Hastings District Libraries

Celebrating the Māori New Year - New Beginnings

Matariki hunga nui - The Pleiades have many people*
*Ngā Pēpeha a Ngā Tipuna by Hirini Moko Mead & Neil Grove - no.1759 

Matariki lights up the dark winter months.

"Matariki is a small but distinctive star cluster whose appearance in the north eastern pre-dawn sky in late May, early June marks the start of a new phase of life...

In ancient times Matariki arrived at the end of the harvest and was therefore a time of plenty for our ancestors. The kumara and other root foods had been gathered. The migration of fish...also made Matariki a time of bountiful catches... Matariki was a time to share and present offerings to others.

Matariki can be translated in two ways – Mata Riki (Tiny eyes) and Mata Ariki (Eyes of God). Either way the eyes are thought to watch over the land and its people." 
- from the Māori Language Commission website: http://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/english/matariki_e/index.shtml

Photo: 2010 - NUInitiatives entertained appreciative audiences in Hastings & Flaxmere Libraries with delightful stories about Matariki.  

 Other countries also have stories about Matariki / Pleiades

Pacific
From Tu Mai (Jun 2004; 54: 21) - the following are Pacific names for Matariki:

• Matariki -  Māori, Mangaian, Mangarevan
• Matali'i - Samoan
• Makalii - Hawaiian
• Mataliki - Tongan
• Mataiki - Marquesan