Matariki celebrations: dawn ceremony

Hundreds gathered at the Tūhura Otago Museum Reserve in Dunedin before dawn yesterday to celebrate the Māori New Year and remember whānau and family that have died over the past year, John Lewis reports with photographer Stephen Jaquiery.

For iwi, the pre-dawn rising of the bright blue supergiant star Puaka (known in Western astronomy as Rigel) and the Matariki star cluster (Pleiades), signals the beginning of the new year.

• Matariki at Forsyth Barr Stadium

In partnership with Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki and Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, the Dunedin City Council and Tūhura Otago Museum held a ceremony, which included a whakamaumahara to remember those who had died during the past year, and a whakamāramataka about the stars and their significance for the changing season.

Many at the event brought printed photos of whānau or friends they had lost over the past year, and held them above their heads and spoke their names aloud during the whakamaumahara, as a symbol of remembrance.

Once the sun was up, everyone gathered for a free public breakfast before a haka by He Waka Kōtuia, followed by a Matariki Community Fun Day.