Matariki

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Matariki

In the Maori language

Maori language

Maori or te reo Maori, also commonly shortened to te reo , functions as one of the official languages of New Zealand. Linguists classify it within the Eastern Polynesian languages as closely related to Cook Islands Maori, Tuamotuan language and Tahitian language; somewhat less closely to Hawaiian language and Marquesan language; a...
Matariki is the name of the Pleiades

Pleiades (star cluster)

File:Pleiades Lanoue.pngIn astronomy, the Pleiades are an open star cluster in the constellation of Taurus . It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth, and Randall Munroe's favorite astronomical object....
star cluster

Star cluster

Star clusters or star clouds are groups of stars which are gravity bound. Two types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of hundreds of thousands of very old stars, while open clusters generally contain less than a few hundred members, and are often very young....
, which was important for agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
in establishing the correct time to plant crops. There are two explanations of the name Matariki: firstly, mata-riki (small eye

Eye

Eyes are Organ that detect light, and send signals along the optic nerve to the visual system and other areas of the brain. Complex optical systems with resolving power have come in ten fundamentally different forms, and 96% of animal species possess a complex optical system....
s) or mata-ariki (chiefly eyes).

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Encyclopedia

In the Maori language

Maori language

Pleiades (star cluster)

Star cluster

Agriculture

Eye

Rigel

Rigel is the brightest star in the constellation Orion and the list of brightest stars in the sky, with visual magnitude 0.18. Although it has the Bayer designation "beta", it is almost always brighter than Alpha Orionis ....
(Puanga in Maori) occurs just prior to sun

Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
rise in late May or early June, and this indicates that the old year has ended and the new year has begun. The actual time for celebrating Matariki varies, depending on the iwi

Iwi

In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Maori Culture of the Maori. The word iwi means "people" or "folk"; in many contexts it may mean "tribe" or "clan", and sometimes a larger grouping of tribes....
(tribe or clan). Some iwi celebrate it immediately. Others wait until the rising of the next full moon

Full moon

Full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun....
, or alternatively the dawn of the next new moon

New moon

In astronomical terminology, the new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in Conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth....
. It has become common practice for various private and public institutions to celebrate Matariki over the period of a week or month

Month

The month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which is approximately as long as some natural Orbital period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates....
anywhere from early June to late July. Other iwi used the rising of Rigel in a similar way.

In traditional times, Matariki was a season to celebrate and to prepare the ground for the coming year. Offerings of the produce of the land were made to the gods

Gods

Gods as the plural of god , is a synonym of "deity", indicating a context of polytheism.* God * Goddess* List of deitiesproper names...
, including Rongo

Rongo

In Maori mythology, Rongo is a major god, the god of cultivated food, especially the Sweet potato, a vital food crop. Other food crops cultivated by Maori in traditional times include taro, yams , cordyline , and gourds ....
, god of potato

Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial plant Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family. The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well....
. This time of the year was also a good time to instruct young people in the lore of the land and the forest

Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
. In addition, certain birds and fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
were especially easy to harvest at this time.

In Hawaii

Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
, the festival

Festival

A festival is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community.Among many religions, a feast or festival is a set of celebrations in honour of God or Polytheism....
is known as Makali?i.

National holiday proposals

From time to time, there have been proposals to make Matariki an official holiday in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
. In 2001, The Maori Language Commission "began to reclaim Matariki, or Aotearoa

Aotearoa

Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Maori language name for New Zealand. It is used by both Maori and non-Maori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa....
Pacific New Year

New Year

The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations....
, as an important focus for Maori language regeneration. The commission is spearheading a campaign to elevate Matariki into an iconic national event as part of a nationwide Maori language information programme, "Korero Maori", and intends to develop relationships and partnerships in order to co-ordinate and share activities with other stakeholders while complementing existing events".

External links

in Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand