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)
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):
