Snow Rameka will be a part of Taupō's Matariki celebrations at Te Atea on the lakefront at 10am on July 15. / Andy Taylor/Taupō District Council
Snow Rameka will be a part of Taupō's Matariki celebrations at Te Atea on the lakefront at 10am on July 15. / Andy Taylor/Taupō District Council
Snow Rameka (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, Tainui) is always a busy man, between running his whānau’s Māori cultural experience business, The Haka Shop, teaching kapa haka at Taupō-nui-a-Tia College, and acting as an iwi and hapū representative for Ngāti Tūwharetoa.
Matariki is even more hectic than usual for him, with festivities and celebrations spanning the weeks of the Matariki period, including speaking at Taupō District Council’s morning Matariki celebration on July 15.
Rameka took some time out of his action-packed schedule to talk to the Taupō and Tūrangi Herald about all things Matariki, how to celebrate, and why it matters in the Taupō region.
First, the basics: what is Matariki, and why is it considered important?
Matariki itself is not a constellation, but a cluster of stars, totalling more than 400.
It’s not visible all year round, setting in May before reappearing in late June or early July.
The Matariki public holiday is a single day, but the traditional Māori lunar calendar marks the period over the course of about a month.
Despite being the newest addition to New Zealand’s public holiday roster, Matariki’s importance to Māori dates back even before their arrival in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“Our ancestors were always referring to the stars as points of navigation.”
Even once the land was settled, the stars of Matariki played a major role for many iwi, as a marker of the new year.
However, once Tūwharetoa were settled in the Central North Island, it became apparent Matariki might not be the most useful way to observe the seasons as it’s difficult to spot from the Lake Taupō region.
“We live on top of a supervolcano. At this time of year, it’s very misty, very cloudy - it’s not conducive to stargazing.”
But other stars appear at the same time which are much easier to spot from Taupō and its surroundings.
“There’s one star that we cannot miss: Puanga.”
Also known as Rigel, Puanga is a bright star at the “head” of the Orion constellation.
The Puanga night sky. Photo / Supplied
It is so significant to several iwi, including in Whanganui and Taranaki, that they refer to this time of year as Puanga instead of Matariki.
Regardless of the specific stars, Matariki as a holiday has gained more recognition in recent years, driven partly by the renewed push to make Māori culture more visible in Aotearoa New Zealand.
