Matariki in Rotorua: Whānau Day draws crowds for cultural events
When you've spent several years as Māori living in Australia like the Kanara whānau, celebrating Matariki in a place like Rotorua is extra special.
They were among the hundreds who flowed through the gates at Te Puia today to celebrate Matariki (the Māori New Year) at the Whānau Day.
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NZ Herald
4 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Matariki is the ‘door to the new year': Te Hira Henderson
Te Hira Henderson is curator Taonga Māori, MTG. Matariki/Pleiades, the door to the new year, its philosophy and inspiration, has been gaining momentum thanks to Dr Rangi Mataamua. National recognition of this event is growing, with many regions celebrating with their wider communities, and this is revitalising customary practices.
Otago Daily Times
7 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
A time to express hopes and dreams
Fires were burning not long after 4am, a ceremony was under way at 5am and a new year was welcomed by a good gathering at Dunedin's Araiteuru Marae. Marae manager Tania Sharee Williams described the occasion yesterday as a chance to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the next, see friends and gather for kai. "We remember the dead and we say out their names through ceremony." Tania Sharee Williams celebrates Matariki at the Araiteuru Marae in Dunedin yesterday. PHOTOS: PETER MCINTOSH The occasion was also about expressing aspirations and dreams, "for our family, our hapū, our iwi, our marae, our country". Ms Williams was impressed by the 5am turnout at the Shetland St marae in Wakari, celebrating the new year on the Matariki public holiday. "We had about 80 people turn up and we had a wonderful gathering outside where we went through our hautapu ceremony," she said. Acknowledging Matariki at Dunedin's Araiteuru Marae yesterday morning were (from left) Anke Fronius, Martin Fronius and Teodora Georgescu, with her dog Roland. "We acknowledge the kahui whetu, which is the stars of Matariki, and we understand that each one of them has a role where they have an effect on different parts of the environment that give us resourcing for sustenance." People sometimes wrote messages and placed them in the fire, she said. Commemorating loved ones could be empowering, "especially for people who have recently in this last year lost someone — to be able to remember that person again through ceremony is easing for the heart". People of various nationalities were there, including a couple from France and a young man from China. "We were blessed that the rain held off for us," she said. "It was quite mild and — just all the fires burning, the torches going, as well as the cooking of the food for our kahui whetu — created a really warm ambience."
Otago Daily Times
7 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Back to basics for star celebration
Teacher Jessie Reynolds helps Arrowtown Preschool tamariki prepare vege soup for Monday's Matariki celebration. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Arrowtown's Matariki celebrations will have a more homespun feel than in recent years. In a return to its origins as an Arrowtown Preschool event, the preschool's teamed up with the township's primary school and kōhanga reo group to hold a low-key celebration for children and their families this coming Monday. Preschool manager Jane Foster says all the tamariki have spent the past week or so investigating one of the nine stars of the Matariki cluster. "Each class or group have taken a star and designed an art piece around that." The children will come together at the primary school to show off the fruits of their artistic labours, with their whanau invited to come along at 3pm. There'll then be an official opening by local te ao Māori authority Cory Ratahi and kapa haka performances. There'll also be a hangi, sausages, hot chocolate, chips and s'mores, and the Matariki-inspired art will be exhibited in the school hall, Foster says. As revealed by Scene in March, the preschool held a Matariki celebration for many years, but handed it over to the Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association in 2022 when increasingly onerous council requirements made the event too big for its volunteers to manage. However, the association offered it back to the preschool last year after the costs of meeting those requirements — such as fencing, toilets, first aid, security, and waste and carbon mileage tracking — reached the point where it decided it would need to start charging an entry fee.
