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Mānawatia a Matariki — Happy Māori New Year!
Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki. Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi. Mānawa maiea te Mātahi o te tau. Celebrate the rising of Matariki. Celebrate the rising of the lord of the sky. Celebrate the rising of the New Year. Matariki celebrates the Māori New Year.
Matariki is the name of a star cluster and when it is visible in the night sky, this marks the change in season and the start of the first lunar cycle of the Māori lunar calendar. There are nine stars in the Matariki cluster - Matariki, Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipuna-ā-rangi, Ururangi, Pōhutukawa, and Hiwaiterangi. Each star in the cluster relates to a part of te taiao (the natural world). The exploration and celebration of Matariki represent the interconnectedness that is central to Te Ao Māori.
For BestStart Coast Boulevard, Matariki is a time for shared learning about culture, aspirations, and acknowledging those that have passed, but also a celebration of togetherness as a community. Our children have been involved in many opportunities from planting seeds in our garden to sculpting stars with clay. Art pieces and creations now fill our rooms to represent the nine stars with our children being rich contributors and expressive communicators.
A focus on oral storytelling throughout the month has spread knowledge, not only to children but to teachers as well. Curiosity and wonder about Matariki has developed as we've been learning about the nine stars' meanings and how the stars were used for navigation, and various stories about how the stars came to be in the sky. Weeks were filled with fun through learning new waiata with actions to perform for our parents at our Matariki event.
Thanks to all the children helping to prepare our yummy soup and fry bread to share with whanau. It was lovely to see parents meeting new families, strengthening connections, and developing friendships within the centre. Matariki has been a time for fostering whanaungatanga, bringing us together as customary Māori tikanga practice. Mānawatia a Matariki.