Dawn ceremony kicks off Matariki festivities
A crowd gathered under a grey dawn sky for karakia, waiata and whaikōrero, in the first of a series of events for the Māori new year. Te Aorewa Rolleston writes.
Amilky blanket of mist hangs over the whenua of Kirikiriroa as te marama o Takirau (the moon of Takirau) peeps down. crowd of dark figures gathers under a grey dawn sky to mark the beginning of Waikato’s Matariki celebrations and the first time the Mā ori new year has been recognised with a public holiday in Aotearoa.
The soothing chorus of karanga leads the crowd into Te Parapara garden in The Hamilton Gardens.
Karakia, waiata and whaikō rero fill the cool air, followed by kai, completing the transformation of tapu to noa (sacred to neutral) according to tikanga Mā ori.
In the crowd are primary school teachers Chloe Stantiall and Leanne Richardson, marking Matariki for the first time. They attended with their whā nau and in light of their growing passion for te reo and mā tauranga Mā ori.
‘‘Anything that is te ao Mā ori related gets me excited and keen to get involved in it,’’ Stantiall said.
‘‘Being able to learn from the experts
. . . rather than creating what we think is Matariki or te ao Mā ori but is actually descended from the people who hold the treasures and knowledge.’’
Both women saw Matariki as a more meaningful time of celebration, which better reflected the biculturalism of Aotearoa.
They were hoping to spend the following week leading up to the first Matariki celebration on June 24 teaching their students about its significance.
‘‘I think Matariki holds a bit more history and meaning for a lot of people in this country rather than other public holidays,’’ Richardson said.
Matariki welcomes a time of awareness, reflection, healing and connection with the taiao (environment) and is symbolised by the rising of the nine stars of Matariki.
It’s not just a day, but rather a cycle in the maramataka (Mā ori lunar calendar), said Marleina Ruka, president of both Te Ohu Whakaita Charitable Trust and the Friends of Hamilton Gardens.
And making it a national holiday was an historic milestone, she said.
‘‘I thought ‘wow’. Matariki, a national celebration, for many people here in Waikato,’’ Ruka said.
‘‘Matariki is a time to reflect on the past, celebrate the present and plan for the future.
‘‘In recent years, Covid-19 emphasised the importance of time with whā nau, strengthening our communities and our networks, connecting with our environment and connecting with all that nurtures and sustains us in times of need.’’
Speaking to guests at the Gardens pavilion, Hauraki-Waikato MP Nanaia Mahuta (Waikato-Tainui, Ngā ti Maniapoto and Ngā ti Manu) acknowledged Matariki as the first indigenous celebration in New Zealand.
She also spoke of the long history and connection Matariki has instilled across Waikato, through the Kiingitanga especially.
‘‘What our Matariki celebration enables is a recognition that ancestral wisdom and knowledge [are] not only meaningful for ourselves here in Aotearoa but it is transferable across the world.
‘‘[Matariki] gives us context and it gives us a point of difference and it makes us somewhat unique . . . We call on this wisdom to help us as a nation to be better.’’
It’s hoped New Zealand’s first annual celebrations will uphold the true meaning of Matariki and an appreciation for the time. Avoiding commercialisation was also raised.