Matariki celebration a ‘positive model to complex problems’ - Editorial
Our stellar public holiday is upon us.
It’s the return of the cluster Matariki, the Māori name for the team of stars that rises in midwinter and heralds the start of the Māori new year.
Across the globe, it’s more commonly known as Pleiades, and is part of a larger constellation of stars called Taurus.
According to Te Papa, around the world it has many names. In Japan, it is called Subaru, which means “to come together”. In China it is Mao, the hairy head of the white tiger, and in India it is known as Krittika. In Greek mythology they are known as the seven sisters, and in Norse mythology the Vikings knew them as Freyja’s hens.
“For many cultures, these stars are connected to celebration, planting, harvesting, weather, and life. For Māori, the rising of Matariki signals te Mātahi o te Tau, the Māori New Year. The appearance of Matariki in the morning sky is a sign for people to gather, to honour the dead, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.”
If you’d have asked most Kiwis what Matariki was not too long ago, most wouldn’t have had the foggiest.
Now its provenance and importance is taught at our schools and feted to the extent we have a public holiday to mark its relevance.
In Hawke’s Bay, Ngati Kahungunu Iwi promotions and events manager Te Rangi Huata played a significant role in reviving interest in the celebration by organising the first modern public event in Hastings in 2000, where about 500 people joined him.
“It provides the opportunity to strengthen communal ties, share positive memories and experiences and lift the aspirations and attitudes of people,” Huata said in 2008.
“Marking Matariki provides a positive model in response to some of the complex problems in our times.
“It provides a peak experience in our social lives with the purpose of reclaiming past traditions within a modern context and growing a culture of positive memories for New Zealanders.”
The push was made official in 2022, with the announcement of a public holiday.
The then Ministry of Education devoted 51 education resources that brought the event to life at schools, helping teachers and students navigate the teachings of Matariki.
That star keeps rising.
Wider than its basic tenets, it teaches life concepts, intent and best of all – storytelling.
It’s become a public holiday like no other. It’s taonga.
There have been many great offshoots. It’s become a gateway into mātauranga Māori and tikanga Māori, with many sources suggesting it’s acted as a catalyst to generate a groundswell of interest in te reo.
Communities are enjoying communal feasts with seasonal food, beach fires, reflection and remembrance.
But while it promotes celebration of the past and future, maybe its best gift is the reminder to celebrate the present.
The return of the cluster has taught us to pause and look upwards.