Kai time
High school celebrates Matariki
A ha¯ ng¯ı pit was dug, food was cooked and a meal was shared at Whanganui High School to celebrate Matariki.
The school’s four wha¯ nau classes, with just over 100 students, planned and prepared for the day’s celebrations.
Ma¯ ori Dean Sean Brown said the kids were responsible for koha and many families brought gifts of food for yesterday’s meal.
Pork, venison, beef and eel had been hunted from up the Whanganui River.
“We’ve celebrated Matariki,
Ma¯ ori new year, in the past but we wanted to make an effort this year to do it a traditional way,” Brown said.
A small working party of 15, including staff and students, dug the ha¯ ng¯ı on Thursday evening, stayed overnight and then prepared it for yesterday’s lunch.
Brown said he assumes this was the first time they had dug a ha¯ ng¯ı on school grounds.
Yesterday morning, students played traditional Ma¯ ori games such as t¯ıt¯ı to¯ rea before all school staff, international students and wha¯ nau students gathered for the lunch.
As Matariki is a cluster of stars, Whanganui celebrates its own regal star, Puanga, which appears midJune.