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In Māori culture, Matariki is the Pleiades star cluster and a celebration of its Heliacal rising in late June or early July. The rising marks the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar.
Historically, Matariki was usually celebrated for a period of days during the last quarter of the moon of the lunar month Pipiri (around June). The ceremony involved viewing the individual stars for forecasts of the year to come, mourning the deceased of the past year, and making an offering of food to replenish the stars. Some Māori use the rise of Puanga (Rigel) or other stars to mark the new year.
Celebration of Matariki declined during the 20th century, but beginning in the early 1990s it underwent a revival. Matariki was first celebrated as an official public holiday in New Zealand on 24 June 2022.
The word Matariki is the name of both the star cluster and one of the stars within it. Other terms for the cluster as a whole include Te Tautari-nui-o-Matariki ("Matariki fixed in the heavens") and Te Huihui o Matariki ("the assembly of Matariki").
Matariki is sometimes incorrectly translated as mata riki ("little eyes"), a mistake originating in the work of Elsdon Best and continued by others.
Many Māori sources, especially older ones, list seven stars in Matariki: Matariki herself, the central star in the cluster (the kai whakahaere or 'conductor'), and six children. The emblem of the Kīngitanga or Māori King movement, Te Paki o Matariki, includes the star Matariki flanked by three stars on each side. The six other stars are sometimes named as Matariki's daughters.
It has been suggested that the idea of Matariki as a group of seven female stars was influenced by the concept of the Pleiades' "seven sisters". However, some researches have suggested that the near universal tradition of recognizing seven stars is based on astronomical observations made 100,000 years ago which have been maintained through oral histories in various cultures. (1977). 9780520035379, University of California Press. ISBN 9780520035379
The manuscript of Rāwiri Te Kōkau passed on to Rangi Mātāmua recognised nine stars in Matariki, adding Pōhutukawa and Hiwa-i-te-Rangi (also known just as Hiwa) to make a total of eight children, five of which were female and three male. The father of Matariki's children was Rehua, paramount chief of the heavens, identified by Māori as the star Antares.
The stars of Matariki and their genders as recorded by Te Kōkau are identified with particular traits and areas of influence, also reflected in their positions in the star cluster:
| +The nine stars of Matariki !Māori !Greek !Gender !Provenance | |||
| Matariki | Alcyone | Female | Well-being and health |
| Tupu-ā-rangi | Atlas | Male | Food that comes from above |
| Tupu-ā-nuku | Pleione | Female | Food that grows in the soil |
| Ururangi | Merope | Male | The winds |
| Waipunā-ā-rangi | Electra | Female | Rainwater |
| Hiwa-i-te-rangi | Celaeno | Female | Growth and prosperity |
| Waitī | Maia | Female | Fresh water |
| Waitā | Taygeta | Male | The ocean |
| Pōhutukawa | Sterope | Female | The deceased |
Hiwa-i-te-rangi, also known just as Hiwa, is the youngest of Matariki's children and was considered the "wishing star": Māori would rest their hopes and desires on Hiwa, similar to "wishing upon a star", and if it appeared to shine bright and clear on the first viewing of Matariki those individual and collective wishes were likely to be answered.
The Pleiades constellation (Matariki) is visible for most of the year in New Zealand, except for approximately a month in the middle of winter. Matariki finally sets in the west in the early evening in May, and reappears just prior to in late June or early July, which begins the first month of the Māori lunar calendar, Pipiri (meaning to huddle together). All the months of the Māori calendar are indicated by this heliacal rising of a particular star on the eastern horizon just before dawn, on the night of the new moon: for example, the tenth month, Poutūterangi, is signalled by the heliacal rising of Altair. Matariki's role in signalling the start of the year means it is known as te whetū o te tau ("the star of the year").
