Matariki
Winter in Wellington can be rather dreary. The days shorten, the wind picks up to the point where shipping containers are thrown into the harbour by nature's force, and there really isn't a whole lot on the social calendar. People have a three day weekend at the beginning of June for the Queen's birthday and the next public holiday isn't til Labour Day at the end of October. Without Christmas and New Year winter is a long, lonely stretch.
But there is hope as during this dark time people look to the stars. Matariki marks the Māori new year and is a time for remembering those who have passed and celebrating new life. The festival takes place for approximately a month and is named after a star cluster (the Pleiades) which appears in the sky around mid-winter.
The lore surrounding the holiday comes from Māori creation myth. In the beginning Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, earth mother cleaved to each other tightly leaving their children trapped in between in the darkness between their bodies. Eventually their children, no longer content to live in the darkness, forced their parents apart creating the world as we know it. Tāwhirimātea, the god of storms and wind, did not support this separation. He was so angry he tore out his eyes and threw them into the sky where they still shine today as Matariki.
From what we have come to understand, Matariki celebrations fell out of fashion in the 40s and have only recently regained popularity. It doesn't appear to be celebrated by individuals and families, but is more of an event put on by city counsels and local cultural institutions such as museums and community centres.
Last year we attended two Matariki celebrations. The first of event was Art Night: Pō Whakaatu Toi where you could hope on a bus that would take you to any of six galleries throughout the Wellington region. There were special activities taking place at each of the locations from local musicians to wine to crafts for the littles.
There was such a lovely energy traveling to and fro on the packed bus, many of the galleries are between 20 and 30 minutes apart by vehicle. We didn't have a car at the time so this gave us an opportunity to travel outside of Wellington City for the first time.
The second event was more intimate. Held at our favourite museum, City and Sea, Te Ao Mārama took us through the creation story through music. We began on the first floor as a man greeted us, coming down the stairs, speaking in Te Reo (the traditional Māori language). He then translated his story into English and guided us into the next room where we were treated to a musical piece that used traditional instruments such as the purerehua, a wind instrument made out of a flat piece of wood and string. It creates a lovely whirring noise when spun rapidly above the player's head.
Once the piece ended we were ushered from the room to be treated to a continuation of the creation story, then up the stairs to the another space. This time a brass band awaited us. This process continued with a different ensemble each time until we reached the final floor of the museum and the tale was finished. It was stunning and shed light on Māori culture, of which we knew very little at the time.
This year we have whole-heartedly embraced the need for a winter festival. After experiencing my first summer Christmas and forgoing Thanksgiving I long for a reason for a big feast in the dead in winter. We have brought out the Christmas lights once again and spent the weekend celebrating with a recording of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade and a nice feast. There has also been a great deal of baking.
On Friday night we braved wind, rain, and dark to attend a glow-worm tour in the Botanical Gardens. Though Waitomo is well-known for these bioluminescent creatures, they can be found throughout the entire country. As it turns out it was in the Wellington Botanical Gardens where researchers first discovered exactly what glow-worms grow up to be!
Tonight our local community centre hosted a lovely Matariki celebration complete with music, a community kapa haka, and delicious hangi.
Hangi is a traditional way of slow-cooking food using an earth oven and is generally used for special occasions. A pit is dug into the ground and hot stones are placed in the pit along with aluminum trays of food. The pit is then covered and left for hours to cook. The food is then lifted up and each is tray is wrapped in newsprint to soak up any juices before serving. The result is perfectly cooked food with the right amount of moisture.
Hangi is usually filled with at least two different types of meat and a wide variety of veggies. My parcel contained chicken, lamb, lettuce, pumpkin, turnip, potato, and stuffing. We were pleased to discover that the community centre had the forethought to offer a vegetarian option so Seth was able to have his first taste of this uniquely Kiwi dish.
The night was quite rainy and chilly so it was lovely to go out and be amongst the community the evening. There is something about music and food that really brings people together. It's not quite the same as spending a holiday with family, but it's a suitable substitute.
We plan to continue the celebrations in the coming weeks by attending this year's Art Night and, weather permitting, attending a star party.
Of course there are cultural events year long and many of the museums are free anyway, but there is something magical about attending one of the Matariki events. It doesn't get very cold here in Wellington and though I'm sure some Kiwi's might argue with me, the days aren't all that gray either. Walking around town at night with just a bit of chill in the air, surrounded by people all attending the same event, makes it feel just enough like home.
We love Matariki as it is the only holiday that is unique to New Zealand and are pleased to see it making a resurgence. We hope that someday elected officials will seek to turn it into a public holiday, or at least move Guy Fawkes fireworks to June instead of having them in November when it isn't dark til 9. Anything to bring people together and light up the darkness.
This is a part of our series on holidays in New Zealand.
