Ka puta Matariki ka rere Whānui.
Ko te tohu tēnā o te tau e!

Matariki reappears, Vega starts its flight.
The New Year begins!

The appearance of the Matariki star cluster - made up of nine stars - welcomes in Te Tau Hou, the New Year. Rising in the north-east sky, the star cluster is not always readily visible in all parts of New Zealand.

For those living in Te Waipounamu, the South Island, Puanga is a brighter star in the night sky which rises earlier than Matariki and is often considered to herald the New Year. Some iwi celebrate Puanga rather than Matariki as Te Tau Hou.

The rise of Puanga and Matariki is often acknowledged as being a time of coming together and of reflecting on the past year, on the people who have passed and on whakapapa (genealogy).

Whakapapa sets out the beginning and continuing relationships between everything - past and present. It accounts for the way in which all things have been created: the stars, earth, sky, oceans, rivers, elements, minerals, plants, animals and all people.

The Legend of Matariki

Matariki is said to be the shortened name of Ngā mata o te ariki o Tāwhirimateā. God of winds and weather, Tāwhirimateā was the only child who did not want his mother, Papatūānuku, separating from his father, Ranginui. Following the separation, Tāwhirimateā sought retribution and instigated a series of attacks on his siblings, all of whom recoiled from his wrath, except his brother Tūmatauenga, god of war and of humanity.

A significant battle followed which was won by the more skilful Tūmatauenga. The defeated Tāwhirimateā fled skywards to his father, but not before pulling out and crushing his eyes, casting them upwards where they stuck to the chest of Ranginui. These fragments became known as Matariki.

The nine stars of Matariki are Matariki, Tupuānuku, Tupuārangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipunarangi, Ururangi, Pōhutukawa and Hiwa-i-te-rangi.