New Zealand celebrates Maori New Year
26 May 2008
New Zealand is in the swing of its own thanksgiving festival as the country celebrates Matariki or Maori New Year.
This year's celebrations are the biggest New Zealand has ever witnessed and were launched with a dawn service at Te Papa the National Museum of New Zealand, On June 6. Hundreds of events are taking place around the country throughout the month and will feature live music and dance, workshops and insightful lectures.
Matariki is a cluster of stars, also known as the Pleiades, or The Seven Sisters. For Maori, the stars' appearance in the skies above Aotearoa, signifies the end of one year, and the beginning of another.
Traditionally, Matariki (translated as Tiny Eyes or Eyes of God) occurred at the end of harvest and it was a time to celebrate, prepare the land for planting, renew associations with whanau - family and friends, reflect on the past and set goals for the future.
Matariki Awareness Grows
As New Zealand Matariki celebrations continue to grow so too does the international awareness of the festival. High profile media representatives from throughout the world have attended this year's key Matariki events.
And for international visitors at that time, the celebrations will offer an opportunity to experience every aspect of New Zealand's unique Maori culture.
Tourism statistics show that Maori culture is playing an increasingly important role in bringing visitors to New Zealand and improving their experience while they’re here and many are expected to join in the 2008 Matariki celebrations.
Events Held Around New Zealand
Dates of celebrations differ throughout the country depending on various Iwi or tribes. Festivals and community events will showcase local food, art, fashion, music and every aspect of Maori culture. Key regions for this year’s celebrations are Wellington, Auckland, Hawkes Bay and Northland though several events are also planned for the South Island.
The Significance of Matariki to Maori
There are many stories about the significance of Matariki as a navigational star and also as a portent on whether the coming harvests will be plentiful. If the stars in the cluster are clear and bright, it is thought that the year will be warm and productive. If they appear hazy and shimmering, cold winter is in store for us, and all activities during the period of Matariki must take this into account.
Some say that Matariki is the mother surrounded by her six daughters, other stories suggest that Matariki is a male star. These are the Māori names that make up the other six prominent stars of the Matariki cluster, Tupu-a-Nuku, Tupu-a-Rangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipunarangi and Ururangi.
Matariki is celebrated at different times by different tribes. For some, feasts are held when it is first seen. For others, it is the full moon after it rises that is celebrated and for others, celebrations are centred on the dawn of the new moon.
Matariki By Another Name
Astronomers generally refer to Matariki as Pleaides. The cluster is a group of many hundreds of stars about 400 light years from Earth and has been recognised since ancient times. The brightest stars are quite easy to see with the unaided eye in Greek legend bear the names of Seven Sisters, the daughters of Atlas and Pleone, Alcyone, Merope, Asterops, Maia, Taygeta, Calaeno and Electra.
For some tribes Puanga or Rigel is the star that signifies the beginning of the Māori New Year.
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