New Year's
Wellington Anniversary Day
Waitangi Day
Easter Sunday
ANZAC Day
Queen's Birthday
Labour Day
Halloween
Guy Fawkes Day
Christmas
Boxing Day
But there is hope as during this dark time people look to the stars. Matariki marks the Māori new year and is a time for remembering those who have passed and celebrating new life. The festival takes place for approximately a month and is named after a star cluster (the Pleiades) which appears in the sky around mid-winter.
 |
| Photo by Filip Lolic |
The lore surrounding the holiday comes from Māori creation myth. In the beginning Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, earth mother cleaved to each other tightly leaving their children trapped in between in the darkness between their bodies. Eventually their children, no longer content to live in the darkness, forced their parents apart creating the world as we know it. Tāwhirimātea, the god of storms and wind, did not support this separation. He was so angry he tore out his eyes and threw them into the sky where they still shine today as Matariki.
From what we have come to understand, Matariki celebrations fell out of fashion in the 40s and have only recently regained popularity. It doesn't appear to be celebrated by individuals and families, but is more of an event put on by city counsels and local cultural institutions such as museums and community centres.
 |
| Disclaimer: Not actually the night sky |
Last year we attended two Matariki celebrations. The first of event was Art Night: Pō Whakaatu Toi where you could hope on a bus that would take you to any of six galleries throughout the Wellington region. There were special activities taking place at each of the locations from local musicians to wine to crafts for the littles.
There was such a lovely energy traveling to and fro on the packed bus, many of the galleries are between 20 and 30 minutes apart by vehicle. We didn't have a car at the time so this gave us an opportunity to travel outside of Wellington City for the first time.
The second event was more intimate. Held at our favourite museum, City and Sea, Te Ao Mārama took us through the creation story through music. We began on the first floor as a man greeted us, coming down the stairs, speaking in Te Reo (the traditional Māori language). He then translated his story into English and guided us into the next room where we were treated to a musical piece that used traditional instruments such as the purerehua, a wind instrument made out of a flat piece of wood and string. It creates a lovely whirring noise when spun rapidly above the player's head.
Once the piece ended we were ushered from the room to be treated to a continuation of the creation story, then up the stairs to the another space. This time a brass band awaited us. This process continued with a different ensemble each time until we reached the final floor of the museum and the tale was finished. It was stunning and shed light on Māori culture, of which we knew very little at the time.
This year we have whole-heartedly embraced the need for a winter festival. After experiencing my first summer Christmas and forgoing Thanksgiving I long for a reason for a big feast in the dead in winter. We have brought out the Christmas lights once again and spent the weekend celebrating with a recording of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade and a nice feast. There has also been a great deal of baking.
On Friday night we braved wind, rain, and dark to attend a glow-worm tour in the Botanical Gardens. Though Waitomo is well-known for these bioluminescent creatures, they can be found throughout the entire country. As it turns out it was in the Wellington Botanical Gardens where researchers first discovered exactly what glow-worms grow up to be!
Tonight our local community centre hosted a lovely Matariki celebration complete with music, a community kapa haka, and delicious hangi.
Hangi is a traditional way of slow-cooking food using an earth oven and is generally used for special occasions. A pit is dug into the ground and hot stones are placed in the pit along with aluminum trays of food. The pit is then covered and left for hours to cook. The food is then lifted up and each is tray is wrapped in newsprint to soak up any juices before serving. The result is perfectly cooked food with the right amount of moisture.
Hangi is usually filled with at least two different types of meat and a wide variety of veggies. My parcel contained chicken, lamb, lettuce, pumpkin, turnip, potato, and stuffing. We were pleased to discover that the community centre had the forethought to offer a vegetarian option so Seth was able to have his first taste of this uniquely Kiwi dish.
 |
| Community kapa haka group performing |
We plan to continue the celebrations in the coming weeks by attending this year's Art Night and, weather permitting, attending a star party.
Of course there are cultural events year long and many of the museums are free anyway, but there is something magical about attending one of the Matariki events. It doesn't get very cold here in Wellington and though I'm sure some Kiwi's might argue with me, the days aren't all that gray either. Walking around town at night with just a bit of chill in the air, surrounded by people all attending the same event, makes it feel just enough like home.
We love Matariki as it is the only holiday that is unique to New Zealand and are pleased to see it making a resurgence. We hope that someday elected officials will seek to turn it into a public holiday, or at least move Guy Fawkes fireworks to June instead of having them in November when it isn't dark til 9. Anything to bring people together and light up the darkness.
This is a part of our series on holidays in New Zealand.
New Year's
Wellington Anniversary Day
Waitangi Day
Easter Sunday
ANZAC Day
Queen's Birthday
Labour Day
Halloween
Guy Fawkes Day
Christmas
Boxing Day
