Matariki Tauranga New Zealand

Matariki is a time of festivity for Maori, the Tangata Whenua, first people of this land Aotearoa New Zealand.
This year on Monday 14th June Tauranga Moana Maori Tourism will celebrate the inaugural Matariki Festival on Dive Crescent.

Together a range of people and organisations from this area (rohe), are involved to celebrate this unique time of the year. The appearance of Matariki in the morning sky is considered vital on its first outing. If the stars in the cluster are clear and bright, it is thought the year ahead will be warm and productive. If they appear hazy and shimmering, an unproductive year is in store.

The Maori New Year is marked by the rise of Matariki (Pleiades cluster) and the sighting of the next New Moon. Matariki is a time of new beginnings, a time to pause and reflect on the achievements of the past year, and the time to plan for the year that had arrived. Matariki is celebrated widely throughout the Pacific where it is known as Matali'i, Mataliki, Makali'i, Mata-ali'i, and Makahiki. Here in Aotearoa Matariki is celebrated by Maori, and is slowly being accepted by mainstream New Zealanders.
The Matariki Festivities and website will ensure the preservation of tikanga.

The only way to ensure the perpetuation of a taonga is to live it. The Matariki activities organized by Tauranga Moana will join hundreds of other Matariki activities around New Zealand.
For more information about Matariki visit:
Matariki Festival at Te Papa
Proverbs relating to Matariki
Matariki at Wicked Fun Learning Site for Kids
Maori names for stars and constellations