Happy Matariki everyone! Matariki is the Māori New Year. It is marked by the appearance of the Matariki constelation in the sky just before dawn each morning, and starts in late May or early June. This year, it started on June 6th and will go until the 20th.
I always enjoy celebrating events of interest with the children, and Matariki is no exception. This year, we are teaching the children a waiata (song) about the stars in the constellation Matariki. I would love to post a video of us singing it, but as that would be a parental permission nightmare, I will settle for this video of some other children singing it.
The words are:
Tirama, Tirama, Matariki Twinkle, Twinkle, Matariki,
Me ana tamariki, And her children,
Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi,
Waitī, Waitā, Waitī, Waitā,
Waipuna-ā-rangi e, Waipuna-ā-rangi,
Ko te potiti ko, Ururangi. And her youngest, Ururangi.
Obviously, in this waiata (song), which is based on a legend, Matariki is the mum star, with her six daughter stars. The children really love this idea, as they're very into mummys and daddys and babies.
There is also a legend that Tāwhirimatea, the atua (god) of wind and storms, was so upset when his parents (the sky father and earth mother) were pushed apart, that he ripped out his eyes and threw them into the sky, where they became the stars of Matariki. While this is not a pleasant story, it makes sense to me, because "mata riki" means "little eyes" and "mata ariki" (which it could have been shorted from) means "eyes of god."
We have also been reading a book to the children, and it tells another legend of the stars of Matariki.
In the story, Mītai is a boy with seven handsome brothers who fall in love with seven patupaiarehe (fairy women) with golden hair.
Mītai tries to tell his brothers that the putapaiarehe don't have good intentions, but the brothers don't listen, and they become so single-mindedly obsessed with satisfying all their picky whims that they waste away. Mītai spys on the women (in the form of a kereru/wood pidgeon) and discovers that it is their plan to starve the brothers to death.
Mītai convinces his brothers to get rid of the putapaiarehe, and they catch them in nets and give them to Urutengangana, the god of stars, who turns them into the seven stars of Matariki. Mītai's brothers regain their health, but still love to look up at their beautiful lost putapaiarehe.
I may write more about Matariki later on, as I'm interested possibly going to Te Papa Tongarewa Museum and checking out some of their Matariki events. In the meantime, if you'd like to read more, you can check out http://www.mch.govt.nz/nz-identity-heritage/matariki.
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