Tirohia ake ngā whetu
Me ko Matariki e ārau ana
He tiki mai tahau i ngā mahara e kohi nei
Whakarerea ake e nā te roimata koua riringi
He puna wai kai aku kamo…
I gaze up to the stars
To the assembly of Matariki
Captured are my memories of you who have left me behind
Tears rippling
like springs in my eyes. 1
He kāhui whetū ririki a Matariki kei te kāhui o Taurus, e mōhiotia anō ko Pleiades. I Aotearoa ka kitea e iri hāhaka mai ana i te huapae ki te raki-mā-uru, i te hiku o Te Ika-o-te-Rangi, i te atapō i wē-takurua. Koia nei te mātārere o te Tau Hou Māori me te huringa o te pekanga o te tau.
He wā kē anō e whakanuia ai a Matariki e tēnā me tēnā iwi, ko ētahi iwi hei te kitenga tuatahi o te kāhui i te ata iti, ko ētahi atu i muri o te eanga o Ōturu, i te tīmatanga rānei o te kōhiti. Ki ētahi atu iwi e whitu ngā whetū kei te kāhui, ki ētahi atu e iwa kē.
Heoi, mō ngā iwi katoa, ka whakapuakina te hiranga o Matariki ki te whakataukī me te waiata e hono ana i a ia ki te whetū taiahoaho, a Whānui:
Ka puta Matariki ka rere Whānui
Ko te tohu tēnā o te tau e!
Matariki reappears, Whānui starts its flight.
Being the sign of the [new] year!
Kōrero Orokohanganga
He whakapotonga a Matariki mō ‘Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea’. E ai ki ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngāi Māori, i te wehea o Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku e ā rāua tamariki, ka tino riri tētahi o ā rāua tama, te atua o te hau a Tāwhirimātea, ka tīkarohia mai ōna mata, ka makaia ki te rangi.
Ko te kōrero a te tohunga kōkōrangi o Tūhoe, a Ahorangi Rangi Matamua, e iwa ngā whetū i tatauria e ōna tūpuna:
- Matariki – te whetū tohu i te noho ora, i te hokinga mahara, i te tūmanako me te whakahuihui i te iwi; e whakaarotia ana he whetū wahine, ko ia nei te kaitiaki o ērā atu whetū o te kāhui. Ko Matariki te ingoa o tēnei whetū takitahi me te kāhui katoa.
- Waitī – te whetū e hono ana ki te wai māori me ngā kai o te wai māori.
- Waitā – te whetū e hono ana ki te wai tai me ngā kai o te wai tai.
- Tupuānuku – te whetū e hono ana ki ngā kai ka tupu ki te whenua.
- Tupuārangi – te whetū e hono ana ki ngā kai ka ahu mai i te rangi: te hua o te rākau me te manu.
- Waipunarangi – te whetū e hono ana ki te ua.
- Ururangi – te whetū ka whakarite i ngā hau mō te tau.
- Pōhutukawa – te whetū e hono ana ki te hunga kua mate.
- Hiwa-i-te-rangi – te whetū e hono ana ki te moemoeā me te wawata mō te tau ka takoto ake.
Ko ētahi atu e kī ana ko Matariki te whaea, huri noa i a ia ko ana tamāhine tokoono, ko Tupuānuku, ko Tupuārangi, ko Waitī, ko Waitā, ko Waipunarangi, ko Ururangi. Ko tētahi kōrero e kī ana ka āwhina a Matariki rātou ko ana tamāhine i Te Rā, kua ngoikore nei i ana haerenga iho i te takurua mai i te raki.
Matariki rāua ko Puanga
Matariki ki waho atu o Aotearoa
Ka nui te hiranga o te kāhui o Matariki ki ngā take wairua, take taiao me ngā take ahurea puta noa i Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. He maha ngā iwi o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa ka aro ake ki tōna rerenga i te rangi hei tohu i te taka o te wā me te huringa o te pekanga tau. Ka kīia ko Matariki ki Ngā Kuki Airani; ko Mataliki ki Tokelau, ki Niue, ki Tuvalu, ki Tonga, ki ‘Uvea me Futuna); ko Matali’i ki Hāmoa; ko Matari’i ki Tahiti me Makali’i ki Hawai’i.
Kua noho ngā whetū o Matariki hei take mātai pūtaiao hei kōrero pūrākau i ngā ahurea puta i te ao mō te hia mano tau, tae atu ki te Rāwhiti Waenga, ki Āhia, ki Ahitereiria, ki Ūropi, ki Amerika ki te Raki me te Tonga anō.
E ai ki ngā kōrero pūrākau o Kirihi, ko ngā whetū taiahoaho katoa o Pleiades ko Pleione rāua ko Atlas, me ā rāua tamāhine tokowhitu. I a rātou e haereere ana i te ngahere i tētahi rangi, ka kitea ngā tamāhine nei e Orion, kātahi ka whāia. E ora ai rātou i te whakaaro kino o Orion, ka hurihia rātou e Zeus hei whetū, ka whakairia ki te rangi. Ko ētahi temepara o nehe kei te Toi o te Pā i Ātene e anga atu ana ki te aranga ake o Pleiades.
Hāunga ia te whakanui a ngā iwi katoa i te Tau Hou Māori i te Pipiri me te Hōngongoi, ka kīia tēnei wā o te tau e ētahi iwi ki Whanganui, ki Taranaki, ki Te Aupōuri me Te Waipounamu ko Puanga, kaua ko Matariki. I ēnei wāhi o te motu, kāore e mārama te kitea o te kāhui o Matariki, nō reira ka noho hiranga mai ko te whetū o Puanga, te whetū hiranga tuarua tata katoa ki a Matariki, ka māmā ake te kitea i te rangi rere rua. Ki a Ngāi Tahu i Te Waipounamu ko Puaka te ingoa o te whetū.
I ōna anō rohe ko te hekenga o te whetū o Rehua i te takurua te tohu o te huringa o te pekanga o te tau.
Tātaitanga o Matariki
I ngā rā o mua, he iwi tātai arorangi te Māori, e mōhiotia ai te taka o te wā me te huringa o te pekanga tau mai i ngā whetū, me te tātai i ēnei e rere ai i te au o te moana. He rerekē anō te tātai a ngā iwi i te tīmatanga me te whakamutunga o Matariki, nā ngā rerekētanga tonu o te taiao, o te matawhenua, me te āhua o te tū mai o te rā me te marama e kite ana rātou.
Ko te huringa o te marama kei te tūāpapa o te Tau Māori e 354 rā te roa. Engari anō te maramataka o Ūropi ki te Uru (Gregorian), e 365.25 rā te roa, kei tōna tūāpapa ko te amionga o Papatūānuku i te rā. Nā tēnei ka rerekē anō ngā rā ki a Matariki i ia tau i te maramataka o te Uru.
Ka ngaro ngā whetū o Matariki i te rangi i te marama o Haratua (te tikanga i wē Haratua ki te tōmuatanga o Pipiri), ka kitea anō hei tōna marama i muri mai i te Pipiri (te tikanga i te tōmuritanga o Pipiri ki te tōmuatanga o Hōngongoi). Ki ētahi iwi ko te hokinga ake o ngā whetu kē ka tohu i te tīmatanga o te tau hou. Heoi anō, i te mea e kitea ana a Matariki i te rangi, ehara tērā i te tohu koia te wā tika mō ngā mahi whakanui, ka tohua kēngia tēnei e ngā wāhanga o te marama. Ko te wā kē mō ngā mahi whakanui ka taka i ētahi rā i muri mai o te aranga tuatahi o Matariki i te huapae.
