Matariki
Matariki is the Maori New Year and it occurs in late May or early June when the constellation Pleiades rises again in the night sky. I love a holiday based on the rising of a star cluster. According to the legend of Matariki, the sky father, Ranginui, and the earth mother, Papatūānuku, were always together and very close. Being that close, though, their children didn't grow. So the two separated, and all were happy with this space now between earth and sky. One child, the god of the winds, Tāwhirimātea, however, was not. He became so angry that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the night sky, creating Pleiades. The return of Pleiades signals a time to plant the new crops and to honor those who have died, so a celebration of death and life.
Maori language and traditions have seen a resurgence in the last decade and Matariki is now celebrated, in various ways, across the country. For the Owhiro Bay Kindergarten it was a pot luck dinner with some traditional flax weaving and storytelling. For the Owhiro Bay primary school it was a Disco night. For the playcentre preschool it was a bonfire on the beach at dawn. We were slowed somewhat by Wren's stomach bug and Quinn's infections, but still managed to soak up Matariki in all it's forms.
Prep for the disco, Lucas showing the girls how to tie a (star) tie
Prep for the disco--practicing our rock star singing
The assembly room at school bedazzled with stars. This is probably as close as it gets to Halloween.
Ice blocks for all!
Sunday morning we woke before dawn and drove down to Princess Bay, a small alcove next to Houghton Bay. I love being this close to the ocean for a bonfire. All night the wind howled but quit right before we left so the weather was still. It's only ocean south of these beaches so the skies were pitch black. As we came around the bend the orange firelight beckoned us from across the bay.
The girls roasting marshmallows on bamboo sticks.
And then the sun was up and we had a beach and tide pools to explore. Examining a paua shell find.
Rocky path to the tide pools
Damper and sausages for brekkie. Damper is a kiwi camping favorite--bread dough wrapped around a stick and cooked like a marshmallow. It looks like a roasting hot dog from a distance but is more like a fire cooked crescent roll. I love the method for sausage cooking, coals raked under the griddle which is propped up on 4 rocks. They've got it down!
Wren recovered well from hours of puking the night before. But probably not so great that her first meal afterwards consisted of marshmallows and sausages. Happy Matariki!
Maori language and traditions have seen a resurgence in the last decade and Matariki is now celebrated, in various ways, across the country. For the Owhiro Bay Kindergarten it was a pot luck dinner with some traditional flax weaving and storytelling. For the Owhiro Bay primary school it was a Disco night. For the playcentre preschool it was a bonfire on the beach at dawn. We were slowed somewhat by Wren's stomach bug and Quinn's infections, but still managed to soak up Matariki in all it's forms.
Prep for the disco, Lucas showing the girls how to tie a (star) tie
Prep for the disco--practicing our rock star singing
The assembly room at school bedazzled with stars. This is probably as close as it gets to Halloween.
Ice blocks for all!
Sunday morning we woke before dawn and drove down to Princess Bay, a small alcove next to Houghton Bay. I love being this close to the ocean for a bonfire. All night the wind howled but quit right before we left so the weather was still. It's only ocean south of these beaches so the skies were pitch black. As we came around the bend the orange firelight beckoned us from across the bay.
The girls roasting marshmallows on bamboo sticks.
And then the sun was up and we had a beach and tide pools to explore. Examining a paua shell find.
Rocky path to the tide pools
Damper and sausages for brekkie. Damper is a kiwi camping favorite--bread dough wrapped around a stick and cooked like a marshmallow. It looks like a roasting hot dog from a distance but is more like a fire cooked crescent roll. I love the method for sausage cooking, coals raked under the griddle which is propped up on 4 rocks. They've got it down!
Wren recovered well from hours of puking the night before. But probably not so great that her first meal afterwards consisted of marshmallows and sausages. Happy Matariki!
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