The many meanings of Matariki
[Opening image: morning sky over a bay]
[Dr. Pauline Harris sitting in the marae at Te Papa, time-lapse of night sky over body of water with stars rising moving to a sun rise, Dr. Pauline Harris sitting in the marae at Te Papa]
Dr Pauline Harris
Matariki is really significant to many cultures around the world and there's lots of ancient stories about what Matariki is and how important it is. It's a star or group of stars that you use to indicate the New Year. So it's the heliacal rising of our stars, and there's many stars that are used to tell what time of the year it is. But Matariki and Puanga, Puanga is the star Rigel, and that those stars are used to indicate the Māori New Year.
[Time-lapse of a night sky with stars over a body of water moving to a sun rise]
Voice over
A Heliacal rising is a star that rises from the horizon just before dawn. Some stars disappear from the night sky and then reappear again during the year. Matariki is such a star, reappearing in mid to late June depending on where you are.
[Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr sitting in marae at Te Papa, coastline on a bright sunny day, two individuals on a beach looking towards the sun, long grass on a beach, man standing in a field, Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr sitting in marae at Te Papa]
Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr
For me Matariki means a time of reflection, a time of hanging out with whānau and friends and remembering the people who are no longer hanging out with us. You know, Matariki is a good marker for when we are on a waka, watching the appearance of the stars, whether they're really clear, or really cloudy, can tell us what sort of season, whether it's going to be long, dry, summer coming up, and all those kinds of things. So little messages like that.
[Group of people standing in the dark in front of a fire, close up of a fire, 2 people carrying kai in the dark, kai being put into the hangi, man and girl walking through the bush]
Voice over
Matariki is about remembrance – honouring those we have lost since the last rising of Matariki, celebrating the present – gathering together and giving thanks for what we have, and looking to the future and the promise of the new year.
[Professor Rangiānehu Mātāmua sitting in marae at Te Papa, group of people standing in the dark in front of a fire, a bay with water and a sunrise]
Professor Rangiānehu Mātāmua
I take a dedicated moment to think about those people that have impacted upon my life, and my family. And particularly if we've lost them since the last rising of Matariki, I'll call out their names to the cluster and farewell them that final time as they become a star in the sky.
[Victoria Campbell sitting in the marae at Te Papa, man walking through dirt field, person picking up kumara, person on a beach, man and girl looking out onto a sunrise over a body of water, Victoria Campbell sitting in the marae at Te Papa]
Victoria Campbell
And so Matariki for me is a time that our whānau gets together and we remember those that have passed during the year. It is also a time to prepare for the future, so we look to what mahika kai, what food sources we might be focusing on for the year ahead. And it's also a time to celebrate and enjoy ourselves and our whānau.
[Dr. Hond standing in community garden, Dr. Hond walking through the garden, Dr. Hond standing in community garden]
Dr Ruakere Hond
So it is a season where everything has been accomplished in the summer, the spring, the autumn and now, we must start to prepare for the coming year. It is an important time for the family and community to talk about the coming year.
[Time-lapse of a sunny sky with clouds, a mountain and body of water]
Voice over
Some iwi use other stars such as Rehua or Antares; and Puanga or Rigel to mark the new year.
[Rereata Makiha sitting in the marae at Te Papa, time-lapse of people at nighttime standing around an outdoor fire, kai and a hangi, time-lapse of people at nighttime standing around an outdoor fire, Rereata Makiha sitting in the marae at Te Papa]
Rereata Makiha
Yeah, I think it's similar with those who follow Matariki those who follow Rehua and those who follow Puanga, that it's a time of closing down the old year. But first of all, what we do is we shut down the old year and then we welcome in the new year and have a look at doing all sorts of different types of not so much celebrations, but reflections and those types of things.
[Woman standing on a mountain looking at the sun, Dr. Hond standing in community garden, close up of fire, Dr. Hond standing in community garden]
Dr Ruakere Hond
We perform karakia and karanga and greet the star, Puanga. We also farewell the year that has passed. We farewell Rehua (Antares) because Rehua will no longer be seen. When that ritual is done on the hill we come back to the garden here in the village to light the fire. That fire is a symbol of prosperity and health to all upon this land.
[Professor Rangiānehu Mātāmua sitting in marae at Te Papa, man standing in a green field, person looking out into the distance, Professor Rangiānehu Mātāmua sitting in marae at Te Papa, aerial view of bay with a bridge, hills and a town, Professor Rangiānehu Mātāmua sitting in marae at Te Papa]
Professor Rangiānehu Mātāmua
I think to myself, you know, what have I done throughout the year, to support my communities to support my people, my family, you know what, I hold myself accountable at that time of year. And I think about what I'm going to do for the impending year, you know, how have I positively impacted upon, not just my community, but on my environment.
[Jack Thatcher sitting in marae at Te Papa, ocean with a rising sun, Jack Thatcher sitting in marae at Te Papa, time-lapse of a night sky moving to a sunrise over a body of water, Jack Thatcher sitting in marae at Te Papa, time-lapse of a night sky moving to a sunrise over a body of water, Jack Thatcher sitting in marae at Te Papa, child on an ipad looking at a starry image, man and child in the back of a Ute looking at the sky, Jack Thatcher sitting in marae at Te Papa]
Jack Thatcher
When I think about about Matariki I always think about how our tūpuna when they sailed on their waka down here to Aotearoa, that they used a whole system of different patterns of stars throughout the heavens, and Matariki was one of those whetū that fell into the patterns that they utilise. I learned as a schoolboy, at my old school Hato Pētera in Northcote, Auckand, a little tau that went "Tākina mai rā ko ngā hui o Matariki, Puanga tautoru, ka ngaro Atutahi" this describing a certain area of the sky that's important to the Matariki kōrero. And when we talk about the huinga Matariki we're not always just talking about Matariki itself, but all those stars that create those that patterns around her. So by learning the patterns, we're able to teach our kids to be able to remember the stories and remember the heritage that they have. That's why it's really important to me.
[End shot: time-lapse of a night sky over a marae]