While the star cluster itself will rise into view from July 10-13, the official public holiday for Matariki will take place this Friday. The day offers a moment of pause in the maramataka, as we welcome the new year and reflect on the time that has come before. Ahead of Matariki, five creatives working across different disciplines including crochet and photography share a moment of reflection, highlighting notable memories of the star rising and considering how this time affects their artistic practice. Mānawatia a Matariki!
Em-Haley Walker
Musician, of Theia and Te Kaahu. Waikato-Tainui, Ngaati Tiipaa.
You played Te Kaahu O Rangi at Basement Theatre to mark Matariki last June. How was your experience of that evening?
The album was still so new at that point. It was also the first time I had played the album in full and it felt so special to be able to do that on the first-ever holiday marking Matariki. I really could feel the wairua in the room from the audience. It was a very powerful and moving experience — one I’ll never forget.
Some of the waiata on Te Kaahu O Rangi, such as E Taku Huia Kaimanawa and Rangirara, deal with grief and the loss of a loved one, and so I think it will always be very moving to perform them at this time of the year when we take time to remember and honour those we’ve lost.
Is there a particular memory of Matariki that you’d like to share?
As a teenager in Ōtautahi, I loved going to Ngaa Hau e Whaa Marae with my friends at Matariki and hearing stories from kaumātua, watching performances and sharing kai. Community, traditions and spirituality are central to our identity as Māori and having this engrained within me as a young person has encouraged me to carry practices and mātauranga with me into adulthood.
How will you be marking and celebrating this Matariki?
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Advertise with NZME.This year will be very different to last, in that I’m actually going to be on tour with Te Kaahu in Canada. On July 14, I will be landing in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories where I’ll be performing at Folk on the Rocks festival. I’m also playing at the Calgary Folk Festival.
I feel sad not to be in Aotearoa, especially at my marae as we will be putting on a hautapu ceremony for the whole community of Te Pūaha (hautapu is a practice of giving thanks to the Matariki cluster by cooking kai associated with each whetū over an open fire and remembering our whānau who have passed within the year) — nevertheless, I’m genuinely blown away to be touring this project internationally.
The show will be very similar to how I’ve presented it at home — the audience will hear the full album and because it’s Matariki, I’ll make sure to explain the significance of this. So, it’s awesome that I’ll be able to share this knowledge with people on the other side of the world and through that communion be able to mark and honour Matariki.
Secondly, in terms of music, I am excited to be releasing a new waiata on July 7. It’s a collab with my friend Delaney Davidson and it’s titled I Ngooku Moemoeaa. We wrote this together when Delaney was doing his residency at Massey University. We didn’t deliberately set out to write a song to be released at Matariki but we were drawn to writing a waiata tangi, which refers to the places the spirits of our dead travel to for their final rest. When we started discussing if/when we’d release the song, it just made so much sense to present it at Matariki.
Does this time in the maramataka influence your musical or creative practices in any particular way?
My whole year is pretty much non-stop in terms of creating. I’ve barely had a break in the past 12 months, as I’ve been touring Te Kaahu, writing new songs and also working hard on my debut Theia album, which is why I’m currently in LA. So what Matariki does allow, is a moment for me to stop and reflect on all that’s happened in the last year and to take time to be thankful for the many blessings. Also, to fix my wishes for the coming year and to honour my tūpuna wāhine, for whom I dedicated Te Kaahu O Rangi to, so I’ll definitely be making lots of mention of them while I’m playing this record in Canada.
What lies over the horizon for you with the rising of Matariki?
Gosh. So much! I have so many things I’m excited to share with people. I’m returning to Aotearoa in October to play some shows — cannot wait to reveal more about these! There will also be my new Theia record out in 2024 and fans of Te Kaahu can also be assured, there’ll be more happening in that space too.
Lissy and Rudi Robinson-Cole
Multi-disciplinary and crochet artists. Ngāti Hineamaru, Ngāti Kahu; Waikato, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāruahine, Te Arawa.
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Can you talk about what the preparation and making of the work within Taurima, the installation artwork of pātaka kai opening on Elliott St, looked like? What ideas and practices did you draw on for this piece?
We love collaboration and we love working with Māori to tell our stories. It was a privilege to be invited to collaborate on Taurima with Ngāti Whātua O Ōrākei and Auckland Council. For Rudi and I it’s important to understand the kaupapa which outlaid the rich pūrākau of Ngāti Whātua O Ōrākei and their history of manaakitanga in this rohe. In thinking about our design for Elliott St, we thought about abundance and aroha and what it means to feed and nourish people. Our designs incorporate these ideas and we also took inspiration from Wharenui Harikoa that we have been working on. The design is based on our heke design, te pitau a manaia, representing our abundant food baskets, and te pitau, a Maui representing the rhythmic motion of the winds and the rain.
