Matariki Celebration

23rd of June 2022

12.30 pm - 2.00 pm 

Te Umu Kohokohu Whetū Me Te Hautapu

(The Ceremonial oven and Offerings for Matariki)

Here at Rhode Street School, we will be celebrating Matariki with the whole school taking an active role in our own hautapu ceremony.

Ākonga will help prepare an umu kohukohu whetū / hāngī with the right kai for our hautapu. 

Below is each whetū (star) and the kai for that whetū, which will go into our hāngī:

• Tupuānuku - something from the earth, in our case kūmara and potato.

• Tupuārangi - traditionally this would be a kererū, however, heihei (chicken) will be our choice.

• Waitī - something from freshwater, tuna (eel) and wātakirihi (watercress) will be our choice.

• Waitā - any fish from the ocean, such as tarakihi, in our case, kuku-mau-toka (green-lipped mussels) will be our choice.

These are all the kai that will go into our hāngī. 

Ideally, a hautapu is timed so that it is cooked by the time Matariki is visible in the morning sky, but being a school, our celebration will coincide with our lunchtime. 

To commence our ceremony, everyone will gather together in our Kai Time Cafe and we start with the karakia provided:

Whanake mai ngā mata o te ariki -            Arise the eyes of our ariki

Whanake mai te tohu o te tau -                  Arise the signs of the year

Whanake mai Matariki hunga nui -            Arise Matariki who gathers the masses!

This verse acknowledges Matariki and the commencement of our ceremony to Matariki, and it brings about a degree of tapu.

The next verse of the karakia acknowledges Pōhutukawa and those of our whānau who have passed since the previous Matariki.

E tū Pōuhutukawa

Te kaikawe i ngā mate o te tau

Haere rā koutou ki te uma o Ranginui Hei whetū i te kete nui a Tāne

Koia rā! Kua whetūrangitia koutou kei aku rau kahu rangi!

Behold Pōhutukawa

Who carries the dead of the year

Onward the departed to the chest of the sky 

To become a star in the Milky Way

This is an opportunity to pause and have a moment to think of our loved ones that have now become whetū (stars) in the bossom of Ranginui.

After we have had time to remember the hunga mate (departed), we start the next part of the karakia, which acknowledges each of the other whetū within Matariki.

We will share the karakia between some of the whānau, each person has an opportunity to do one verse of the karakia – this karakia is wātea (free of restrictions) to all to use (men, women, children).

E tū Tupuānuku

E tū Tupuārangi

Ka matomato ki raro Ka pōkai tara ki runga

Behold Tupuānuku Behold Tupuārangi

Let the earth be lush

Let the sky be full of birds

E tū Waitī

E tū Waitā

Te tini a Tangaroa

Te mano a Hinemoana

Behold Waitī

Behold Waitā

The abundance of the ocean The plenty of the waterways

E tū Waipunarangi

E tū Ururangi

He ua kōpatapata

He hau miri i te whenua

Behold Waipunarangi Behold Ururangi

Give us rain

Give us wind

E tū Hiwaiterangi               (The wishing star)

Te kauwaka o te manako nui

Anei ngā tōmina o te ngākau

Hei whakatinanatanga mau

Behold Hiwaiterangi

The medium of my desires you know what I yearn for please make my dreams come true

Matariki atua ka eke ki runga

Nau mai ngā hua

Nau mai ngā taonga

Nau mai te Mātahi o te tau.     

Matariki has risen

Welcome the fruits of the year

Welcome the many treasures Welcome the New Year           

Tūturu whakamaua kia tīna! Tīna!

Haumi e.

Hui e

Taiki e       

After the closing of the karakia with ‘Taiki e!’ the hāngī is uncovered, or, the pot lid is removed releasing the hautapu within the steam to rise up and feed Matariki, to give Matariki sustenance for the following year.          

If we like, this is now an appropriate time to perform this well-known haka, which acknowledges the hautapu; everybody should join in together, the tapu of the ritenga has now come down in scale, and the tapu has been lifted.

E te kōkōmako e te kōkōmako

Ko te hautapu e rite ki te kai nā Matariki pakia! 

Tapa reireia koia tapa! Tapa konunua koiana tukua 

Hī auē hī!                

 Our thanks and appreciation go out to Dr Rangi Mataamua and Paraone Gloyne for their guidance and kaupapa in helping plan this opportunity for our ākonga, kaiako and whānau.