I whakapono te Māori e tohu ana te whakakau ake o Matariki ki te rangi i te atapō i wē-takurua i Te Mātahi o te Tau, te tīmatanga o te Tau Hou Māori. Kua kimi te tohunga kōkōrangi i te aranga ake o Matariki i te atapō, kua āta mātai i te āhua o tēnā me tēnā whetū. Mā ēnei mātaitanga e matapaetia ai ngā āhuatanga o te tau kei te tū mai, pērā i te huarere me te āhua o te hauhaketanga.
Whakataukī
He maha ngā whakataukī mō Matariki. E kōrero ana a ‘Matariki kāinga kore’ mō te haerenga mutunga kore o te kāhui whetū nei – kotahi tōna ngaronga i te rangi i te tau, i a ia ka whakangā i te Haratua ina riko te marama. Nā te hononga o Matariki ki ngā māra kai i puta ai te whakataukī: ‘Matariki ahunga nui’ (Matariki te kaiwhakarato i te nui o te kai). I te kitea ōna i te wā o te mahi huahua, ka puta te kōrero: ‘Ka kitea a Matariki, kua maoka te hinu’ (Kia kitea a Matariki, kua korotutuhia te huahua).
Ko Matariki te wā o te whakamaharatanga, te haumakotanga me ngā mahi whakanui. E toru ngā mea tino hiranga:
Te mahara ki te hunga kua riro:
Haere atu rā e koro ki te paepae o Matariki, o Rehua. Haere atu rā.
Farewell old man, go to the threshold of Matariki, of Rehua. Farewell.
Ko tā te Māori o mua i te kitenga tuatahi i a Matariki, he tangi ki te hunga kua mate mai i tōna aranga ake i te tau ka hori. I whakahaeretia te tikanga o te ‘whāngai i te hautapu’ i tēnei wā hei whakamaharatanga ki te hunga kua mate, ko tētahi wāhanga ōna ko te ‘whāngai whetū’ ki te kai kua āta whakaritea.
I te tau 1957, ka mahara ake a Rangihuna Pire, tētahi kaumatua o Ngā Ruahine i Taranaki, ki te heria ōna i a ia e tamariki ana ki te kimi i a Matariki i Kaūpokonui, ki te tonga o Taranaki:
Tērā e oho roa ai ngā kaumatua mō ētahi pō nei i mua i te whakakau ake o ngā whetū. Kua mahia e rātou he hāngī iti. Kia kitea ngā whetū, kua tangi, kua taki haere i ngā ingoa o te hunga kua riro ki a Matariki mai i tōna hekenga, kua hukea te hāngī kia āwhiowhio ai tōna kakara ki te whakakaha ake i ngā whetū, kua ngoikore hoki, kua makariri hoki. 1
Te whakanui i tēnei wā:
Ngā kai a Matariki, nāna i ao ake ki runga.
The foods of Matariki, by her scooped up.
Kia mutu te wā ki te tangi, kua huri te aronga ki ngā mahi whakanui i a Matariki. I te takanga o Matariki i te mutunga o te hauhaketanga, ranea ana te kai mō te hākari. Harikoa ana te iwi, he waiata, he kanikani te karawhiu ki te whakanui i te huringa o te pekanga tau me te tau hou.
Te titiro ki āpōpō atu:
Matariki atua ka eke mai i te rangi e roa,
E whāngainga iho ki te mata o te tau e roa e.
Divine Matariki come forth from the far-off heaven,
Bestow the first fruits of the year upon us.
Ko Matariki anō te wā e whakariterite ai mō te tau ka takoto ake. Ki te mārama, ki te taiahoaho ngā whetū, he tau pai, he tau humi kei te haere, kua tīmata te rumaki kai i te Mahuru. Ki te rehurehu, ki te tātata ngā whetū, kua kino te makariri o te takurua, kua waiho te rumaki kai mō te Whiringa-ā-nuku.
