MATARIKI AND SUSTAINING OUR MAORI CULTURE

As an Enviroschool we know the importance of sustaining and celebrating our Maori culture. Here at Boulcott we have been studying Maori legends to celebrate Matariki. Here is some of our artwork about Matariki and these legends.

WELLINGTON HABOUR:

Once long ago, before the time of Kupe, when Te Ika-a-Māui was just fished from the depths of the ocean, there lived two taniwha, Ngake and Whātaitai.

In those times, Wellington Harbour, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, was a lake cut off from the sea, and abundant in fresh water fish and native bird life. Ngake and Whātaitai lived here in the lake at the head of the fish of Māui (Te Ika-a-Māui)...

MATARIKI:

Matariki is the Māori name for the small cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters, in the Taurus constellation. In New Zealand it comes into view low on the north-eastern horizon, appearing in the tail of the Milky Way in the last days of May or in early June, just before dawn. This heralds the Māori New Year.