The time in midsummer when Matariki is overhead in the night sky is referred to as te paki o Matariki, i.e. the calm weather of summer – a phrase meaning good weather and good fortune. In Māori historical recollection, the Tainui canoe was instructed to leave the homeland of Hawaiki for Aotearoa in summer, when Matariki was overhead: this being a direct, ancient historical reference to Māori use of star navigation, for long sea voyaging. Because of these associations with peace and calm, the second Māori king, Matutaera Tāwhiao, chose Matariki as an emblem, and the Kīngitanga newspaper was named Te Paki o Matariki.
Most celebration of Matariki begins in the Lunar phase of the moon after the constellation's first appearance, during 3–4 nights known as "the nights of Tangaroa" (ngā po o Tangaroa), and finishes on the night before the new moon. The new moon, or whiro, is considered inauspicious in the Māori calendar, so would spoil any celebrations. Because Māori traditionally use a 354-day lunar calendar with 29.5 days to the month, rather than the 365-day Gregorian solar calendar, the dates of Matariki vary each year. Māori did not use a single unified lunar calendar, and different iwi might recognise different numbers of months, give them different names, or start the month on the full moon rather than the new moon.
In Māori tradition the stars Puanga and Matariki were rivals, with Puanga beautifying herself every winter, attempting to be the star beside which the sun rises and signals the New Year, but being eternally frustrated when each year the Sun rose beside Matariki.
Other iwi use Atutahi (Canopus) rather than Puanga, or the setting of Rehua (Antares) in winter, to mark the New Year.
The Matariki ceremony was followed by days of festivities – song, dance, and feasting – known as te mātahi o te tau ("the first fruits of the year"), celebrating prosperity, life, and the promise of the year to come.
The revival of the celebration of Matariki can be traced to the early 1990s, sparked by various Māori iwi and organisations such as the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, for example in 1995 there was a festival called Pipitea Marae: Te Whakanui i a Matariki, at Pipitea Marae, Wellington City supported by Te Awa Kairangi Community Arts, Te Atiawa FM, Ernst & Young and Te Taura Whiri.
Te Rangi Huata of Ngāti Kahungunu began in 2000 an annual Matariki celebration in Hastings, which attracted 500 people, which reached 15,000 in 2001. In 2001, the Māori Language Commission began a move to "reclaim Matariki, or Aotearoa Pacific New Year, as an important focus for Māori language regeneration". In 2016 Te Wānanga o Aotearoa promoted a new vision of Matariki in a month-long roadshow called "Te Iwa o Matariki" (iwa being Māori for "nine"), stressing the nine stars recognised by some iwi. Since then it has increasingly become common practice for people – Māori and non-Māori – and institutions such as schools, libraries, and city councils to celebrate Matariki in a range of ways. These have included concerts, festivals of lights, the illumination of Auckland's Sky Tower, and tree planting. In 2017 Wellington City Council announced they would cancel the Sky Show fireworks held on Guy Fawkes Night for 22 years, and move them to a Matariki cultural festival from July 2018. The celebrations have taken place over the period of a week or month, anywhere from early June to late August, but increasingly coincide with the winter solstice or the traditional dates of Matariki.
In 2008 NZ Post began issuing an annual series of stamps to celebrate Matariki.
In 2024, Charles III, as King of New Zealand, released a message recognising the holiday in both English and Māori. Earlier on 30 April, President of French Polynesia Moetai Brotherson in a session with his Council of Ministers agreed to make their local counterpart Matariʻi as an official public holiday on November 20th in place of Internal Autonomy Day on June 29th inspired by the success of the celebrations in Aotearoa following a proposal by its Minister of Culture Eliane Tevahitua; the act would be implemented officially on 2025.
As part of the National–Māori Party agreement subsequent to the 2011 New Zealand general election, both parties agreed to support a "cultural heritage bill to recognise Matariki/Puanga, and to honour the peace-making heritage established at Parihaka."
In July 2020, Te Raukura O'Connell Rapira delivered two combined petitions calling for Matariki to be made a public holiday that were signed by 30,000 people.
