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Kōrero: Night sky

The Pleiades

The Pleiades

The Pleiades is a cluster of young stars. Six or seven stars are visible to the naked eye, although binoculars reveal that there are dozens. The Pleiades is known to Māori as Matariki. For Māori and other Pacific peoples, the arrival of Matariki in the morning sky in mid-winter marks a new year.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Private collection

by Mark Cannell

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

John Field rāua ko Maggy Wassilieff, Night sky – Seasonal stars, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/7921/the-pleiades (accessed 5 June 2026).

He kōrero nā John Field rāua ko Maggy Wassilieff, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.

Comments

Wayne Nicholls
02 November 2012
I am an eighty-nine year old and a very poor writer of poetry. Many years ago I was a Navigator in the RAF during WWII and learned Astro Navigation. I became fascinated by the Pleiades. Later I wrote a poem about them and I append it below for your interest. The Pleiades In the glory of the heavens, there are many brilliant stars; There are Rigel Kent, Canopus and Sirius and Mars. Of all the stars or groups of stars that brings me to my knees, Are those seven holy tips of light, we call the Pleiades. The sky is still and frozen until a meteor has shone For just a second – oh there it is – but now alas it’s gone. For it has disappeared among a host of heavenly bodies; The moon, the stars, the planets and the lovely Pleiades. I gaze at this intriguing group that seems to be just seven; And wonder if the angels have it as the playing-ground of Heaven. They sparkle and twinkle as they dance like wind-blown trees; This friendly constellation that we call the Pleiades. I had a dream I’d never had before, while fast asleep one night. I was drawn up from my bed and rushed as fast as light, As if a magnet were pulling me with the greatest of ease, To God’s Heavenly home which was – yes, the Pleiades. It was so deathly quiet – there was no noise up there; I had felt this pull so strong – like the Sirens’ song so clear; And I, the messenger, the Greeks had spoken of as Hermes; Was racing at high speed to the largest of the Pleiades. I felt such joy – the woes of life were over – the Rapture had begun. And then it suddenly stopped like a shot fired from a gun; The dream had faded out – the scene became a freeze; I woke and knew with grief, I hadn’t reached the Pleiades. It made me sit and wonder. The dream was real to me; Could that have been a glimpse – could it really be? That God was saying in my dream - was throwing me the keys To the riddle of His home – that He lives among the Pleiades?