Matariki

Room 23 students have been learning about Matariki, as our main concept for this term. Throughout the term, our classroom will complete a number of activities including:

Week 2-10
Year 8 Matariki Enrichment

Week 10
Ki O Rahi Tournament ( school wide tournament)
Activities: Tititorea/waiata/hangi/poi/moko/taniko patterns
Kapa Haka Performance at Franklin: The Centre
Dawn Ceremony ( Pukekohe Hill )
Maori Art and Crafts Exhibition

Matariki is the Maori name for the group of stars also known as the Pleiades, Star Cluster or the Seven Sisters, and what is referred to as the traditional Maori New Year.
The 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. Matariki has two meanings, both referring to a tiny constellation of stars: mata riki (Tiny Eyes) and mata ariki (Eyes of God).

Traditionally, depending on the visibility of Matariki, the coming season's crop was thought to be determined. The brighter the stars indicated the warmer the season would be and thus a more productive crop. It was also seen as an important time for family to gather and reflect on the past and the future. Today Matariki means celebrating the unique place in which we live and giving respect to the land we live on.

Matariki is celebrated with education, remembrance and the planting of new trees and crops, signalling 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 who have passed from this world to the next and the legacy they left behind.

Matariki - Beginning of the new cycle of life!