Matariki marks the Māori New Year, which is celebrated in late May or early June. According to Māori legend, Matariki is the constellation formed by the eyes of the sky father Tawhirimatea that were flung into the heavens in anger. It consists of seven stars known by various names and represents either a mother surrounded by her daughters or a male star. The new year begins with the rising of Matariki before dawn and the sighting of the next new moon. Traditional Māori celebrations last three days and involve planting crops, offerings to land gods, remembering ancestry, stargazing, and communal cooking.

1. MatarikiThe Maori new year

2. The Legend of MatarikiIn Maori legend, Ranginui the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother separated by their children, causing great anger in Tawhirimatea, the god of the winds, who tore out his eyes in rage and flung them into the heavens; where they exist now as Matariki, from Mata ariki, the eyes of god.The Seven SistersSome iwi believe that the constellation Matariki is the mother surrounded by her six daughters, other stories suggest that Matariki is a male star. These are the Māori names that make up the other six prominent stars of the Matariki cluster; Tupu-a-Nuku, Tupu-a-Rangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipunarangi and Ururangi.

3. The rise of Matariki and the new moonThe Maori new year is marked by the rise of Matariki and the sighting of the next new moon. The pre-dawn rise of Matariki can be seen in the last few days of May every year and the new year is marked at the sighting of the next new moon which last rose on the 4th of June. The Celebrations of Matariki Maori celebrations of Matariki usually last for three days

4. They Plant new trees and crops (signalling new beginnings).

5. There are ceremonial offerings to the land-based gods Rongo, Uenuku and Whiro to ensure good crops for the coming year.

6. Maori also remember and study their mihi and whakapapa during the celebration of MatarikiHow I would Like to Celebrate Matariki Cooking Reading Maori legendsStargazingHangi

7. GlossaryMatariki: tiny eyes, or