Matariki

What is Matariki?

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises in midwinter and for many Māori, it heralds the start of a new year. Iwi across New Zealand understand and celebrate Matariki in different ways and at different times.

Matariki is an abbreviation of ‘Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea (‘The eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea’) and refers to a large cluster of stars, known in European tradition as the Pleiades. According to Māori tradition, the god of the wind, Tāwhirimātea, was so angry when his siblings separated their parents, Ranginui the sky father and Papatūānuku the earth mother, that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens.

What about Puanga (Puaka)?

The Matariki cluster is less visible in some parts of the country than in others, particularly to the west of mountains.  Puanga / Puaka (Kāi Tahu dialect) is the reo Māori name for Rigel, a supergiant star located around 860 light years away from Earth, and one of the brightest in our sky.

Rising in the eastern sky before the sun during the winter period, the bright star Puanga / Puaka is recognised and given prominence by some iwi as a marker of the seasonal change as Matariki is unable to be seen from their rohe.  In Te Waipounamu, the South Island, Puanga / Puaka rises a few minutes earlier in the morning sky than Matariki.  Ackowledgement of either Matariki or Puanga / Puaka does not reject the other.

The cycle of life and death

Traditionally, Matariki was a time to acknowledge the dead and to release their spirits to become stars. It was also a time to reflect, to be thankful to the gods for the harvest, to feast and to share the bounty of the harvest with family and friends.

Matariki revived

Matariki, or Māori New Year, celebrations were once popular, but had largely stopped by the 1940s. In the 2000s, they were revived. Now, thousands of people take part in events to honour the beginning of the Māori New Year, and in whānau celebrations to remember those who have died and to plan for the year ahead. From 2022, a public holiday marking Matariki will be held in June or July each year.