A portrait series with photographer Mataara Stokes and students from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae asks the question ‘What does Matariki mean to you?’
2023 is only the second year of Matariki being a public holiday. Some people are familiar with Matariki's customs; others are in the process of working out the best way of marking the event. For our Matariki exhibition at Britomart, we decided to delve into this a little and ask the question: What does Matariki mean to you?
Staging the exhibition means we're implicitly asking the question of everyone who passes through Britomart. There are no correct or incorrect answers, of course. But to further the conversation, we sought the input of students in the kapa haka group at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae in Henderson.
Awatea Hall (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāi Tuhoe, Ngāti Pākehā), whose photograph is below, answered the question What does Matariki mean to you this way (all the student responses are in te reo Māori; a translation follows): "Ko te tohu o te tau hou Māori, he tuku i ngā mate o te tau. Ka whakatā, ka noho tahi, ka haere ki Pukematekeo ki te mihi ki ngā whetū o te tau." ("It is the symbol of the Māori new year, a time to let go of those who have passed on during the year. I will relax, be with my whānau and go to Pukematekeo to watch the stars relevant to the time.")
Te Rangitauwhiwhia Pohatu (Te Araroa), shown in the photograph above, said: "He wā hirahira tēnei ki ahau, ā, ka whakaarotia e au ngā whetū, ka mutu, kei te mōhiotia whānuitia, ko te tau hou Māori tēnei." ("It is special to me because I think about the stars, and everyone can see that it is the Māori new year.")
Photograph above: Te Rangitauwhiwhia Pohatu (Te Araroa)
Students from the kura have staged lunchtime kapa haka performances at Britomart for Matariki for the past three years. Their group consistently ranks at the top of the Polyfest kapa haka competition results. All of them are fluent in te reo Māori; many are the second or third generations of their whānau to attend the kura kaupapa, which was one of the first to be established in Aotearoa.
Photograph above: Awatea Hall (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Maiapoto, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Pākehā)
For this project, photographer Mataara Stokes (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou) – who also works as an actor and cinematographer – photographed the students at Ngā Tūmanako, the wharenui designed by Hōne Taiapa and carved primarily by Laurie Nicholas. These rangatahi are accustomed to performing, so it didn't take long for them to get comfortable in front of Mataara's camera, or to tell us their thoughts on what Matariki means to them.
Photograph above: H'zel Hetaraka (Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Wai, Niue)
Mataara's images are now featuring on Britomart's Pavilion Panels on Te Ara Tahuhu and Galway Street, and in the Atrium on Takutai. Our thanks to the kaiako and students at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae for sharing their time and thoughts with us and everyone who passes through Britomart's spaces. Keep scrolling to see all the photographs of the rangatahi and their thoughts on what Matariki means to them.
Photograph above: Taima Hall (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Maiapoto, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Pākehā)
Karauria-Lima Bareman (above) (Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi, Kai Tahu)
What does Matariki mean to you?
He wā whakanui rawa i te tau hou a te Māori. I ngā tau, kua haere ahau ki te maunga o Pukematekeo ki te karakia, ki te waiata.
It means something to celebrate the Māori new year. I usually go with my school to the Pukematekeo mountain and do some karakia and waiata.
Ihipaera Ripikoi (above) (Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa ki te Tonga)
What does Matariki mean to you?
He whakanui i ngā whetū me ā rātou tohu whakahirahira. He mea ārahi i a tātou.
It is a time to celebrate the stars and the signs they give us. The stars are a real guide.
Taylor-James Paniora (above) (Ngāpuhi)
What does Matariki mean to you?
Ko te tau hou a te Māori.
It's the Māori new year.
Jahnace Hayward-Graham (above) (Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Rarawa Kaiwhare)
What does Matariki mean to you?
Ko te tau hou Māori - ko te wā hauhake kai, whakatō kai, ko te wā whakawhanaunga anō ki tō whānau. He wā ka tino pīataata mai ngā whetū ki Aotearoa whānui. He wā kai.
It signals the Māori new year. It is a time to harvest certain foods and also plant certain foods, a time to reconnect with whānau. It is the time when the stars shine the brightest throughout Aotearoa. It is a time to eat.
Mauriasher Haddon-Hall (above) (Ngāphui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa)
What does Matariki mean to you?
He āki i ngā āhuatanga hou, he tīmatanga tau hou.
It symbolises a restart, a new year.
Krisaan Toko-Hayward (above) (Ngāi Tūhoe, Kaikohe, Te Rarawa, Mangaia)
What does Matariki mean to you?
