Matariki is a traditional Maori mid-winter festival and marks the beginning of a new year for Maori. it was a time for remembering the dead, and celebrating new life. This is a theme in many cultures – a mid winter festival celebrating hope in the midst of darkness, and a turning towards the growing light of a new year. Continue reading Celebrating Matariki at All Saints
Here’s an example from St Andrew’s on The Terrace’s 2013 Matariki service:
Do you know your own story, your birth story, your life story? Did someone tell it to you, or have you made it up from memory and experience? It’s worth keeping in mind that there are different Matariki stories, different meanings depending on the location of the tribe who tells them: in some, Matariki is a time for planting; in others, that’s not the case at all. There are many variations of the calendar and many ways the different tribes used stellar guides for their own specific environment.
So, Matariki isn’t just a time to learn the legends of the stars, fascinating as they are. Learning about family and whakapapa is also important. Around Matariki the harvests such as kumara were in, and this cold part of the year was a time for hui, for korero, to exchange stories, learn about ancestors who have passed from this world to the next, and hand down knowledge and practices to ensure the culture is preserved. Memories, good and bad, are powerful…
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