Isabelle and Nane's Matariki Report

LI: We are learning about Matariki.

It's that time of year again. Matariki celebrates the Maori New Year and traditionally was the time of year used to establish the planting of crops, based on the rising of the star cluster Pleiades (Matariki)

Matariki is the Maori name for the group of stars also known as the Pleiades star cluster or The Seven Sisters Matariki is celebrated with education, remembrance and the planting of new trees and crops signaling new beginnings. Matariki was the optimum time for new harvests, and ceremonial offerings to the land-based gods Rongo, Uenuku and Whiro to ensure good crops for the coming year.It was also seen as a perfect time to learn about the land we live on and to remember Whakapapa (ancestry) who have passed from this world to the next and the legacy they left behind.

What is referred to as the traditional Maori New Year is marked by the rise of Matariki and the sighting of the next new moon. The pre-dawn rise of Matariki can be seen in the last few days of May every year and the New Year is marked at the sighting of the next new moon which occurs during June.

By Nane and Issabel
Room 11

References:
http://www.matarikievents.co.nz/matariki-stories