• Home
  • About us
  • What we do
  • Stories
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Menu
  • Home
  • About us
  • What we do
  • Stories
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

City to celebrate Matariki

City to celebrate Matariki

City to celebrate Matariki

  • Megan Lacey
  • May 12, 2022

City to celebrate Matariki

A traditional hautapu will feature in Rotorua’s first ever Matariki civic ceremony to celebrate the Māori New Year.

Healthy Families Rotorua lead systems innovator, Pirihira Whata, has been collaborating with Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Uenukukopako, Ngā Pou ō Whakapoungakau, Rotorua Lakes Council, Te Tatau o Te Arawa, Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust, Matariki exponents and whānau representatives to develop the city’s umu kohukohu whetū ceremony.

The ceremony honours those we have lost since the last rising of Matariki, celebrates the present, and looks to the future. An earth oven will be lit before sunrise, before welcoming the New Year with kai offerings to the Matariki star cluster.

Pirihira says Healthy Families Rotorua had been looking at a way to commemorate the significant cultural event in a community civic context.

“We activated community leadership to regenerate mātauranga Māori in the Matariki space. Early conversations involved kōeke, kura, tōhunga and other people who carry traditional knowledge who were keen to ensure Rotorua and Te Arawa created a special Matariki event.

“We wanted to revive Matariki to a point where it becomes normalised to our tamariki and mokopuna. It’s important to reflect on the true meaning and intent of Matariki – remembering the past, celebrating the present, and looking to the future. It’s a time to come together as whānau, while reconnecting with the environment,” she says.

Mana whenua will take the lead so the tikanga and integrity of the umu kohukohu whetū ceremony is protected.

“Although Matariki will be celebrated in many different ways, finding champions to work alongside mana whenua has been integral to the creation of an annual ceremony we can all be proud of,” says Pirihira.
Rotorua’s inaugural Matariki civic ceremony is being held on Friday 24 June at Motutara Point.

PrevPrevious

What we've been up to

Our Stories

Ranui joins national research

Healthy Families Rotorua will be embedding mātauranga Māori into a nationwide sleep study thanks to the determined efforts of lead systems innovator, Ranui Maxwell. When

April 22, 2022 No Comments

Award for Papa Rereata

Healthy Families Rotorua congratulates Rereata Makiha for his achievement in the 2022 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards. Papa Rereata was announced yesterday as

April 1, 2022 No Comments

Waitawa Bush Project

Teteira Ormsby & Mariana Vercoe with Lynmore School deputy principal Lisa Hohepa (centre).

March 31, 2022 No Comments

© Copyright 2022 – Healthy Families Rotorua

Facebook Instagram Youtube
Website by Dubzz Digital