For many New Zealanders Matariki is a really special time to pause and reflect on their lives, an opportunity to remember those who have passed since the previous rising of Matariki, celebrate the present with family, friends and their community, express gratitude for the past year behind them and look ahead by setting intentions for the year ahead of them.
It’s also a time to reconnect with the natural world that surrounds us, recognising the relationship between people, the land, the waterways and the skies. Traditionally, in Māori culture, the brightness and clarity of the Matariki stars were observed as indicators of seasonal conditions and the abundance of food expected in the coming year, helping communities prepare for the seasons ahead. Read more here about, “Story: Matariki – Te Tau Hou Māori Here” : https://teara.govt.nz/en/matariki-maori-new-year
Fun Fact: The Stars were actually one of humanity’s first navigation and surveying references
Long before GPS, satellites or modern surveying instruments existed, people looked to the stars to navigate, determine direction, estimate location, and measure the passing of the seasons. Early surveyors and navigators relied on celestial observations as fixed reference points to orient themselves accurately across the landscape.
Even today, the connection between surveying and the stars remains in some parts of the world; modern surveyors use GNSS “Global Navigation Satellite Systems” to determine precise positions but those satellite measurements are ultimately tied to global reference frames established through observations of distant celestial objects, todays advanced surveying technology still traces its foundations back to the same night sky that guided our earliest navigators.
Matariki (the Pleiades) signals the Māori New Year, and reminds us that stars can represent in our lives as a guide, calendar, navigational tool and a symbol of connection between people, the land and the future.
Image Source: Matariki (Pleiades) star cluster https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/images/697-matariki-pleiades-star-cluster
