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ABC News
04-07-2025
- General
- ABC News
Tahiti prepares for its first Matari'i public holiday
Tahiti will mark Matari'i as a national public holiday for the first time In November, following in the footsteps of Matariki in Aotearoa. Matari'i refers to the same star cluster as Matariki. And for Tahitians, November 20 will mark the start of Matari'i i ni'a, the season of abundance, which lasts six months to be followed by Matari'i i raro, the season of scarcity. Te Māreikura Whakataka-Brightwell is a New Zealand artist who was born in Tahiti and raised in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, Gisborne, with whakapapa links to both countries. He spoke to RNZ's Matariki program from the island of Moorea. In Tahiti, there's been a series of cultural revival practices, and with the support of the likes of Professor Rangi Mātāmua, there is hope to bring these practices out into the public arena, he said. The people of Tahiti have always lived in accordance with Matari'i i ni'a and Matari'i i raro, with six months of abundance and six months of scarcity, he said. "Bringing that back into the public space is good to sort of recognise the ancestral practice of not only Matariki in terms of the abundance but also giving more credence to our tūpuna kōrero and mātauranga tuku iho." Mr Whakataka-Brightwell said there has been a little controversy around the new holiday as it replaces another public holiday, Internal Autonomy Day, on June 29, which marks the French annexation of Tahiti. But he said a lot of people in Tahiti like the shift towards having local practices represented in a holiday. Te Mareikura Whakataka Brightwell. ( Image: Te Mareikura Whakataka Brightwell ) There will be several public celebrations organised for the inaugural public holiday but most people on the islands will be holding more intimate ceremonies at home, he said. "A lot of people already had practices of celebrating Matariki which was more about now marking the season of abundance, so I think at a whānau level people will continue to do that," he said. "I think this will be a little bit more of an incentive for everything else to align to those sorts of celebrations." Many of the traditions surrounding Matari'i relate to the Arioi clan, whose ranks included artists, priests, navigators and diplomats who would celebrate the rituals of Matari'i, he said. "[Tahiti] it's an island of artists, it's an island of rejuvenation, so I'm pretty sure they'll be doing a lot of that and basing some of those traditions on the Arioi traditions." Mr Whakataka-Brightwell encouraged anyone with Māori heritage to make the pilgrimage to Tahiti at some point in their lives, as the place where many of the waka that carried Māori ancestors were launched. "I've always been a firm believer of particular people with whakapapa Māori to come back, hoki mai ki te whenua o Tahiti roa, Tahiti pāmamao," he said. "Those connections still exist. I mean, people still have the same last names as people in Aotearoa, and it's not very far away, so I would encourage everybody to explore their own connections but also hoki mai ki te whenua (return to the land)." RNZ
RNZ News
20-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Matariki celebrations in Ruapehu make for a new year's day to remember
Ngāti Rangi spokesperson Che Wilson. Photo: Supplied / Richie Mills Ngāti Rangi members are reflecting on the honour of hosting this year's Matariki national holiday ceremony. The ceremonies wrapped up on Friday at Tirorangi Marae at the base of Ruapehu. Ngāti Rangi spokesperson Che Wilson said it was huge honour for Ngāti Rangi to host the celebrations in Ohakune, the "capital of carrots". "It's a huge honour to be able to be the first marae to host the Matariki national holiday ceremony." Many iwi members worked for weeks preparing for the ceremony, from reciting karakia to working in the kitchen. Jamie Turama Tuahuriri Downes was working in the wharekai kitchen, playing his part in what he called the "boar's nest". It had been a huge build-up, he said, including lots of early mornings going hunting. "Lamb or mutton, beef and venison is the main sort of meat that fills [the] fridges and freezers of our people. The ability to go and hunt and gather and bring it all into a place that we call the 'boar's nest', that's a place where a lot of it gets processed." Photo: Supplied / Richie Mills Downes called it "the classroom that every rangatahi needs to be in". "It has become a place that not only feeds this kaupapa in the lead-up to the many people that will turn up before the actual kaupapa, but also for tangihanga, for any kaupapa." Downes said it was an honour to serve in a place where his tūpuna and all of his aunties and uncles had toiled for many years. "Just a massive honour and privilege to be here alongside whānau doing what we do, a lot of steering well away from the cameras because for them this is just what we do on the regular." Photo: Supplied / Richie Mills Tirorangi Marae kaumātua Matiu Wilson was raised near the marae, but has spent most of his life away from the region. "I always wanted to eventually come home to be the next guardian of the homestead, but also to get back involved with Tirorangi." Wilson returned to the marae about five years ago and was now a marae trustee. He said he loved being a part of the paepae, and was enjoying his time getting back in touch with Tirorangi. He said he was proud to see people from all across the country visit his marae. "Tumeke, awesome, beautiful and I'm so proud that I've come home and I've realised what I've missed since I've been away from home for so many years." Tererenga Nikora. Photo: Pokere Paewai / RNZ Tererenga Nikora was one of the manuhiri visiting from Waikato. Unfortunately she missed out on seeing the stars because she was chasing her tamaiti around, she said. But she said Ngāti Rangi had shown amazing manaakitanga, and the locals had been friendly and helpful. "It is stunning. It was amazing. I love seeing Māori stuff like this, especially in te ao Māori and that it's getting bigger, it's going worldwide, so it is so cool to see." Photo: Supplied / Richie Mills Ohakune local Jade said she got a clear view of Puanga on Friday morning. "After the rain yesterday it was just so wonderful to wake up this morning and the clouds had cleared and we could actually see." She said it was "super special" that so many people were visiting her community to share in the kaupapa. Photo: Supplied / Richie Mills Photo: Supplied / Richie Mills Linley (left) and Jade (right). Photo: Pokere Paewai / RNZ Taupō resident Linley said the karakia and karanga from Ngāti Rangi was beautiful. "It's such a privilege to have this opportunity to share and to really demonstrate that unity and that shared understanding." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
