Matariki

In the recent celebration of Matariki--we come to review some of our previous knowledge of this topic. This year the celebration of Matariki lies between the 19th of June/late June and the 11th of July/early July. Matariki-- a cluster of stars [9 stars] that from the eyes of a god.

--------

MATARIKI- The-eyes-of-Tawhirimatea -- courtesy: Twinkl

In the beginning of time there was nothing, no earth, sea or sky just, Te pō,  darkness. In this Te Kore, nothingness, Ranginui the sky father and Papatūānuku the earth mother came to be. They lay together in a tight embrace. Together, they had many children who were all male. The sons lived between them in the darkness. As the children grew up, they wondered what it would be like to live in the light. Tūmatauenga, the fiercest of all the sons, shouted to his brothers, “Let’s kill them!”  The brothers disagreed. Tānemahuta, the god of the forests and birds, had a solution to the problem, “We will push them apart, Ranginui will be in the sky above us and Papatūānuku will stay below us so she remains close.”Rongomātāne, the god of cultivated food, tried to push his parents apart. He pushed and pushed with no success. Then Tangaroa, the god of the sea, and Haumia-tiketike, the god of wild food joined him. Together they pushed and pushed but still their parents would not let go of each other. Eventually, Tāne tried. He placed his shoulders on his mother and his feet on his father and pushed hard for a very long time. Rangi and Papa called out in distress, “Why are you doing this?” 

“Please don’t separate us.”  Tāne continued to push with his strong legs, until finally Rangi and Papa were prised apart.

The children were excited to finally have light and space to move. Tāwhirimātea, the god of the wind, was angry about the separation. He could not stand to hear his parents in pain, or to see the tears coming from Ranginui.Tāwhirimātea was so angry that in a rage he threw his eyes up into the sky. 

His eyes are now known as the stars of Matariki. 

The story above is what we've read and a factor which we have used as a way to understand Matariki-- as well as its origins. Whilst doing so we would also learn such in the form of learning the clusters themselves and what they mean--at least in the beliefs.

-Matariki--people’s health and wellbeing.

-Tupu-ā-rangi--things that grow up in trees, including fruits, berries and birds.

-Waipuna-ā-rangi--rainfall.

-Waitī--freshwater bodies and foods from these waters.

-Ururangi--the winds.

-Tupu-ā-nuku--food that is gathered/harvested from the soil.

-Waitā--the ocean and foods that come from it.

-Pōhutukawa--those who have passed on.

-Hiwa-i-te-rangi--attainment of goals or wishing star.