Te tohu ki te tau hōu
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.
Footnotes
- By Mihikitekapua (Tūhoe, Ngāti Ruapani). Reproduced in Apirana Turupa Ngata, Ngā mōteatea: he maramara rere nō ngā waka maha, 4 vols, Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2004–7. Back
Te ora me te mate
Tākina Puanga
Ko Puanga kei runga
Ko Puanga e Rangi
Tākina mai te ara o Puanganui-o-te-rangi
Tākina ngā pou o te tau
Ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama.
As Puanga rises
Let Puanga elevate us
Let Puanga be noted in the heavens
Let us recite the great celestial path of Puanga
Let us recite the ceremonies throughout the year
With clarity and intention.
Puanga is the Māori name for Rigel, the seventh brightest star in the sky, which is part of the Orion constellation.
A number of iwi/hapū in the Taiuru (including Taranaki, Whanganui and Rangitīkei) rohe within Te Tai Hauāuru (the west coast of the North Island) use Puanga as their marker for the new year.
The term Puanganui-o-te-rangi refers to Puanga and its two affiliated stars – Puanga Hori (Procyon) and Whakaahu (Gemini) – and their significance over a period of approximately four months, from the last month of autumn until the beginning of spring.
Puanga, or Rigel, is known to some northern iwi as Puangarua. While it is visible throughout the year, Puanga is especially prominent in the evening sky in late autumn and in the pre-dawn sky during the first month of the new year.
Puanga Hori (Procyon) rises below Takurua (Sirius) in the second month of the year. Whakaahu (Gemini) pairs up with Puanga in the third month and indicates productivity.
Ngā Pou o te Tau – ceremonies throughout the year
There are two Puanga ritenga (Te Maru o te Tau and Te Tahi o te Tau), and spring (Te Matamata o te Tau), summer (Te Matiti o te Tau) and autumn harvest (Te Huatahi o te Tau) ceremonies.
Te Maru o te Tau
This ritenga is a hautuku ceremony conducted at sunset which focuses on:
- sending the departed to Te Whata nā Maru (the Platform of Maru – a constellation in the western night sky that includes Puanga, Tautoru and Pūtara (Betelgeuse));
- releasing any challenges from the past year; and
- starting the winter wānanga over the Pō Roa o Takurua – the long nights of winter.
Te Tahi o te Tau
This ritenga is a hautapu ceremony conducted before dawn which focuses on:
- acknowledging the transition of the departed to become guiding stars in our lives;
- welcoming the new year with gratitude; and affirming our commitment to our ancestors, the environment and the future.
Te Matamata o te Tau
Te Matamata o te Tau is a ritenga at the start of spring. It is a haupawa ceremony which focuses on:
- lighting a fire to offer up shoots of new growth; and
- sending aspirations and learnings from the winter wānanga to the heavens to be affirmed by the tūpuna.
The smoke produced when green fronds are placed on the fire sends the karakia to the heavens.
At the conclusion of this ritenga, the ash from the fire is mixed into the garden in preparation for planting. This ritenga can also call īnanga (whitebait) and other fish back inland as a sign of the return of Hineraumati (summer maiden) from the sea.
‘Matariki mā Puanga’ was selected as the theme for the fourth Matariki public holiday in 2025. This acknowledged the iwi of Tai Uru and other communities who observe Puanga in their astronomical traditions.
Footnotes
- Harry Dansey, ‘Matariki’. Te Ao Hou 61 (December–February 1967/68): 15–16. › Back
Matariki o te ao hou
I kaingākautia te whakanui i a Matariki i mua i te taenga mai o ngā iwi o Ūropi ki Aotearoa, ka haere tonu tae atu ki ngā tau 1900. Nā wai, nā wai ka kore haere, ko ngā taiopenga ahurei whakamutunga i tū i ngā tau o te 1940, engari i puritia tonuhia ngā mātauranga o te rohe e ētahi iwi. I komokomohia e ētahi hāhi Māori hou, pērā i te hāhi Ringatū, ētahi āhuatanga ake o Matariki ki ā rātou tikanga hou.
