Ahead of Matariki 2024 , in this extract from the insightful Māori Made Easy Pocket Guide , author, presenter and professor Scotty Morrison (Ngāti Whakaue) explains the history behind the holiday and how to identify the stars. Ahakoa te nuinga o te motu ka whakanui i a Matariki hei tohu i te tau hou Māori, te tau hou Aotearoa, ko ngā iwi o te uru, ka whakanui kē i a Puanga. It is important to note at the beginning of our discussion about the star cluster of Matariki, also known as Pleiades, that even though most of the country celebrates Matariki as the symbol of the Māori New Year (or as I like to say, New Zealand’s New Year), the tribes of the west and some in the north celebrate the star Puanga, or Rigel, as the beginning of the new year.
Matariki has gained in popularity over the past few years, thanks in no small way to the efforts of Dr Rangi Mātāmua , who was named Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year in 2023. It was also timely that we had Dame Jacinda Ardern in place as a Prime Minister who fully supported Matariki becoming a public holiday in 2022 , a demonstration of the value and respect she has for Māori knowledge and culture. It is important to understand how the Māori calendar works to know exactly when Matariki rises and signifies the beginning of the new year, because it is based on a lunar calendar that changes slightly year by year.
However, it usually occurs around the months of June and July. It is based on what is called a heliacal ri.
