important?

Matariki

What is Matariki?

Matariki is the Maori name for the group of stars also known as the Pleiades star clus-ter or The Seven Sisters;  and what is referred to as the traditional Maori New Year

When is the maori new year?

The Maori new year is marked by the rise of Matariki and the sighting of the next new moon. The pre-dawn rise of Matariki can be seen in the last few days of May every year and the new year is marked at the sighting of the next new moon which occurs during June. This next occurs on 5 June 2008.

What does Matariki mean?

Matariki has two meanings, both re-ferring to a tiny constellation of stars; Mata Riki (Tiny Eyes) and Mata Ariki (Eyes of God).

Why is Matariki important?

Traditionally, depending on the visibility of Matariki, the coming season's crop was thought to be determined. The brighter the stars indicated the warmer the sea-son would be and thus a more productive crop. It was also seen as an important time for family to gather and reflect on the past and the future.

Matariki 1

In the Māori language Matariki is the name of the Pleiades star cluster, which was important for agriculture in establishing the correct time to plant crops. There are two explanations of the name Matariki: firstly, mata-riki (small eyes) or mata-ariki (chiefly eyes). The constellation is also believed to have been used by navigators.

In traditional times, Matariki was a season to celebrate and to prepare the ground for the coming year. Offer-ings of the produce of the land were made to the gods, including Rongo. This time of the year was also a good time to instruct young people in the lore of the land and the forest. In addition, certain birds and fish were especially easy to harvest at this time.

Matariki 2

The first rising of the Pleiades and of Rigel occurs just prior to sunrise in late May or early June, and this indicates that the old year has ended and the new year has begun. The actual time for celebrating Matariki varies, depending on the iwi. Some iwi cel-ebrate it immediately. Others wait until the rising of the next full moon, or alternatively the dawn of the next new moon. It has become common practice for various private and public institutions to celebrate Matariki over the period of a week or month any-where from early June to late July. Other iwi used the rising of Rigel (Puanga) in a similar way.

Matariki 3

In traditional times, Matariki was a sea-son to celebrate and to prepare the ground for the coming year. Offerings of the produce of the land were made to the gods, including Rongo. This time of the year was also a good time to instruct young people in the lore of the land and the forest. In addition, certain birds and fish were especially easy to harvest at this time.