Whakarauoratanga
I te tīmatanga o te rau tau 21 ka tahuri a ngāi Māori ki te whakarauora ake i ngā mahi whakanui i a Matariki hei tohu i te whakamaharatanga, i te harikoa me te rongomau. I whakakotahi mai anō ngā iwi, ngā hapu me ngā whanau i te wā ki a Matariki ki te tangi i ērā o te whānau kua riro, ki te kai tahi, ki te wānanga me te whakanui anō i a Matariki i ō rātou hapori. Ka whakahaeretia e ētahi ngā tikanga o mua i te ata iti, ka taki ai i ngā ingoa o te hunga kua mate mai i tērā aranga ake o Matariki, hei poroporoaki i a rātou, me te tunu anō i ngā kai o te kaupeka o te tau.
Hiranga ana te wāhi ki ngā iwi Māori ki te whakarauora ake i te aro atu a te hapori whānui ki ngā mahi whakanui. I a Te Rangi Huata i whakarite ai i ngā mahi whakanui i a Matariki a Ngāti Kahungungu i te tau 2000, i āhua 500 te hunga i whai wāhi atu; i te tau 2003, 15,000 te hunga i tae ake. I te tau 2021, ka āwhina a Te Rangi ki te whakarite i tana hui whakanui 21, ko ngā mahi i tū ki te Wairoa ahu atu ki te Wairarapa. I whakapono a Te Rangi i noho huarahi a Matariki hei whakanui i te ahurea Māori, waihoki, ki te whakakotahi i ngā iwi katoa o Aotearoa.
Kua āwhina hoki ngā pukapuka a te tohunga tātai arorangi, te mātanga mātauranga Māori, a Ahorangi Rangi Matamua (Tūhoe), ki te taunaki i te hiranga o Matariki ki ngā hapori Māori o mua, me ōna hononga ki te noho mārama a ngāi Māori ki tōna ao māori me te ao wairua.
Nā ngā taiopenga hoki kua whakaritea e ngā kaunihera ā-rohe me ngā whakahaere pērā i Te Papa Tongarewa, i Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori me Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, kua huri anō te aronga ki a Matariki. Haere ana ngā mahi kapa haka, te mātai whetū, te pahū muramura, te hāngī me te konohete huri noa i te motu. I te tau 2017 ka nekehia te pō pahū muramura i Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara, i whakahaeretia nei i te Whiringa-ā-rangi hei tohu i te Rā o Guy Fawkes, ki te Hōngongoi, hei whakanui i a Matariki.
I whai wāhi atu anō te whakarauoratia o Matariki ki te whakapiki ake i te kaingākautia o te pākau. Hei tā Hekenukumai Busby, tētahi tohunga ki ngā tikanga whakatere moana o nehe, i whakanuia e ngā tūpuna o ngāi Māori a Matariki mā te tuku pākau, pērā anō ngā iwi o Poronīhia o nehe.
Hararei tūmatanui
I te tau 2020, ka pānuitia e te kāwanatanga tana whakaaro kia tū he hararei tūmatanui i te wā ki a Matariki ki te whakamihi me te whakanui i te ao Māori, ka tū tuatahi ā te tau 2022. Ka whakatūria te Rōpū Arataki o Matariki ki te tuku kupu ārahi ki ngā minita mō te wā me te āhua o te whakanui i te hararei tūmatanui nei. Ka neke te rā o te maramataka mō te hararei tūmatanui o Matariki haere he tau, kia hāngai ai ki te maramataka Māori. Te tikanga hei te tōmuritanga o Pipiri hei te tōmuatanga rānei o Hōngongoi. I tōia mai ngā mema o te Rōpū Arataki i te motu nui tonu e puta ai ngā mātauranga o iwi kē, o iwi kē.
Puanga o te Rangi
Tākina Puanga
Ko Puanga kei runga
Ko Puanga e Rangi
Tākina mai te ara o Puanganui-o-te-rangi
Tākina ngā pou o te tau
Ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama.
Ko Puanga te whetū e mōhiotia ana ko Rigel, koinā te whetū tuawhitu muramura rawa i te rangi, he whetū nō te kāhui o Orion.
