Celebrate Matariki to honour tupuna and preserve ways

ALL AGES and ethnicities gathered at a Tauranga Moana shore last night to learn about an age-old annual Maori festival so they too can carry it into the future.
The group of 50 celebrated Matariki - an ancient Maori tradition of waiting for a cluster of six bright stars and one faint star to appear  in the sky before sunrise some time between May and June to announce the beginning of the Maori New Year.
Many years ago a clear, bright Matariki cluster was a good omen for plentiful crops in the coming year and a healthy family.
A bad omen was when the stars were not clear, which meant kai would run short, families would go hungry and tribal warfare could be on the horizon.
Times have changed and crop growers no longer rely on Matariki to foretell the future.
However, Tauranga Moana astronomer Jack Thatcher said we must still celebrate Matariki to pay respect to those who came before us and acknowledge the important event on the Maori calendar.
Just before wandering down to the beach, yesterday's crowd - comprising 20 Merivale Community Centre rangatahi (youth) and their leaders, 20 Te Wananga O Aotearoa students from the Tauranga campus, whanau and members of the public - sat quiet at Te Puna's Poututerangi Marae to listen to Mr Thatcher's korero (narrative) of what exactly Matariki was.
The young ones mostly did not know of Matariki, the older ones mostly did but needed refreshing. Together they walked 150m down the road to the sea and in their own way paid respect to Matariki.
Seven biodegradable and flame-proof lanterns were lit - one for each visible star in the Matariki cluster - and were released  and carried by the slight breeze over the harbour toward Mauao.
Mr Thatcher said this year's Matariki happened on May 26 but the exact date of Matariki was no longer crucial.
"We don't have to see those stars anymore - Pak'n Save is never going to run out of food. But I think that the celebration of Matariki is very important - to celebrate new beginnings, a new year and to look back on those before us.
"To take part in what our tupuna [ancestors] were doing so we can take that into the future. That is very much the reason behind why we should continue on with this tradition." 
* Fiona Jarden is the Bay of Plenty Times' new Maori Affairs reporter. If you've got a story you want to share, contact her at fiona.jarden@bopp.co.nz