If you wanted to know more about Matariki – this is a write up by Irai Weepu (Tangata Whenua Facilitator/little brother).

Matariki is a tohu, a sign that signifies what is now widely called the Māori New Year season or the Matariki season. There are several oral traditions relating to the stars of Matariki and for some iwi, other stars better signify the Māori New Year season. However, today Matariki has become the focal point for Aotearoa New Zealand. Its reappearance on the eastern horizon marks the beginning of the Matariki season. It is concluded by the following new moon. The day after the new moon is the Māori New Year’s Day.

The Matariki season represents the renewal of life. One oral tradition tells that Matariki annually heals the sun ‘Tamanui te Ra’ of his wounds inflicted by the trickster demigod Maui Tikitiki-a-Taranga. Restoring his strength so he can bring back summer and life. However, his wounds are eventually exacerbated, he weakens, winter returns and the cycle continue. For many cultures around the world, the star cluster is feminine, connected to winter, represents fertility, the renewal of life, and in turn a New Year.

For Ngai Tahu, with a basis of being nomadic hunters and gatherers, the timing of the Matariki season is governed by multiple tohu of nature. The tohu tell of the cycles of the sun, moon, stars, earth, winds, birds, fish, and plants converging. This convergence is dynamic and shifts throughout June and July each year. Deeply understanding these tohu meant a successful hunting and gathering season. Respecting these tohu meant a safe return home. Being ‘in tune’ with these tohu meant being ‘in tune’ with ‘te mana o te taiao’.

In comparison, the Gregorian calendar, based on the Julian calendar, has a fixed New Year’s Day, 1^st January. January is named after Janus, the Roman god of life, death, new beginnings, and good harvests. This date was set by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C. and the shifting lunar cycle was replaced with the fixed Egyptian solar cycle of 365.25 days per year. A driver for this change was Roman politicians were misusing the shifting calendar to extend their terms to extend their power, which also caused a lot of confusion for the citizens. In 1582 A.D. Pope Gregory VIII changed the Julian calendar to 365.2425 days per year to correct the drift against the true solar year. Although this cycle is ‘in tune’ with the sun, it is ‘out of tune’ with the moon, and ‘out of tune’ with the southern hemisphere’s environment, where seasons are reversed.

Recently Matariki was confirmed to become a public holiday, beginning next year on 24^th June 2022. This will help enable families to come together, to share stories, to learn, to share the bounty of their harvests, to remember loved ones, to plan for the year ahead and to celebrate the renewal of life.

This year’s Matariki season is from the 2^nd July to the 11^th July. This means on the 2^nd July, the Matariki star cluster will rise, reappearing on the eastern horizon shortly before the sun rises. The following new moon is on the 10^th July. The 11^th July is the Māori New Year’s Day, a day governed by natures dynamic cycles.