Matariki is a special celebration all around the world. Matariki is about the seven sisters but in some cultures it is nine sisters. Matariki is in mid-winter normally in June. Some say the Matariki is the oldest sister or the six and some saw Matariki in the mother or the six. There are seven stories about the seven sisters there names are Waitī, Waitā ,Waipuna-ā-rangi ,Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Uru-ā-rangi and Matariki.
The seven stars Matariki is a cluster of stars that appear in the early morning in the sky in New Zealand. Matariki has lots of things it can represent like remembrance for who in the recent years that had passed another is renewal the start of something new. The seven sisters also come out in seasons that crops harvest as some say.
Matariki is a time for whānau, to remember those who came before us and the legacy they have left behind, and also to learn more about our whakapapa, our ancestors. In these years people have made songs about Matariki like the Macarena. It is a song that has all of the sisters’ names. In the old times of Matariki Māori belevies Matariki to be a star that can predict the upcoming season.
Matariki is a small but distinctive star cluster that disappears below the horizon
in April and whose reappearance in the north eastern pre-dawn sky in late May or early June marks the start of a new phase of life. Before Māori were introduced to the Gregorian calendar they used their own system of distinguishing specific time periods.
Matariki is sometimes hard to spot if you’re not sure what you’re looking for but if you follow the line of Orion’s belt (Tautoru) down to the left, through the bright triangle of stars known also as the face of Taurus the Bull, then Matariki can be seen as a small twinkling mass of light.
During this time the forest was a primary food resource for Māori, replete with birds, the fruit of native trees, bracken roots, fern fronds and the native rat. Visitors were often showered with gifts, especially preserved eels, birds and other delicacies. The sharing of kai (food) was very important and showed great hospitality and respect to visitors.