Matarki

This is matariki 

Matariki is all about celebration, and spending time with family. ... Matariki was also important for agriculture. The coming of Matariki symbolized the harvest festival where the Maori feasted on the crops they had prepared. Matariki is important because it also is the time to restart the Maori calendar.

Matariki is the Māori name for a star constellation that rises up into the sky in mid-winter. This signals an important time in the New Zealand calendar - the Māori New Year. Matariki is a celebration of people, culture, language, spirituality and history.

Matariki feasting

The typical modern hangi includes lamb and pork, but traditional foods are also likely to feature on the menu - shellfish, seafood, vegetables, plants and herbs gathered from the forest.

The nine stars of Matariki

There are nine stars in the Greek tradition of the constellation: seven children and their parents. In the Māori tradition, there are also nine stars: Matariki (Alcyone) – the mother of the other stars in the constellation.

3 days

Celebrations can last for up to 3 days. The modern option for the Maori New Year is to pick a day between the new and full moons, and this has become the more traditional date. Upcoming dates: In 2019 Matariki begins on 25 June.

Matariki has many different names around the world.

In English, it is called the Pleiades (its ancient Greek name) or the Seven Sisters. The Hawaiian name is Makali'i, or 'eyes of royalty', and in Japan it is Subaru, meaning 'gathered together'.

Matariki is all about celebration, and spending time with family. ... Matariki was also important for agriculture. The coming of Matariki symbolized the harvest festival where the Maori feasted on the crops they had prepared. Matariki is important because it also is the time to restart the Maori calendar.

Matariki has many different names around the world.

In English, it is called the Pleiades (its ancient Greek name) or the Seven Sisters. The Hawaiian name is Makali'i, or 'eyes of royalty', and in Japan it is Subaru, meaning 'gathered together'.

Stars

• Alcyone – Matariki, eyes of Tāwhirimātea.
• Atlas – Tupu-ā-rangi, sky tohunga.
• Electra – Waipuna-ā-rangi, sky spring.
• Taygeta – Waitī, sweet water.
• Pleione – Tupu-ā-nuku, Earth tohunga.
• Merope – Ururangi, entry to the heavens.
• Maia – Waitā, sprinkle of water.

Matariki is a star cluster, not a constellation.

When seen from Earth, the stars in a constellation appear to be close together in a pattern, but they might actually be far from each other. There are about 500 stars in the Matariki cluster, but only six or seven are visible without a telescope.

In traditional times, Matariki was a season to celebrate and to prepare the ground for the coming year. Offerings of the produce of the land were made to the gods, including Rongo, god of cultivated food. This time of the year was also a good time to instruct young people in the lore of the land and the forest.