Editorial: Another world-first in Matariki public holiday

Matariki 2020 at Ātea a Rangi, Awatoto, Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland, File

Editorial

EDITORIAL

Without wanting to get too starry-eyed, we should take some pride in the first public holiday next year to mark Matariki.

Not only is it another significant step in acknowledging te ao Māori, but it also marks an annual heliacal rising or setting which has long been lauded around the world.

Variously known as Pleiades by the ancient Greeks, Messier 45 to modern astronomy or Cat iheḍ to the Tuareg Berbers of the Sahara, the stars have been widely celebrated as a seasonal milestone.

The Greeks saw the stars as a sign to return to sailing on the Mediterranean, Celts associated the cluster with mourning, the Aztec calendar began each year - as did Māori - with what they called Tiānquiztli.

On June 24 next year, New Zealand will be a world leader in granting a public holiday to an event which is held sacred to indigenous people across the Earth.

Pre-European arrival, Māori understood the appearance of Matariki marked the onset of winter. The next new moon after the cluster became visible restarted the calendar.

Māori marked the occasion by gathering to prepare for the cold weather to come. If the stars in the cluster appeared clear and bright during the pre-dawn, a warm and bountiful season would follow and there was added delight.

By downing tools as a nation next year, we should delight in officially celebrating a globally-recognised phenomenon.

It is something all of us can connect with, however we came to be landed on these lucky wee islands in the South Pacific. Let's embrace it.