In the early morning of 2 June, the star cluster Matariki or Pleiades appears in our dawn skies. The Māori New Year begins with the first new moon after the first appearance of Matariki, and this year the new moon appears on 27 June.
Matariki is a time of festivity for Māori, and the Matariki Festival at Te Papa (Saturday 17 June - Sunday 2 July 2006) is for all people of Aotearoa New Zealand and includes elements from other Polynesian cultures.
A fun-filled Whānau (Family) Day launches the two-week Festival with a programme full of music and dance - from kapa haka to hip hop, sessions in the StarLab planetarium, and loads of other fun activities for the all the family.
Come along to Māori pronunciation lessons and sessions about the pōhiri (the Māori welcoming ceremony) and the world famous haka (ritualised war dance). The Ngā Reo o Matariki lunchtime sessions compare elements of traditional culture with their modern equivalents, with titles like ‘Waka: from wood to fibreglass’ and ‘Dance: from kapa haka to kinetic choreography’.
Music and dance performances include traditional Māori and Polynesian dance, hip hop, a showcase of young emerging bands, a jazz/Māori instrumentation collaboration, and a specially commissioned piece from renowned contemporary dance group Atamira Dance Collective.
A number of television programmes will be recorded on-site. Come along to Pūkana, Arero, and Eye to Eye, which will debate whether or not New Zealand should recognise Matariki as a national holiday.
Three documentaries investigate topics ranging from traditional Māori astronomy, life on the Tokelau islands, and the television personalities Oscar Kightley and Nathan Rarere as they retrace Polynesian and Māori migration all the way to Taiwan.
One-off events include an insightful lecture about the ‘Evolving Universe’ by Carter Observatory astronomer Frank Andrews, and we celebrate the construction of a huge perspex waharoa (gateway sculpture) in Waitangi Park by artist George Nuku.
Tickets can also be purchased for the Matariki Gala 2006 - an extravaganza featuring legendary showband, The Maori Volcanics, and with superb indigenous cuisine and New Zealand wines.
Matariki is a time to pause and reflect - on the year that was, and the year that will be. Please join us during this special time for a fortnight of entertainment and education at Te Papa’s Matariki Festival. Celebrate the Māori New Year at Our Place!
See a detailed Matariki Festival at Te Papa Programme.
Contact
For images and further information please contact:
Bridget MacDonald, Manager Communications, 04 381 7083, 029 601 0180
Paul Brewer, Director Marketing & Communications, 04 381 7023, 021 532 920
Matariki Festival at Te Papa
Saturday 17 June – Sunday 2 July 2006
Free entry.