On 7 September 2020, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pledged to make Matariki a public holiday if the Labour Party were re-elected in the 2020 general election. The proposed public holiday would not be implemented until 2022, during which businesses could recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. On 4 February 2021, Ardern announced the first date for the public holiday as 24 June 2022. Legislation to give this legal effect would be introduced during the 2021 parliamentary session.
On 2 July 2021, the day the constellation rose, Ardern announced the proposed dates of the holiday for the next 30 years, as determined by a Matariki Advisory Group drawn from iwi across the country. The date of the holiday was formalised as the Friday closest to the 4 days of the nights of Tangaroa in the lunar month Piripi. The dates vary from late June to mid July, but are always on a Friday, to encourage people to travel and spend time with their families, and to give an extra public holiday to people who usually miss out on Mondayised public holidays (e.g. those who normally work Tuesday to Saturday). The date of Matariki varies because the 354-day Māori lunar calendar (with occasional intercalary months) only approximates the 365.24 day solar Gregorian solar calendar.
On 30 September 2021, Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan introduced the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill to make Matariki a public holiday. The bill passed its first reading supported by the Labour, Green and Māori parties, but opposed by National and ACT. National argued that Matariki should replace an existing public holiday instead of being added as a new holiday, to lessen the impact on businesses which is estimated to be NZ$448 million annually. The bill passed its second reading on 29 March 2022. During the debate, the National and ACT parties expressed concerns about creating a 12th public holiday; claiming that it would cost NZ$450 million and have a negative impact on businesses. The Labour, Green and Māori parties argued that the bill would establish a new Māori public holiday in the calendar and raise awareness of Māori indigenous knowledge.
The bill passed its third reading on 7 April. During the final debate, National MP Paul Goldsmith argued that Matariki should replace a previous public holiday while ACT's Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie claimed that having a new public holiday would cost businesses NZ$453 million. The Bill's sponsor Kiritapu Allan defended Matariki, arguing that public holidays reduced employee burnout and stress while boosting hospitality and tourism. National MP Simon O'Connor suggested naming the bill a "neutral" name such as Pleiades, which prompted Crown-Māori Relations Minister Kelvin Davis to claim that the former's remarks showed National's contempt for Māori culture. The bill received royal assent on 11 April 2022.
Matariki was first observed as a public holiday on 24 June 2022, including a pre-dawn live broadcast of a hautapu ceremony. It was received positively overall by New Zealanders. Its significance to New Zealanders is also enhanced by being exclusive to New Zealand culture.
For businesses, Matariki is treated identically to most other public holidays; employees working on Matariki are required to be paid time-and-a-half and there are no restrictions on shops opening or alcohol sales. However, due to the unique cultural significance of the holiday, Māori cultural advisers and academics have warned companies against commercialising Matariki, citing cultural disrespect. Due to its position between King's Birthday and Labour Day, concerns were made regarding overcommercialisation of Matariki in terms of appropriating the extended public holiday as an opportunity for shopping events, such as the sale of fireworks. There are concerns regarding the impact of commercialisation on Matariki in the future, potentially associating the holiday with binge-drinking instead of time with whānau (family) as intended.
| + !Year !Tangaroa lunar period !Matariki public holiday | ||
| 2022 | 21–24 June | 24 June |
| 2023 | 10–13 July | 14 July |
| 2024 | 29 June – 2 July | 28 June |
| 2025 | 19–22 June | 20 June |
| 2026 | 8–11 July | 10 July |
| 2027 | 27–30 June | 25 June |
| 2028 | 15–18 July | 14 July |
| 2029 | 4–7 July | 6 July |
| 2030 | 23–26 June | 21 June |
| 2031 | 11–14 July | 11 July |
| 2032 | 30 June – 2 July | 2 July |
| 2033 | 20–23 June | 24 June |
| 2034 | 9–12 July | 7 July |
| 2035 | 29 June – 1 July | 29 June |
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