Each year in the midst of winter in Aotearoa, a cluster of seven stars called Matariki rises in the north-eastern skies, heralding the start of the Māori New Year. Rich in history and cultural significance, the appearance of this star cluster has long been considered a time for celebration in Māori culture — a time used to honour loved ones who have passed and celebrate the present and future through waiata (song), haka (dance) and kai (food).
Although it is by no means a new celebration, Matariki is one of Aotearoa’s more recently introduced public holidays (officially recognised in 2022). As national awareness grows, it is becoming increasingly celebrated with many choosing to go star watching or attend a Matariki event local to them. For 2024, the theme is Matariki Heri Kai, meaning ‘Matariki, the bringer of food’. Four stars within the Matariki cluster are associated with the various locations Māori have historically sourced their food for the celebration — and as a central focus of Matariki, everyone throughout Aotearoa is encouraged to spend this long weekend reconnecting with loved ones over fresh, locally sourced produce.
To find out more about how different people will be using the upcoming long weekend to celebrate, we reached out to three wahine Māori in the fashion and art scene to understand how they will be getting involved this year.
Whakaawa Te Kani, designer and co-founder of Noa Blankets
What does Matariki mean to you?
Matariki is a marker that informs us of seasonal change. In transitioning we commemorate the season that was, cherish its bounty and mourn its losses, as we look forward with hope into the future.
It’s naturally a time to draw closer together within the village, keeping kin and kith close, sharing kai around the home fires, stoking the embers of flame and memory. We wānanga and plan the path ahead and cast our aspirations for the seasons to come.
Have you celebrated it in the past and how will you be celebrating it in 2024?
Each Matariki our whānau (family) climb to the summit of our maunga Mauao to observe Matariki rising with the sun. From the summit we look up and think of our dearly departed as they take their final journey to become stars in the heavens. We look upon the land as the sun lights up the environment, we welcome the dawn of the new year and set our intentions and focus for the future. We always enjoy our time together over kai hākari – a family feast. Home cooked kai in the winter cold is best served together with family and friends. Fellowship fills the homes of our whānau at this time of the year and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Nikau Hindin, artist
What does Matariki mean to you?
Matariki is our mid winter, new year celebration. It’s the Southern Hemispheres time for rest, rejuvenation, reflection and introspection. A time to grieve and heal from loss. A time to look forward and plan for the seasons ahead. Matariki is attuned to this land and we should be taking cues from our environment instead of an imported system of time. I think it is an important time to celebrate and be with family. Before Matariki, most of the nation would fly through Winter. Having Matariki as a holiday is the beginning of something important. It shows we are maturing as a nation and being lead by the foundations of this country, which are Māori.
How have you celebrated it in the past?
When I was growing up we used to celebrate Matariki. I was part of Te Whānau o Te Uru Karaka, the rūmaki reo within Newton Central Primary, Grey Lynn, and we spent most of the term preparing for our Matariki celebration. We began with harvesting our kumara from our māra kai, making artworks of our atua, rehearsing a play about Matariki, practising our mihi to the whetū. I credit our mātua (parents), for organising and researching these old practices to create new rituals with us.
Come the week of Matariki, we would cook all of the kai associated the stars of Matariki. We fried our kūmara for Tupuānuku, smoked fish for Waitā, we substituted pigeon for chicken for Tupuārangi and Wai Māori held in a hue for Waitī. We didn’t do a Hautapu, as we understand it now, but we always made an ahu, pyre, and an offering of this kai to the Whetū, before we feasted ourselves. As children, we understood that the steam rising from the kai honoured the stars. We also wrote mihi to any family members who had passed away and sent them out with the tide in a little waka. The next morning we would gather at the top of Maungawhau early in the morning—far too early in my opinion as a child—to watch Matariki rise. I mainly remember, a group of kids huddled around, freezing our butts off, on a morning so grey you could barely see the sun rise!
Fortunately, Rangi Mātamua always manages to time the National Hautapu with a perfectly clear morning and I was fortunate to experience that very first National Hautapu at Te Papa Museum. Every year they broadcast this important ceremony, their beautiful and sacred karanga and karakia and the Nation can watch from the warmth of their living room.
How will you be celebrating it in 2024?
This year I’ve been doing some deep introspection about my practice and relationships. Lots of people close to me have lost family members so I will be thinking of them too. I’ll be reflecting on the projects I have carried out to help inform my next steps, and tuning into what I truly want to do as a ringatoi Māori.
Ironically, while Matariki is a time we should be resting and at home with our whānau, many of us work on Matariki kaupapa. I’m in Sydney at the Sydney Observatory alongside the inspiring Gail Mabo, to speak about how Matariki has influenced my practice and how it appears in the star maps I paint. Fortunately, Matariki celebrations can occur during all the moon phases of Tangaroa so there is still time to create rituals with whānau when I get home.
Kaarina Parker, writer and model
What does Matariki mean to you?
Remembering the people I’ve lost, and being grateful for those I have and cherish.
Have you celebrated it in the past? If so, how?
In previous years, I’ve stayed up until dawn to observe the Matariki cluster in the sky. It is a really magical experience. Winter is my favourite time of the year, and there is something so healing about bundling up in blankets and cuddling up with friends and family to look at the stars, hot drink in hand.
How will you be celebrating it in 2024?
This year, I’m going to be hosting a dinner party for some friends and family. To me, the ultimate celebration of joy and life is to eat delicious food and drink delicious wine with the people who I love the most. Also, being able to feed my loved ones is something I am thankful for, and cooking for others brings me real joy (although I’m not exactly Peter Gordon in the kitchen, it’s the thought that counts).
Celebrate in 2024
Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars, that rises in midwinter and for many Māori, heralds the start of the new year. The return of the cluster is commemorated by Te Rā Aro ki Matariki 2024, which happens on Friday, June 28, this year. Early in the morning, just before dawn, is the optimum time to view the Matariki cluster.
