A special Matariki celebration will be held at the Hansen Hall tomorrow night, and the community is invited to come along and mark the Māori New Year.

Organised by Māori leaders within the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT), the free annual event is now in its third year and will feature storytelling from prominent mana whenua, hāngi and food stalls, as well as live entertainment from a cross section of the community.

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Student Pastoral Support Services team leader Jodi Conway and Māori Liaison Officer Marcus Tūwairua said Matariki was not only an important time of year for Māori to acknowledge ancestors, but also to everyone.

Jodi said the significance of this year’s event is the addition of the Maumahara Board – “our community will be offered the opportunity to place the names of their loved one’s, that have passed away over the previous year, onto stars and place them onto the board.”

Dean Whaanga will share a story of Matariki that aligns well to the significant journey from traditional means.

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“We hope that everyone that attends the event will take away some key learning and or insights while having fun and connecting with the wider community – it is also important for our students to meet our service providers within our community as well,” she said.

Traditionally, Māori would look to the stars and remember loved ones, with the best time to search the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters, was at dawn – in the tail of the Milky Way.

Marcus said the cluster of nine stars is likely more visible in the sky from about July 2, but many Māori communities start celebrating right before the Winter Solstice at the end of June.

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Manager of Educational Delivery at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa (TWoA), Anahera Mills said the Wānanga had an 18-year partnership with SIT and was most supportive of this event.

“It’s also about remembering and rejoicing what we have achieved from the year before. It’s a time that we exchange not just physical things, but also a time to reflect.”

The cooler months of the year was naturally a time to rest, and that also included the ground in which crops had been harvested after the Autumn.

“It’s about acknowledging those who have passed and all the special events of the past 12 months. We only get this time to celebrate.”

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Knowledge passed down from tipuna extensively by Dr Rangi Mataamua explains how his ancestors would look to Matariki to see what the year ahead would bring.

But more precisely Matariki must be read when the moon is in the right phase in Pipiri: when the moon is in Tangaroa, at the end of its third quarter and into the last quarter.

https://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org/foresightnz/matariki-and-maori-astronomy-with-dr-rangi-matamua/

The event will run from 5pm to 8pm and was made possible with the collaboration of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Ngā Kete Mātauranga Pounamu Charitable Trust (NKMP) and Diacks Nurseries Limited.

Matariki Celebration on Tonight

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