What You Need To Know About Matariki

By Anne-Marie Jones & Robecca Leyden

If you’re in New Zealand, you’ll know that Friday marks the first year the country will officially observe the Maori winter solstice tradition, Matariki.

So, what is with Matariki?

We’re all talking about it right now (and let’s face it, looking forward to enjoying an extra public holiday), but many of us don’t know what it is or what it’s about.

Matariki is known as the ‘Māori New Year’, due to the Matariki star cluster appearing in the sky at this time. It holds huge significance as it is a time for reflection, to remember those who have passed since the last Matariki, to enjoy and share the harvest, and to appreciate the environment and people.

Matariki marks the changing of the year. It is a time to reflect upon the previous year and plan for the next. The common Māori translation of Matariki is “eyes of the god”.

The stars of Matariki are often known as ‘the seven sisters’, or as Matariki, the whaea (mother), surrounded by her six daughters, Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Waipunarangi, Waitī and Waitā, and Ururangi.

According to myth, when Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother, were separated by their children, the god of the winds, Tāwhirimātea, became so angry that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens.

Since this time, every year at a time around mid-winter, a cluster of stars called Matariki rises to mark the new year. There are about 500 stars in the Matariki star cluster, but only six or seven are visible without a telescope.