Ko ngā iwi/hapū kei te Taiuru (o Taranaki, o Whanganui, o Rangitīkei) ngā rohe o te Tai Hauāuru (te uru o te Ika ā Māui) ka whai i ngā tohutohu o Puanga mō te tau hou Māori.
Ko te ingoa Puanga-o-te-rangi e kōrero ana mō Puanga me tētahi tokorua whetū – arā, ko Puanga Hori (Proycon) rāua ko Whakaahu (Gemini) – me tā rātou motuhaketanga i ngā marama e whā, mai i te marama whakamutunga o ngahuru, tae noa ki te tīmatanga o kōanga.
Ko Puanga, ko Rigel rānei, e mōhiotia ana ki ngā iwi o te Taitokerau ki a Puangarua. Ahakoa kitea tonu ana i te nuinga o te tau, mārakerake ana te kitea i ngā pō i te tōmuri o ngahuru, i mua i te ata hāpara i te marama tuatahi o te tau hou.
Ka ara a Puanga Hori (Proycon) ki raro iho o Takurua (Sirius) i te marama tuarua o te tau. Ka takiruahia a Whakaahu (Gemini) rāua ko Puanga i te marama tuatoru, hei tohu i te huhuatanga.
Ka kitea a Puanga i te roanga o te tau – kāore e heke ki raro i te paewai o te moana, pērā i a Matariki. E kite ai koe i a Puanga, rapua a Tautoru (te Tātua o Orion, te kōhua rānei). Kei runga ake i tēnei kāhui, ka kitea he whetū muramura takitahi – nā, ko Puanga tērā.
Ngā Pou o te Tau – ngā ritenga i te tau
Koianei ngā ritenga i te tau, ko ngā ritenga e rua mō Puanga (Te Maru o te Tau me Te Tahi o te Tau), ko tētahi i te wā o kōanga (Te Matamata o te Tau), ko tētahi i te raumati (Te Matiti o te Tau), ka mutu ko tētahi i te wā hauhake i te ngahuru (Te Huatahi o te Tau).
Te Maru o te Tau
Ko te hautuku he ritenga ka tū i te wā e tō ana te rā, ā, e hāngai ana ki:
- te tuku i ngā mate ki Te Whata nā Maru (he kohinga whetū i te uru o te rangi pō, hui katoa ko Puanga, ko Tautoru, ko Pūtara (Betelgeuse) hoki.
- te tuku hoki i ngā taumahatanga nō te tau i mua; me te
- te tīmata i te wānanga hōtoke i te Pō Roa o Takurua – arā, i te wā o ngā pō roa o te hōtoke.
Te Tahi o te Tau
Ko te hautapu he ritenga ka tū i mua i te ata hāpara, ā, e hāngai ana ki:
- te whakahu i ērā e whakawhiti ana ki tua o paerau, rātou ka whetūrangitia
- te pōhiri i te tau hou i roto i te ngākau reka; te whakaū hoki i te ngākau nui ki ō tātou tīpuna, ki te taiao, ki te anamata hoki.
Te Matamata o te Tau
Ko Te Matamata o te Tau he ritenga ka tū i te tīmatanga o kōanga. He kaupapa haupawa e hāngai ana ki:
- te whakakā i te ahi hei hou i ngā tipu e matomato ai tā rātou tipu; me
- te tuku i ngā wawata, i ngā akoranga nō ngā wānanga takurua, ki ngā tīpuna kei ngā rangi.
Ko te auahi, he mea rewa, kia tāpirihia ai ngā rau kākāriki ki te ahi, he mea tuku i ngā karakia ki ngā rangi.
Mutu ana te ritenga, ka tāpirihia ngā puehu mai i te ahi ki te māra, hei tīmatanga mahi māra. I tēnei ritenga hoki, ka taea hoki te karanga īnanga, ika kē atu hoki, kia hoki whakateuta mai, hei tohu i te hokinga mai o Hineraumati (te kōhine o te raumati) mai i te moana.
Ko ‘Matariki mā Puanga’ te kaupapa i kōwhiria mō te hararei ā-motu tuawhā mō Matariki i te 2025. He whai whakaaro tēnei ki ngā iwi Tai Uru, hapori kē atu hoki, ka mātai i a Puanga i ā rātou tikanga mātai whetū.