Year 3 · Social Sciences, Science · 2 minutes
Matariki: the Māori New Year
Remember, celebrate, and look ahead.
Key terms
- Matariki
- A cluster of stars, called the Pleiades in English, whose rising in mid-winter starts the Māori New Year.
- Whānau
- Family, who gather together at Matariki.
- Kai
- Food, which families share at Matariki.
- Iwi
- A Māori tribe; some iwi celebrate a different star, Puanga.
- Puanga
- A star that some iwi celebrate instead, because it is easier to see from where they live.
- Tupuānuku
- The Matariki star that looks after food that grows in the ground, like kūmara.
Transcript
Kia ora! Look up into the winter sky, just before the sun comes up. Can you see a tiny cluster of twinkling stars? That is Matariki.
Matariki is a group of stars. In English, it is called the Pleiades. In the middle of winter, in June or July, Matariki rises in the east, just before dawn. For many Māori, that means a new year has begun.
Let's look closer. Each star has a name, and each one looks after something special. Tupuānuku looks after food that grows in the ground, like kūmara. Tupuārangi looks after food from up high, like berries and birds. Waitī looks after fresh water, like rivers and lakes. Waitā looks after the ocean. Waipunarangi brings the rain, and Ururangi brings the wind. Pōhutukawa is the star for people who have died. Hiwa-i-te-rangi is the wishing star. And Matariki herself looks after our health and wellbeing.
So Matariki is a time to remember people we have lost, to gather with whānau and share kai, and to make wishes for the year ahead.
Since twenty twenty two, Matariki has been a public holiday in Aotearoa. Some iwi celebrate a different star, called Puanga, because it is easier to see from where they live.
So remember: Matariki is a star cluster. Its rising starts the Māori New Year. It is a time to remember, celebrate, and look ahead. Mānawatia a Matariki!
Sources
Every fact in the video, and where it comes from.
- 1tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/maori/mat…
- Matariki is a star cluster also known as the Pleiades; it rises in the pre-dawn sky above the eastern horizon in mid-winter (June/July) and marks the Māori New Year.
- Some iwi (e.g. Taranaki, Whanganui) look to Puanga (Rigel) rather than Matariki to mark the new year, partly because Matariki is hidden by the land to the east.
- 2mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/employment-and-skills/…
- Matariki has been a public holiday in Aotearoa since 2022 (first observed 24 June 2022); the date shifts each year with the maramataka.
- 3mbie.govt.nz/assets/values-for-matariki-celebrations-matari…
- Three principles of Matariki: remembrance (honouring those lost since the last rising), celebrating the present (gathering to give thanks), looking to the future (the promise of a new year).
- 4matarikidev.twoa.ac.nz/the-stars-of-matariki
- Star associations: Matariki – health and wellbeing; Pōhutukawa – those who have passed on; Tupuānuku – food grown in the soil; Tupuārangi – food from the trees (fruits, berries, birds); Waitī – fresh water; Waitā – the ocean; Waipuna-ā-rangi – rain; Ururangi – winds; Hiwa-i-te-rangi – wishes and aspirations for the year.
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