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We are learning all about Matariki

What is Matariki?

Matariki is the Māori name for a group of stars. The science name is the Pleiades and instead of ‘group’ they call it a star cluster.

It signalled the start of the Māori New Year for some tribes. Maori people followed a lunar calendar. That means that the months were organised around the moon. Marama is the name for moon. That is why the calendar is called Maramataka.

When is Matariki?

Matariki appears just before dawn in late May or early June. Different tribes celebrated Matariki at different times. Some celebrated when it was first seen. Some celebrated at the first new moon or full moon after the Matariki was seen. We now celebrate Matariki as the new Maori year, when the first full moon is seen.

Matariki is a happy event – crops had been harvested and seafood and birds had been collected. With plenty of food in the storehouses, Matariki was a time for singing, dancing and feasting.