Te Matariki (the Pleiades)
"Every year in the winter sky just before dawn, Matariki signals the Maori New Year. Traditionally, it was a time for remembering the dead, and celebrating new life" from : Te Taiao Maori and the natural world. Edited by Jennifer Garlick, Basil Keane and Tracey Borgfeldt.
Te Ara : encyclopedia of New Zealand click this link to learn more.
Papers Past Papers Past contains more than three million pages of digitised New Zealand newspapers and periodicals. The collection covers the years 1839 to 1948 and includes 117 publications from all regions of New Zealand.
The following is an excerpt from N.Z. Illustrated Magazine, 1 February 1900 by John St Clair. from Papers Past.
"The tohunga knows, but will not name, the sacred whetu (star) in Te Matariki (the Pleiades), which is the source of life and movement of our planetary system, and round which the sun is circling. He has completely mapped out the stars, and can tell by the positions of certain of them what sort of season it will be when to plant to avoid floods and drought. Puanga (Rigal) tells him much of this, also Rehua (the dog star), the same dog star of which Horace sings that it is hateful to the husband-man"
Rotorua District Library is running a Poster Competition, Kite Making and Flying and a Fashion Show to celebrate Matariki 2015.
The Rotorua Lakes Council staff has organised a great month of events see the calendar here
