Ka mahuta a Matariki.

Taua Roimata Kirikiri (Ngāti Rākaipāka [Ngāti Kahungunu], Ngāti Konohi, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāi Tahu whānui) acknowledges the first Mātauranga Māori public holiday and new tohu celebrating Matariki.

Matariki Day 2022 is more than just a new public holiday, it is further recognition and validation of Mātauranga Māori – Māori traditional concepts of knowledge and knowing – in the public domain.

The tukutuku design, created by Tyrone Ohia (Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāi Te Rangi), has nine distinctive colours for each whetū symbolising how Matariki weaves together Māori, Pākehā, and all peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand interconnected through our past, present, and future. The tohu is an ātaahua and exciting metaphor to help us tell and understand the stories of Matariki and begin new, and continue long held, kōrero about Mātauranga Māori.

For Taua Roimata, Matariki is a time of remembrance – honouring those lost since the last rising of Matariki; celebrating the present – gathering to give thanks for what we have; and planning for the future – looking forward to the growth and promise of a new year.

Ka mahuta a Matariki i te pae, ka mahuta ō tātou tūmanako ki te tau | When Matariki rises above the horizon, our aspirations rise to the year ahead.