Matariki ‘star knowledge’ is for all who call New Zealand home

Matariki is seen and understood in many ways across the motu of Aotearoa New Zealand

Dr Pouroto Ngaropō describes this celestrial line up through the lens of his hapū Te Tawera and iwi Ngāti Awa ki Te Awa o Te Atua Te Iwi in the eastern Bay of Plenty. He has performed and participated in 14 hautapu ceremony this Matariki.

"There's a really vibrant energy that's happening at this time of the year."

"Matariki is very significant because it's part of an ancient tradition which our ancestors practised in pre-European times. Why? Because it was acknowledging the stars and their entirety. The stars, particularly Matariki. Also, it's important to note that in various tribes throughout Aotearoa, Matariki is not the only name that's made in reference to these clusters of stars."

Ngaropō said iwi in the north of the North Island know the star cluster as Pūanga, while iwi of Taranaki and the west coast call it Puaka. Mātaatua Te Arawa in the Bay of Plenty call it Te Tahi o Pipiri or Te Tau o Pipiri, and Tainui recognise Te Paki-o-Matariki. Other references include Te Kāhui o Matariki, Te Tahi-o-te-Rangi, Ngā Mata o te Ariki and Te Whetū o te Matariki.

"If the star knowledge is not followed properly and in spiritual alignment too, and if the star knowledge of Matariki is not retained and learnt then we will lose an important part of our New Zealand history. So, this knowledge is not only for us as Māori. This knowledge is for all of those who live here and say New Zealand is their home," Ngaropō said.

"I'd like to acknowledge Professor Rangi Mātāmua. But there are other tohunga you know, particularly from the time of our ancestors, that traversed the oceans of Kiwa. Tama-ki-Hikurangi was a renowned expert in the stars. So was Ngātoro-i-rangi, so was Whakatau-pōtiki.

"The late Sir Hector Busby was a navigational expert and used Matariki and the stars for navigation. The tohunga Sam Rerekura, the tohunga Piripi Lambert and there's also Brad Haami …these people you don't hear much often. Tangaroa Ngaropō. You know, these are some of the ones that in recent times too have been just working quietly behind the scenes. There's others that work more powerfully in the front but I think what I'd like to just recognize is that everyone and their contribution - be it small or be it great - every little bit helps."

Influential Te Atiawa leader Ihakara Puketapu died on 7 July and Ngaropō said his legacy contributed to the realisation of Matariki as a national holiday. This included the revival and preservation of te reo Maori, the development of kohanga reo, kura kaupapa and wananga, and significantly the Te Maori exhibition that toured to New York, St Louis, Chicago and San Francisco in 1984 before touring New Zealand.

"There would be no Matariki (holiday) if there wasn't a Te Maori exhibition. The Te Maori exhibition was the biggest influential cultural change that had an influence throughout the world."

Ngaropō was a teenager accompanying Te Māori to Chicago and he said Dr Puketapu's realisation of Te Maori was "a tidal wave change on the whole of Maoridom."

Ngaropō also noted the New Zealand government and former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. "You know we need to acknowledge the genealogy of how things came to be."

Matariki celebrations were popular until the 1940s in New Zealand and it has been revived ever since, picking up momentum around the Pacific region since 2000.

"There have been a whole lot of events that have ensured the revival of the ancient knowledge of the stars, Ngā Whetū o te Kāhui o Matariki. But also the knowledge Mataurangā Māori pertaining to the stars as well, is just as important as knowing how to identify the stars. And then also, knowing the knowledge of each of those stars and what they mean."

Matariki is a unique New Zealand point of view where people come together as family, celebrate and give thanks while planning things for the future and recognising loved ones who have died, Ngaropō said.

"So it's all about having a really good attitude in Matartiki this year, always in things that we do it is key to success. Matariki - but what about Matariki you may ask? Well, she's doing what all good mothers do. These stars combined are our caregivers and our caretakers, watching over us and helping us as the humans on Earth so that they can provide the energy and the food to sustain us. With Matariki's support, encouragement and supervision we will be able to do the best that we can and everything that we do."