How have your artistic practices changed in the last year?
Over the past year, we have been busier than ever before as we work to finish Wharenui Harikoa. Collaborating with many different artists and brands on many different kaupapa has meant we are working overtime. We have just completed eight new wheku for our show at the Tim Melville Gallery which opened on Wednesday, June 28. Making these new works gave us the opportunity to experiment and play, which has helped the development of our practice as well as given us the ability to continue dreaming and evolving.
Is there a particular memory of Matariki that you’d each like to share?
We had a big beautiful whānau hāngī at our whare three years ago. It was such a wonderful way for us to acknowledge the aroha and awhi we’ve received from our whānau, make the kai together, eat together, and spend precious time together. Although we nearly all live in Tāmaki Makaurau, we all get so busy in our lives that it’s hard for us all to gather, so Matariki is the perfect time to celebrate, remember and dream together.
How will you each be marking and celebrating this Matariki?
This Matariki, Rudi and I will be going on a tiki tour around the Mōtu and having a well-deserved break and reset. We want to spend the time catching up with whānau and friends and being together doing fun things.
Does this time in the maramataka influence or inspire your creative practices in any particular way?
It definitely inspires and influences how we live. With all the amazing resources out now, we have been able to gain more understanding of the maramataka and how we can flow with the seasons and our environment with more enlightenment and purpose. Now we understand why we might be struggling with different vibrations and energy and when it’s time to just rest or if it’s a time for high activity and energy.
What lies over the horizon for you with the rising of Matariki?
Absolutely everything! We are so open and excited to let the visions of our tūpuna continue to manifest in our lives and allow the current of the awa to take us to where we need to go. Wharenui Harikoa has its own trajectory, our job was to manifest into this realm this vision gifted to us from our tūpuna. The rest is up to them. Rudi and I are huge dreamers and know that anything and everything is possible when the intent is aroha.
Josh Hunter and Mitchell Tierney
Chefs, of Know the Whakapapa of Your Kai. Ngāti Tūwharetoa; Ngāti Awa and Te Arawa.
How has Whakapapa of Your Kai, the pop-up food-focused initiative, shaped your experiences of Matariki in the past?
In the past our knowledge of Matariki was very little, we knew this was the Māori new year and the stars within the cluster. Whakapapa of Your Kai and the knowledge we are being fed through people such as Rangi Matamua have sparked my interest in building a better understanding of what our tīpuna did to acknowledge the rising of Matariki.
Is there a particular memory of Matariki that you’d each like to share?
A few years ago we had an opportunity to cook on Aotea (Great Barrier Island), a small island off the coast of Tāmaki Makaurau. The island is a Jurassic Park-looking untouched paradise with trees and beaches, and one of the most amazing places in the world to gaze at the stars. Here was where we learnt how to locate Matariki.
How will you both be marking and celebrating this Matariki?
We will be doing two days of wānanga of Mahika Kai workshops in Rakiura (Stewart Island) with Nate Smith and the Davis sisters. We want to show our guests how to break down and cook with ika (fish) and tītī (muttonbirds). At the end of the workshop, we will be hosting a community feast with all the locals.
Does this time in the maramataka influence or inspire your practices in any way?
We are definitely keen to develop our understanding of hautapu (ceremony) and acknowledge Matariki in the way our tīpuna did, but for us, in recent times, it has massively inspired and influenced us to deep-dive into our culture and learn about the relationship between kai and the lunar phases. When, why and how our people cultivated, harvested and processed food from fermentation practices to storage and various cooking styles.
What lies over the horizon for you both and Whakapapa of Your Kai with the rising of Matariki?
Our journey with Whakapapa of Your Kai is to learn and continually evolve our knowledge and culture. We have enrolled in a te reo course to sharpen up our language skills, as well as exploring more into our whakapapa through stories and being around whānau.
Jessica Hinerangi
Poet, journalist and artist. Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāruahine, Ngāpuhi.
You’ve previously illustrated a work named Matariki. What influenced the creation of that piece?
That illustration was made last year while I was preparing for Matariki with my whānau. I was taking toi mahi classes and had been drawing a lot of manaia, trying to tell stories with them. I was reflecting on how, for a lot of us, this time of the year can feel both exciting and mamae. We remember who we have lost, we farewell loved ones, but we also spend time in community and prepare for the future.
