Fireworks, stars and Winter celebrations
TV, computers and electric light have stolen the stars from us, but we can reclaim them. Think of a beautiful clear winter night with the stars so close you can touch them and the Milky Way spread across the sky. My winter celebrations block for the QuiltMania bloghop is all about the stars. In particular, I’m celebrating Matariki or Maori New Year. The star cluster in my block is the Pleiades which is visible in New Zealand in June and marks the start of the New Year. Because I’m really struggling at the moment to get things done (I’ve just been redoing the floor in my sewing room and painting it etc and its taken a lot longer than I thought and I’ve only just moved all my stuff back). … where was I? … struggling along. Ok, because I have really had to scramble to get this done, my daughter has very kindly written me the story of Matariki, with links… Read, and enjoy!
Matariki
Matariki is a star cluster that appears in the night sky in winter in New Zealand. It marks the start of the Māori New Year, which is a time for celebrating with whānau (family) and friends, reflecting on the past, telling stories, sharing kai (food) and knowledge, and planning for the future. Different Iwi (tribes) in Aotearoa (New Zealand) have different beliefs and traditions associated with Matariki, but in the last few years, Matariki has become a national celebration for everyone, Māori and Pākehā (non- Māori) alike.
Many people celebrate by visiting family, making and flying kites, sharing a hangi (ground roasted meal), playing games, singing songs, and telling stories. It’s a great time to go star gazing, or ask someone to teach you something new. Matariki is a time for connecting with your roots, and reaching for new opportunities to grow. Relationships are at the heart of Matariki: our relationships with each other, and with the land. This is part of what makes Matariki such an inclusive celebration.
The Matariki star cluster (also known as the Pleiades in Greek, and Subaru in Japanese) has about 500 stars, but only about 7 of them are visible without a telescope. Traditional navigation used knowledge of the stars (including Matariki), wind, clouds, birds, whales, and waves to wayfind. Navigation is a common theme during Matariki, both remembering the literal navigation of the ancestors to Aotearoa (New Zealand), and reflecting on navigation metaphorically: where have you come from? Where do you want to go? Who are the people with you on your journey? Are you working in harmony with your environment?
Matariki is associated with a range of different traditional stories. For some Iwi, the name itself breaks down into ‘mata riki’ (little eyes) or ‘mata ariki’ (eyes of god) which connects to the story about the god of the wind, Tāwhirimātea, who was so upset at the forced separation of his parents, Ranginui and Papatūānuku, that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the sky. For other Iwi, Matariki is a mother, surrounded by her daughters Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Waipunarangi, Waitī, Waitā, and Ururangi, each of whom have different things to offer.
For more information about the sisters, check out this post from Te Papa: https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/maori/matariki-maori-new-year/legend-matariki-and-six-sisters
If you would like to learn a Matariki song, try this: https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/maori/matariki-maori-new-year/whare-tapere/waiata-song
If you’re interested in reading more about traditional wayfinding and navigation: https://teara.govt.nz/en/canoe-navigation/page-2
If you would like to learn how to make a hangi, there are a couple of vids here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kwu6c7rN0I
To get a sense of how important whānau (family) is in contemporary NZ, try this video of a live Six60 concert earlier this year. The Te Reo starts at about 2 mins in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss9LTuJo9_I Alternatively, try this vid of the recording, which explains a little bit about being Kiwi as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-1UMxfKINI
Making the block
This block is super easy to make. I’ve made firework or comet tails for each star so they seem like a starburst appearing in the sky. Then I’ve hand embroidered each star using silver thread and here’s a tutorial on embroidering stars (not mine).
I found an interesting piece of fabric to give me a red line of dots on my comet tails
comet tails bursting into the sky
Here are the links to the other bloggers offering a fabulous array of winter celebrations quilt blocks
