Why Matariki is something to celebrate

Friday, 9 July 2021

Matariki celebrations on Wellington’s waterfront.

OPINION: As Matariki draws to a close for 2021, I’ve reflected on my relationship with the celebration.

Matariki signals the Māori New Year and is a time to remember loved ones who have passed and a time to prepare for the year ahead. This is an annual festival that has recently been embraced by the general public and is now more alive than ever.

A big crowd turned out for the Huihui-o-Matariki Festival at Founders Park.

During this Māori New Year, which took place on Friday, as dawn broke a crowd of Aucklanders gathered at Viaduct Harbour for a special karakia and waiata led by mana whenua, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

As the sun rises on June 24, 2022, Aotearoa will wake up to our first Māori public holiday to celebrate Matariki. From seeing the excitement around Matariki this year, I know many New Zealanders will come together for this unique celebration and start to learn the stories behind the stars.

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Tuhirangi Blair Viaduct Harbour’s creative director who has led the waterfront Matariki celebrations for 2021.

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My own journey to understanding the significance of Matariki has been fairly recent. It was only at the start of the year that I immersed myself in learning the meaning, cultural significance, and history about Matariki. My main source of inspiration and guidance has been the works of Dr Rangi Matamua. His research and philosophy provided an entry point to the world of Māori astronomy and the stories behind the famous star cluster, Matariki.

Now, looking up at the morning sky, I see more than just a cluster of stars. I see the connection they have to the natural world and, although a novice, the start of my own interpretation of the narrative within the stars. Each star within the star cluster has its own unique connection to our everyday way of life, for example Tupuānuku represents food from the earth and Waitī is connected to freshwater life and so on.

I have been lucky enough to work this year as creative director for Viaduct Harbour’s Matariki festival. Tasked with how to translate the celebration into an experience for visitors of the Viaduct Harbour, I drew on the origin story of Matariki to inspire and guide me. For the festival, we presented a series of flags incorporating the Maramataka (lunar calendar), brought emphasis to the relationship between Matariki and the culinary world, and commissioned Angus Muir to build a light structure to highlight the significance of each star.

There are many traditional beliefs that are linked to Matariki. The opening of the celebration was a time of remembrance through the ceremony ‘Whangai i te Hautapu’ where you would take a moment to reflect on all who had passed in the previous year. Another significant event during the celebration was when the tohunga kōkōrangi (astronomers) would take their reading of the stars and advise how the tribe would focus their efforts for the upcoming year. For example, if Waipunarangi (the star associated with rain) was shining bright, then it would be safe to assume there would be a lot of rain in the coming year.

I look forward to the wider communities within Aotearoa embracing and learning about these traditional practices and beliefs.

Kotahi te kākano, he nui ngā hua o te rākau / A tree comes from one seed, but bears many fruit.

Young creative Tuhirangi Blair of iwi partner Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei is Viaduct Harbour’s creative director who has led the waterfront precinct’s Matariki celebrations for 2021.