matariki celebrations

This term our whanau night will be held on Friday 22nd June, this coincides with Matarikii, otherwise known as the Maori New Year. We thought it would be a great idea to have our own Matariki celebrations and would like to invite families to share in the festivities with us.

There will be the usual gold coin donation for a shared kai but as a special treat we have planned to lay down a traditional hangi. This will require an upfront cost for those families who wish to order a hangi dinner. This is very special event and we would like to thank Anaru’s Koru and whanau for offering to do this for us.

As part of our other celebrations we will also have a brazier fire going  where children will have opportunities to toast marshmallows and eat smores (toasted marshmallow between two plain biscuits).

We suggest that children bring a torch as their will also be a treasure hunt for stars. What could be better than exploring the centre by night.

If any of our musical parents would like to bring along their guitars, ukulele’s, bongo’s or other instruments please do so as a sing-a-long will be a must.

What is Matariki?

Matariki is the Maori name for a group of seven stars known as the Pleiades star cluster. Some people think of Matariki as a mother star with six daughters, and it is often referred to as the Seven Sisters.

Matariki appears in the eastern sky sometime around the shortest day of the year, and is thought to determine how successful the harvest crop will be in the coming season. The brighter the stars, the more productive the crop will be.

Traditionally Matariki was celebrated by gathering with whanau (family) and reflecting on the past. The festival’s connection to the stars provided an opportunity for families to remember their whakapapa (genealogy) and those ancestors who had passed away to the heavens. Offerings were made to land-based gods who would help provide good crops, and new trees were planted to signal new beginnings.

Many of these traditional celebrations are still practiced today, however there are many others ways that Matariki is celebrated also. Most celebrations focus around music, song, dance, food and family, and celebrations can last up to 3 days.