The Ngātiwai Trust Board kicked off the Matariki celebrations with Whakanuia a Matariki me Puanga but there's plenty more to come in Northland. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The Ngātiwai Trust Board kicked off the Matariki celebrations with Whakanuia a Matariki me Puanga but there's plenty more to come in Northland. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Northlanders are gearing up to celebrate the first-ever Matariki public holiday on June 24 alongside the rest of the nation.
Matariki is the Māori name for the star cluster commonly known as Pleiades, the rising of which is traditionally used as the marker for the Māori New Year.
The starswithin the cluster each bear a symbolic name with Matariki - connected to health and wellbeing - the mother to the other stars in the cluster. Pōhutakawa is connected to those who have passed on; Tupuānuku is for food grown in the ground and Tupuārangi is connected to food from the sky; Waitī links to freshwater food and Waitā, saltwater food; Waipunarangi is connected to rain; Ururangi to winds; and Hiwa-i-te rangi relates to your dreams and hopes for the year ahead.
Because Matariki can be difficult to see in different parts of the country, several iwi use a different star as their signal. For example, some Far North iwi recognise the rise of Puanga (also known as Rigel) as the start of the Māori New Year.
Traditionally Matariki was welcomed with a formal ceremony called Whāngai i te Hautapu. Karakia would be performed and food from the environment cooked as an offering to the stars for the past year's gratuities. After which whānau would come together to feast and enjoy games, as well as prepare for the year ahead.
For present-day ideas on how to remember those who have passed, pay homage to the present and plan for the future as part of Matariki 2022 check out our guide below:
Far North
June 17 to July 31 - The Matariki Festival 2022 The Bay of Islands
Matariki Pēwhairangi Bay of Islands is packed with events to feed your mind, body, and soul. Story-telling, cultural experiences, Matariki-inspired feasts, artisan markets, music, family fun and some of the best stargazing opportunities in the land.
The Oromahoe School Light Festival will dazzle this Matariki. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Highlights include a three-hour astrophotography workshop at Carrington Estate (June 17); Oromahoe School Light Festival laden with lantern displays and grottos (June 18); free activities at the Paihia and Russell waterfronts with street food, storytelling, music, kapa haka plus fireworks and waka displays in the evening (June 24); a dawn cruise from either Russell or Paihia to watch Matariki rising followed by breakfast on Urupukapuka Island (June 25) and later that day enjoy some live music with Salmonella Dub and Tiki Taane playing in Paihia. Top off the celebrations by making a splash off Russell Wharf during the manu/bomb competition on July 16.
A full programme of all the wonderful events, workshops, and opportunities can be found by visiting matarikinz.com.
June 24 - Watch the All Blacks train 9.30am at the Kerikeri Rugby Club
Spend Matariki watching the All Blacks train in Kerikeri. Photo / NZME
The entire team are heading to Northland for their first full-squad training camp on the Matariki long weekend to prepare for the Steinlager three-test series against Ireland in July.
The team arrive in Kerikeri on June 22 and as well as training, they will visit Waitangi a day later.
Fans are invited to come along and watch the team train at the Kerikeri Rugby Club from 9.30am on Friday, June 24.
Kerikeri Rugby Club president Brad Davies said watching their All Black stars was an opportunity a lot of Northlanders may not otherwise get as many would not be able to go to their games.
June 26 - Pompallier Mission free exhibition and talk 5 The Strand, Russell
An exhibition of some of the earliest known examples of Māori engagement with writing and drawing on paper from 1793 to 1835 will take place.
The special Matariki exhibition will be supported by a talk at 11am by Professor Alison Jones - a professor at Te Puna Wānanga School of Māori and Indigenous Education at The University of Auckland.
Professor Alison Jones will be giving a special talk about the earliest Māori engagement with writing at the Pompallier Mission and Printery. Photo / COMMS Photography
Alison is an author of several books including This Pākehā Life: An Unsettled Memoir, shortlisted for an Ockham New Zealand book award. She is also co-author of the award-winning book He Kōrero: Words Between Us – First Māori-Pākehā conversations on paper.
Her talk will cover the 1814 letter to hapū in the Bay of Islands negotiating the conditions of the first Pākehā settlement; the establishment by local Māori of the first school in New Zealand in 1816; the unique letters sent in 1818 from England by a young Ngare Raumati man from Pāroa Bay about the Industrial Revolution he was witnessing, and the first letter ever independently written in Māori, addressing "te tini rangatira o Ropi" ["the many chiefs of Europe"], by a 10-year-old boy named Hongi in 1825.
Whangārei
Now until July 24 - Whangārei Matariki Festival Around Whangārei
A vast array of Matariki celebrations are happening across the district, which include workshops, arts, crafts, and feasts.
Some of the exciting events are workshops and wananga at the Hihiaua Cultural Centre; intro to flax weaving at the Whangārei Central Library (June 15) as well as a poi-making workshop (June 18); join Matua Fred Tito and Shaquille Shortland for a dawn welcoming of the Māori New Year at St Stephen's Anglican Church (June 23); kite-making and story time at Kiwi North (June 24); an Auto Motor Madness classic car and motorbike parade down the main street in Hikurangi (June 24), and great food, arts, crafts at the special Tikipunga Matariki market.
Flax weaving workshops will be available at the Whangārei Central Library as part of Matariki celebrations. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The ceremony's intention is to bring the school whānau and the wider community together to remember loved ones and the seeds they planted beforehand; to reflect on a personal purpose, and to share the significance of Matariki and Puanga plus the valued potential that Matariki holds for the future.
Nine students will open the dawn ceremony with nine karakia, each specifically created for every one of the Matariki stars. Waiata will be sung before the names of those who have lost loved ones in the past year are called out. Stories of Matariki and Puanga will then be shared.
Then hopefully, with clear skies, attendees will be able to watch Matariki rise over the eastern horizon between 6.20am and 6.40am.
At 7am an unveiling of 14 manu created by Tainui, Ngāti Mahanga, Ngāti Hine artist Shane Hansen will take place. Each manu is displayed on a classroom to connect them with local history, the environment, and local purakau/stories.
An open day of Matariki arts and crafts creations in each classroom will follow before kapa haka performances and a shared lunch to finish the day off at 12 noon.
Kaipara
June 17 - Matariki Art Exhibition Opening 4pm to 5.40pm at the Mangawhai Museum
A wonderful collaboration with Mangawhai Beach School will showcase their artistic flair and tell the story of Matariki.
The Mangawhai Museum will be hosting a Matariki exhibition. Photo / Michael Cunningham
June 24 - Matariki Celebrations at Dargaville Museum 32 Mount Wesley Coast Rd
The museum invites children equipped with a kite to visit Pou Tu o Te Rangi Harding Park for kite flyovers. There are no power lines and there is plenty of space around the park.
The museum has ordered some free books in te reo Māori and English to celebrate Matariki. They will be available at the museum reception.
June 25 - Te Kopuru Matariki Festival 3pm at the Te Kopuru Boating Club
If you're looking to do something for Matariki enjoy fun games, a free barbecue, live music, a Circus Kumarani fire show and more at the Kaipara celebrations. Just remember to bring a chair, snacks, drinks, and warm clothes.
