2012年6月19日火曜日

Matariki. He tau hou, he Blog hou


Kia ora. Tēna koutou. Haere mai ki te tāku Blog.
Hello people who have found this blog and haven't been scared off by the strange words in the title.
I've been wanting to try writing one of these for a while now and Matariki seems like as good a time as any. I like the idea of a place to express my views on various topics such as languages, culture, living in Japan, science and many others. I also want more of an opportunity to practise my Māori and teach some of this language and possibly others.
I'm not entirely what else to say here and a four line post saying something like “Blah! New person starting a new blog!” seems like a waste of time to me so I thought I would talk about Matariki; One reason for me to start this blog now.

Matariki – The time of new beginnings (Matariki – Te wā ō tīmatanga hou)

Matariki is the Māori name for the Pleiades star cluster. The rising of Pleiades in late May – early June marks the start of the Māori new year, also called Matariki.
In earlier times, Matariki was a time of celebration and preparation for the new year. The harvest had generally finished by this time and food was plentiful. The season was also less busy than others, allowing time for teaching and learning.
Matariki has been recently revived as a nationwide celebration. In modern times, Matariki is intended to be a time for reflection on our place in the world and for new beginnings. Much like the “Western New Year” (i.e. January 1st) and the beginning of the new year in other cultures, some say this is a time to try something new, learn a new skill, or revive one you haven't used for some time. Matariki is also used to promote Māori language and culture.
Matariki celebrations seem to be becoming increasingly popular and efforts have been made to make it a national holiday. This year, Matariki starts on June the 21st but celebrations have already begun in Auckland at the Auckland Matariki festival as you can see in the news story by Te Karere News below (in Māori).




You can learn more about Matariki here (Don't worry, these pages are in English):