I wanted this piece to show how we are always being guided by our tīpuna and kaitiaki. In our quiet moments of reflection when we look for Matariki they are with us, showing us the way forward into the new year.
Is there a particular memory of Matariki that you’d like to share?
I loved last year when the whole country was abuzz with events and anticipation and everyone was so excited to learn and experience it, having kai with whānau on a dark winter evening with candles — and a roast kai is just the best way to spend it.
But I think my favourite memory was when my partner and I went camping outside of Ōtautahi a few years ago and we got about two hours of sleep because it was so cold. We accidentally set our alarms too early, so sat beside the ocean in the dark for ages with numb feet waiting for sunrise. We did karakia and sang waiata, joked around and set our goals, passing the time. Matariki was hard to see through the sea fog, but it was such a simple and nice way to welcome in the new year.
How will you be marking and celebrating this Matariki?
Most of our passed whānau are buried up north and many of us are down south, so we cannot visit their urupā, but we have their photos up in our whare and will be thinking of them and singing to them. I will be spending time with my whānau and friends, having a big feed, and going for short walks in nature and on the beach. It’s important for me to be outside lots despite the cold. I will also be launching my first poetry pukapuka on July 13. After those celebrations, I plan to rest and recover.
Does this time in the maramataka influence or inspire your creative practices in any particular way?
This time of the year I’m working hard to try and look after myself, keep myself healthy and not too stressed. Less sun and colder days make it easy to fall into low moods, so I try to paint and draw for myself in between mahi. It can be hard to feel inspired, though, so I do have to push a little harder to get mahi done and feel passionate about art.
Matariki time is proving more and more demanding for creatives. We get lots of requests for Matariki-themed work, but sadly (too often) we aren’t given much time between when we are asked to do the mahi and when the mahi is due. So a lot of us are hustling no matter what the maramataka is up to. I would love to see this change. I would love to see more patrons/clients/employers give creatives more warning before a Matariki piece is due. That way we can focus on what really inspires us at this time, as well as (most importantly) rest.
What lies over the horizon for you with the rising of Matariki? How are you feeling about the upcoming release of your debut poetry collection Āria?
Nervous but excited for this next phase in my creative life! I’m setting my goals for the new year, preparing for spring already. I hope to begin my second pukapuka soon, I’m plotting poems every week.
Thinking about the release of Āria makes me want to crawl into a hole and hide for a while… but I think that’s normal. Poetry is such a personal thing to share, it’s so scary but so beautiful. I just hope my pukapuka resonates with someone. I look forward to setting it free.
Holly Sarah Burgess
Photographer. Ngāpuhi, Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi.
Did you take your camera along to any occasions last Matariki? If so, what did you capture?
No, I didn’t actually! Matariki is a time to rest and reset. This often means stepping away from my camera and checking in with myself and my whānau, setting new intentions for the year and reflecting on the past. There is always so much sharing around this time with whānau; whether it’s sharing food or stories I am trying to be more present for this.
How has your practice changed in the last year?
I feel like I have been more grounded in my practice this year. I have had the privilege of working on some projects very close to my heart which has been so special to be immersed in. Being grounded in my practice is an ongoing journey but I can definitely recognise progress since last year.
Is there a particular memory of Matariki that you’d like to share?
My mum and I have started a little tradition (for when we are in Tāmaki for Matariki); I pick her up early, all wrapped up in warm clothes with coffees. We go down to Cheltenham Beach to watch Matariki rise. My favourite memory so far is the year we completely mixed up the sunrise time and the sun was beaming by the time we made it to the beach and we couldn’t see any stars. We drank our coffee and had a laugh instead. Safe to say we will be setting multiple alarms and checking sunrise times every year to come.
How will you be marking and celebrating this Matariki?
I hope to be at Cheltenham Beach with my mum again to watch Matariki rise and then will spend the weekend with the whānau. Hopefully eating good food and spinning yarns.
Does this time in the maramataka influence or inspire your creative practices in any particular way?
Yes, 100 per cent. As mentioned previously, this is a big time of rest for me. Moving slowly and allowing space for new inspiration to flow is so important. Learning from my sisters’ practices, I am trying to be more in tune with maramataka all year round, embracing the highs and lows, and being more present and in relation with te taiao — the environment. This is something I would like to be more intentional about as we shift into the new year.
What lies over the horizon for you with the rising of Matariki?
More rest! And more shoots up north with my whānau.
