Celebrating Matariki: Carving symposium at Eastwoodhill Arboretum among range of activities around the rohe

Simon Lardelli is among carvers working at Eastwoodhill Arboretum until Saturday, turning downed trees into artworks in a Matariki event. Picture by Rebecca Grunwell

Tomorrow is Matariki and people across Tairāwhiti will be celebrating it in different ways across the region.

Matariki is the star cluster most commonly known across the world as Pleiades. This cluster is part of a larger constellation of stars called Taurus.

For many cultures, these stars are connected to celebration, planting, harvesting, weather, and life. For Māori, the rising of Matariki signals te Mātahi o te Tau, the Māori New Year.

The appearance of Matariki in the morning sky is a sign for people to gather, to honour the dead, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.

Some people like to plant gardens to represent new beginnings and prepare for the next harvest. Aimee Vickers has been doing this for the last few years.

“According to Māori mārā (garden) guides it’s best to plant on the winter solstice and harvest in midsummer. So, for the past few years I’ve been planting on Matariki. The act of planting, for me, is a symbol of new beginnings and a harvest to look forward to.

“It’s a time of cultivation and renewal. It always makes me feel good, giving to Papatuanuku and she gives back to me.”

Marae across the region have been hosting their own wānanga for whānau, hapū and iwi to attend.

Others like to celebrate with music and dancing while connecting with the community.

In the afternoon of Matariki a rangatahi-targeted event will be held at the Marina carpark organised by Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui a Kiwa (TROTAK).

There will be a marquee with a silent disco with local DJs being managed by KwicK as well as other activities organised by youth leaders, and prizes to give away.

TROTAK iwi co-director Athena Emmerson Kapa said they started celebrating Matariki in 2018 by sharing stories in the parks around Gisborne, then grew to larger street events.

“We are focused on our rangatahi this year. We have warm kai for our rangatahi who have braved all this wet weather over the past 12 months in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa. We want to hear from them about what a safe space looks like.

“We are ending this term’s school holidays with acknowledgements of rangatahi and to look forward to the coming year.”

“Mānawatia a Matariki Tūranganui a Kiwa,” she said.

At Ūawa Tolaga Bay, Te Aitanga a Hauiti centre of excellence is organising the Tātaitia Rā festival.

Project manager Hana Parata-Walker said there were three reasons for creating this event.

“One is about hope. We know in general that Tairāwhiti has suffered greatly this past year from weather events, damage to the roads and infrastructure and homes. We wanted to bring some relief to the community after all the adversity in our rural communities up the Coast so we thought this would be a great way to give them a little bit of hope,” she said.

“Also, while growing up there wasn’t really a lot of Matariki awareness around for our generation. I feel we did more about Anzac Day. I  wanted us to give Matariki the same significance in our rohe as it has a lot of meaning for all of us and is something important for us all to know about.

“And the last reason was one of our tohunga Rangiuia from Te Whare Wānanga o Te Rāwheoro composed lots of waiata about astronomy and for the different stars of Matariki so I wanted to bring that Te Aitanga a Hauiti knowledge to our people that we think is important to pass on.

Parata-Walker is hoping that whānau come and enjoy the day and take away some mātauranga (knowledge) about Matariki.

“That’s my biggest hope and aspiration for everybody — that they learn something about Matariki.”

The day starts at 6am with stargazing, followed by a fire poi solo performance and then the Matariki ceremony begins before breakfast at the Reynolds Hall while watching the national broadcast on TVNZ hosted by Tairāwhiti local Matai Smith and presenter Stacey Morrison.

The second part of the day starts at 10.30am at the Ūawa Domain where there will be live entertainment, food carts and arts and crafts.

Performances from local musicians, Tuari Bros, Chad Chambers, DJ Wikid Fx, 3 Houses Down and Ka Mutu!  will take the celebration through to closing time at 2pm.

At Eastwoodhill, Te Māra Rākaunui O Aotearoa, New Zealand’s national arboretum, trees that were felled by the East Coast cyclones earlier this year are being turned into cultural artworks as part of Matariki.

A carving symposium is repurposing trees native to other countries by turning them into works of art.

The symposium began on Tuesday and ends on Saturday. It’s free to the public who are welcome to come and see the massive logs being turned into works created by international and local Māori carving artists in residence.

The idea was proposed by leaders from Te Whānau a Kai after the recent cyclones and storms. They teamed up with New Zealand’s National Arboretum to celebrate the site’s cultural history, significance and site of Houpapa Whenua for the people of Te Whanau a Kai.

Supported by Creative New Zealand and  Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival, the resulting artworks will be gifted back to the arboretum.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the public to observe the creative process of indigenous artists as they acknowledge Te Whānau a Kai and celebrate Matariki with toi tārai, sculpture,” says Tāwera Tahuri, senior adviser, international indigenous exchange, Whakawhiti Iwi Taketake, Creative New Zealand.

“One hundred and ten years ago, extraordinary vision and focus planted Eastwoodhill,” said Jane Williams, Chair of the National Arboretum. Now we have the opportunity to create and be the first in Aotearoa to further continue that vision with inspiring cultural inclusivity, respect and recognition.”