The Rotorua Arts Village is hosting a family-friendly event on Thursday night for Matariki.
The Rotorua community is invited to mark Matariki this week, with several free events taking place to celebrate Māori identity, culture and language.
Matariki will be celebrated on Friday and is the nationally recognised Māori New Year.
Matariki is a constellation of stars that appears in the night sky in the middle of winter, bringing the lunar year to a close and heralding the start of the Māori New Year - Te Tau Hou Māori.
This cluster of stars, known as the Pleiades, is given the Māori name Matariki, which translates to the ‘eyes of God’ (mata ariki) or ‘little eyes’ (mata riki).
Te Pō Kitakita, a Matariki Celebration is being held at The Arts Village in Rotorua on Thursday from 5.30pm to 8.30pm.
The Arts Village Rotorua is hosting a family-friendly event on Thursday night for Matariki. Pictured are Arts Village director Kellez Mcmanus and her granddaughters Aleigha Elliot-Brown, 11 (left), and Sariyah Elliot-Brown, seven. Photo / Andrew Warner
Arts Village director Kellez Mcmanus said the event was family-friendly and open to the public.
Mcmanus said there would be kapa haka, musicians, children’s activities, and the chance to learn about the meaning of each star in different ways through the arts.
A member of the Astronomical Society would be at the event with their telescope and children could look at the stars, she said.
There would be 250 poi kits that children could take home and 100 Matariki activity book packs. Limited servings of hot chocolate and fry bread would also be available, she said.
Mcmanus said Matariki was about celebrating Māori identity, culture and language.
Te Puia general manager of sales and marketing Sean Marsh, pictured in 2020. Photo / Andrew Warner
Te Puia is hosting a traditional hautapu ceremony for Matariki on Friday - a free local event that has already reached capacity.
General manager of sales and marketing Sean Marsh said 500 people had registered to attend.
Marsh said people could bring along photos of their loved ones who had died in the past year.
“We’ve got an MC and we’ve got the different tohunga that will be there to run the ceremony, so it’ll be a great morning.”
A traditional Matariki hautapu ceremony would be held on Friday at 5am at Mt Ngongotahā in a partnership between Ngāti Whakaue and the Government. Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Willow-Jean Prime and Professor Rangi Mātāmua - a leading expert within the field of Māori astronomy - would be in attendance.
