Matariki Flashcards
Te Kāhui o Matariki
Pleiades Constellation
In Māori legend, Te Kāhui o Matariki / Pleiades Constellation was the result of Tāwhiri-mātea / The god of winds tearing out his eyes in rage, crushing them and flinging them into the sky. This action was due to the forced separation of this parents – Ranguinui / The Sky Father and Papatūānuku / The Earth Mother by his brother Tāne-Mahuta / The god of the forest and birds. Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhiri-mātea / The eyes of the god Tāwhiri-mātea became the stars Matariki that watch over and guide Aotearoa New Zealand and its people.
Tāwhiri-mātea
The god of winds
Ranguinui
The Sky Father
Papatūānuku
The Earth Mother
Tāne-Mahuta
The god of the forest and birds
Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhiri-mātea
The eyes of the god Tāwhiri-mātea
Te Mātahi o te Tau
The Māori New Year
signified by the rise of Matariki in the north-east horizon, is a time to reflect on the year that has gone, remember those we have lost (in particular those who had passed in the year just gone) and a time for us to pause, reflect, celebrate and plan for the year ahead.
Hautapu
kai to be shared and also offered to the stars
taiao
natural environment
Whakapapa
genealogy, lineage, descent
Whakapapa / genealogy, lineage, descent links all animate and inanimate things within Te Ao Mārama / The World of Light and Te Ao Wairua / The Spiritual Realm.
Ki tā te tirohanga Māori / From a Māori perspective – everything has whakapapa – every word, concept, object, animal, mineral, place and person.
Whakapapa is the process of linking a person to their tūpuna / ancestors, the atua / gods, papatipu / ancestral land, tūtohu whenua / culturally significant landmarks such as rivers and mountains, and their iwi / tribes, hapū / sub-tribes and whānau / family.
“[Whakapapa is] the process of laying one thing upon another. If you visualise the foundation ancestors as the first generation, the next and succeeding ancestors are placed on them in ordered layers.”
—Ngāti Porou leader, Tā Āpirana Turupa Ngata
Te Ao Mārama
The World of Light
Te Ao Wairua
The Spiritual Realm
Ki tā te tirohanga Māori
From a Māori perspective
tūpuna
ancestors
atua
gods
papatipu
ancestral land
tūtohu whenua
culturally significant landmarks such as rivers and mountains
tamariki
children
mātāmua
eldest or firstborn
pōtiki
youngest
Rehua
tāne / husband of the mother star, Matariki.
Their union resulted in the 8 celestial children, that you see in the image, that make up the Matariki constellation.
In some tribal accounts, Rehua is said to be the eldest child of Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Rehua is also the Māori name for the star, Antares – the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius – and he is also strongly associated with Raumati / the summer season.
The children of Rehua and Matariki are; Pohutukawa. Tipuanuku, Tipuarangi, Waiti, Waita, Waipunarangi, Ururangi, Hiwaiterangi.
Raumati
the summer season
Tau Hou
new year
maramataka
Māori lunar calendar
taiao
environment
whetū
star
Waipuna-ā-rangi
This star is connected to the rain that falls from the sky.
Hiwa-i-te-rangi
This star is connected to your dreams and desires for the year ahead.
Waitā
This star is connected to salt water and all creatures that live within the ocean.
Waitī
This star is connected to fresh water and all creatures that live within rivers, streams and lakes.
Pōhutukawa
This star is connected to the dead, in particular those that have passed since the last rising of Matariki.
Ururangi
This star is connected to the winds & the nature of the winds for the year.
Matariki
This star is connected to wellbeing, it is also known as the Mother of the other stars in the cluster.
Tupuārangi
This star is connected to food that comes from the sky.
Tupuānuku
This star is connected to food grown in the ground.
Mānawatia a Matariki!
Happy New (Māori) Year!
Mānawa maiea Te Mātahi o te Tau!
Hail the New Year!
Ka mahuta a Matariki i te pae, ka mahuta ō tātou tūmanako ki te tau
When Matariki rises above the horizon, our aspirations rise to the year ahead
Matariki, te whetū tapu o te tau, te whetū ora mō te ao
Matariki, the sacred star of the year, the star of wellbeing for the world
Matariki hunga nui
Matariki of great gatherings / Matariki brings us together
