A new event programme showcasing the celebration of Matariki in Marlborough is about to hit the shelves.
Council’s Project Lead for Arts, Culture and Heritage Nicola Neilson said Council decided to produce the new guide due to the growing number of Matariki events here.
“It is wonderful to see Marlborough embracing Matariki with more events every year. They provide a special chance to come together as a community to learn, reflect on and celebrate the Māori New Year, and immerse oneself in te ao Māori,” Mrs Neilson said.
Events this year range from traditional dawn ceremonies to night light shows.
“The events all celebrate the three major principles of Matariki: remembrance - honouring those who have died since the last rising of Matariki; the present - gathering together with family and friends; and the future - looking forward to the promise of a new year,” she said.
Rangitāne o Wairau Co-Chairperson Janis de Thierry said: “Rangitāne o Wairau is pleased to partner with Council thanks to its Mānawatia te Kahui o Matariki Fund. The Fund has enabled Rangitāne to expand our community Matariki event, strengthening connections between the community and tangata whenua, and providing opportunities to learn more about the significance of Matariki - an indigenous public holiday that is unique to Aotearoa. We invite the community to share and celebrate this day alongside us, reflecting on the past, present and future.”
Nine applicants were successful in receiving support from Council’s Mānawatia te Kahui o Matariki/Marlborough Matariki Event Fund.
The fund was established in 2023 and celebrates and supports the regeneration of mātauranga associated with Te Kāhui o Matariki. The contestable fund aims to support the community in hosting events that recognise not only Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki, the public holiday, but also the wider kaupapa and principles of Matariki.
Matariki is the star cluster also known as Pleiades. It’s part of a larger constellation called Taurus and is one of the earliest recorded groups of stars in human history, with a record that dates back some 17,000 years. For Māori, the rising of Matariki signals te Mātahi o te Tau, the Māori New Year. In 2022 Matariki became an official public holiday in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The guide will be available from Marlborough District Libraries, the Marlborough Art Gallery and Council’s Customer Service Centres, and online at www.marlborough.govt.nz and www.follow-me.co.nz
Ka tīaho te aratohu hou ki ngā huinga o Matariki i Wairau
E tata mai ana ki te pae tētahi wātaka huinga hou e whakaatu ana i ngā mahi whakanui i a Matariki i Wairau.
Ko tā te Kaiārahi Kaupapa a te Kaunihera mō ngā Toi, te Ahurea me ngā Taonga Tuku Iho, ko tā Nicola Neilson, i whakatau te Kaunihera ki te hanga i te aratohu hou i runga i te maha haere o ngā huinga o Matariki i konei.
"He mīharo te kite atu i te hunga o Wairau e tino aro ana ki a Matariki, me te maha haere o ngā huinga ia te tau. Mā konei te ara wātea motuhake ki te piri tahi hei hapori ki te ako, ki te huritao, ki te whakanui hoki i te Tau Hou Māori, ā, ki te ruku atu ki te ao Māori," te kōrero a Mrs Neilson.
Arā te whānuitanga o ngā huinga i tēnei tau mai i ngā ritenga i te ata hāpara ki ngā whakaaturanga rama i te pō.
"Kei te whakanui ngā huinga katoa i ngā mātāpono matua e toru o Matariki: arā, i te whakamahara - te whakanui i te hunga kua wehe atu mai i te aranga ake o Matariki i tērā tau; i te wā o nāianei - te hui tahi ki te whānau, ki ngā hoa; i te anamata anō hoki - te tiro whakamua ki te pito mata o te tau hou," tana kōrero.
Ka meatia e te manukura taurua, e Janis de Thierry nō Rangitāne o Wairau: “Ka koa a Rangitāne o Wairau ki te whakahoahoa i te Kaunihera, mō te mea, ko te haupū “Manawatia te Kahui o Matariki”. Kua ahei i taua haupū te whakawhānui tō tātau kaupapa hapori, arā, tō tātau kaupapa Matariki, hei whakapakari i ngā hononga i waenga i te hapori me te tangata whenua, nā, e whakarite ana i ngā ara ki te ako anō mō te hiranga o Matariki - he rangi whakatā ā-ture iwi taketake, ā, he mea tūturu ki Aotearoa. Ka pōhiritia te hapori kia whakanuia tēnei rangi, tahataha mai me mātau, e whakaaroarohia rā te nehe, te wātū me te wāheke”.
E iwa ngā kaitono i waimarie i te whiwhi tautoko mai i te Mānawatia te Kāhui o Matariki/Marlborough Matariki Event Fund a te Kaunihera.
I whakatūria taua tahua i te tau 2023, ā, e whakanuia ai, e tautokona ai te whakaoranga ake o te mātauranga e hāngai ana ki Te Kāhui o Matariki. E whai ana te tahua whakataetae nei ki te tautoko i te hapori ki te whakatū i ngā huinga e whakaū ana i Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki, arā, i te hararei tūmatanui, waihoki e whakaū ana hoki i te kaupapa, i ngā mātāpono whānui ake o Matariki.
Ko Matariki te kāhui whetū e kīia ana hoki ko te Pleiades. He wāhanga taua kāhui o te kāhui whetū nui ake ko Taurus te ingoa, ā, ko Taurus ko tētahi o ngā kāhui whetū tuatahi i tuhia i te hītori ā-tangata, ko tōna 17,000 tau ki muri te rā o taua mauhanga. Ki a ngāi Māori, e tohu ana te aranga ake o Matariki i te Mātahi o te Tau, arā i te Tau Hou Māori. I te tau 2022, i whakatūria a Matariki hei hararei tūmatanui ōkawa i Aotearoa.
Ka wātea mai tēnei aratohu i Ngā Whare Pukapuka ā-Rohe o Wairau, i Te Kahu o Waipuna, i ngā Pokapū Ratonga Kiritaki a te Kaunihera anō hoki, ā, i te ipurangi ki www.marlborough.govt.nz me www.follow-me.co.nz
