Kua raranga tahi tātou.

Tāwhanga Nōpera (Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Wahiao, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Tarawhai, Ngāti Whaoa, Ngāti Amaru, Ngāi Tawake) reflects on Matariki through a wellbeing lens.

I came to know Matariki through mahi raranga, weave with harakeke. When I learned how to mahi raranga, I came to understand that I could only weave through winter if I harvested and preserved enough harakeke during the warmer months of the year.

Because of this, Matariki signals the time of year when I bury myself in all the knowledge, experiences, relationships, and objects I have gathered throughout the year, and I take time to intimately appreciate my connection to these things.

On the one hand there is a release because I can feel satisfaction in all that I have become; it feels good to hunker down in winter knowing that I have done good mahi. On the other hand, there is a focusing of energy toward those things I want to understand better.

I know that when the weather begins to warm again, I’ll know exactly what work will make me happiest. In Aotearoa today it is good for us to have time to acknowledge and appreciate all the shared work it has taken to create this beautiful and abundant nation of possibility. We can all be here together in our efforts; it is written in the stars.