Ka puta mātou ki te maunga o Pukematekeo, ka tiro atu ki ngā whetū e tīrama mai ana i te ata pō, e tārake mai ana, e tohu ana i te hunga kua riro ki te pōuriuri. Ka kai, ka moe, ka whakatā, ka tākaro hākinakina tōku whānau.
We go to Pukematekeo, our mountain, to look at the stars that shine brightly and signal the beauty of all those who have passed. We will eat, sleep, relax and play sports.
Chevy Nepe (above) (Waikato)
What does Matariki mean to you?
Ko te tau hou a te Māori.
It's the Māori new year.
Waikeri Wilson (above) (Ngāti Kurī, Ngāti Kahu, Te Aupouri, Ngāti Wai)
What does Matariki mean to you?
Ko te tau hou Māori. He wā whakanui i te hunga kua riro. Ka noho tahi taku whānau hei te wā o Matariki.
It's the Māori new year. It is the time we especially remember and celebrate those who have gone before us. My whānau spend time together during Matariki.
Charlie Casha (above) (Ngāti Kahungunu)
What does Matariki mean to you?
He rā whakanui i te whānau, he harahei kua roa e manako ana.
It means an enjoyable one-day holiday.
Laylani Motu (above) (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa)
What does Matariki mean to you?
Ko te tau hou Māori, ka mutu, he wā whakamaumahara ki ō tātou mate. Ka karakia tō mātou whānau ki te taha o te kura.
It is the Māori new year, but it is especially a time to remember those who have passed. My whānau will be going to karakia with the kura.
Te Rei Whangapirita-Mulligan (above) (Ngāti Porou)
What does Matariki mean to you?
Mōku ake, he wā whakawhanaunga te Matariki, he wā noho tahi ki te whānau, he whakanui rawa i te tīmatanga o te tau hou ki a tātou.
For me, Matariki is a time to build relationships, spend time with whānau. It celebrates the beginning of the new year for us.
Raukura Hall (above) (Ngāi Tūhoe)
What does Matariki mean to you?
He wā ki te whakawhanaunga, ki te noho tahi, ā, ka piki maunga me te taki i ngā karakia.
It is a time to build relationships, be together, to climb our mountains and karakia.
Aizaya Wanakore-Chase (above) (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Apakura)
What does Matariki mean to you?
He wā ki te whakawhanaunga, ki te toro āno ki te hunga kua roa e noho tawhiti ana i a koe.
It is a time to be together and to reconnect with those who you've not seen for a long time.
Te Atakohu Farrell (above) (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Te Rangi, Waikato)
What does Matariki mean to you?
Ka haere ki te mātaki i ngā pahū pakō, ka haere ki te Matariki Ara Rama, he whakaaturanga nui ki taku rohe. Ko te tohu o te tau hou Māori.
I'll be going to watch the fireworks, and be part of the festival we have in our small town of Glen Innes. Matariki symbolises the Māori new year.
Rupene Hetaraka (above) (Ngāti Whātua)
What does Matariki mean to you?
Ka piki whakarunga ki te maunga whakahī o Rangitoto, ki reira, waiata ai, haka ai, whakanui ai i te tau hou a te Māori.
We'll go up to Rangitoto, sing and do kapa haka, and celebrate the Māori new year.
Ilona Gavala (above left) (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu)
What does Matariki mean to you?
He wā whakanui i te tau hou Māori. He wā whakatā ki a mātou ko taku whānau.
It's a time to celebrate the Māori new year. It's a time of relaxation for myself and my whānau.
Atawhai Matoe (above right) (Te Arawa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa)
What does Matariki mean to you?
Ko Matariki tētahi wāhanga o te tau ka tino whakanui i te iwi Māori, he wāhanga hou, he tīmatanga hou. Ka haere mātou ki te piki i te maunga o Pukematekeo ki te taha o te iwi ki te tuku karakia hei whakanui i te tau hou Māori.
Matariki is the time of year where Māori aspirations are celebrated. It is a new time, a new start. We will be going to climb the mountain, Pukematekeo, with other whānau to give thanks and to celebrate the Māori new year.
The kapa haka group from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae will be performing in Takutai Square on Thursday 13 July from 12.15pm to 12.45pm and 1.15pm-1.45pm. There will also be kapa haka performances on Wednesday 19 July at 12.15pm and 1.15pm by Te Uamairangi (featuring performers from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Kōtuku from Ranui and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Maungarongo from Mt Albert) and on Thursday 20 July at 12.15pm and 1.15pm by James Cook High School, Manurewa.
