The Whangārei District Council , which co-ordinates the Puanga Matariki festival, is seeking events that carry the spirit and values of this time of year.
Puanga on a Plate will have local eateries presenting unique dishes reflecting values of home, family and identity.
Each dish will tell its own story while the community bonds over food.
The values behind Matariki
Puanga and Matariki is a time to encourage whanaungatanga, share stories, and kai.
It also marks the beginning of the Māori New Year, which traditionally was a time to plant trees, prepare the lands for planting crops, and renew links with whānau and friends.
It’s also a time of pausing to remember, reflect, and honour loved ones who have died since the constellation’s last rising.
It is an opportunity for people to celebrate and give thanks for what they have, and share times together with food and festivities.
It’s also a time to mark the start of the Māori New Year, Te Tau Hou Māori, and plan for the coming year.
Matariki or Māori New Year celebrations were once popular around New Zealand, but had largely stopped by the 1940s.
Celebrations were revived in the 2000s and Matariki became an official public holiday in 2022.
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 some European traditions 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.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
