Ways to celebrate
Maori kites | Maori proverbs | Recipes
Today Matariki means celebrating the unique place in which we live and giving respect to the land we live on. Here are some different ideas how you can be part of Matariki and celebrate:
- Make a new year wish
- Reflect on the past and look to the future
- Get together and have a feast with your family and friends
- Attend a concert
- Gather food from your garden and share it with others
- Plant some native shrubs or traditional Maori food
- Fly a kite
Head along to some local activities organised especially to celebrate Matariki.
Maori kites
Beautiful kites welcome in the new year and provide a connection to old times. Kites are traditionally flown on the first day of the new year. Why not make your own Manu Tangata kite?
Maori proverbs
Here are some Maori proverbs that illustrate Matariki's significance to New Zealanders:
Matariki ki tua o nga whetu"
"Matariki – search beyond the stars"
The proverb signifies to artists to seek excellence in their work.
"Ka puta a Matariki, ka rere a Whānui, ko te tohu o te tau".
"Matariki reappears, Whānui begins its flight.
This signals the time of the year".
"Tera Matariki huihui ana mai"
"Yonder in the skies you have witnessed Pleiades, grouped together".
"Matariki kanohi iti"
"The tiny eyes of Matariki"
"Tirohia atu nei ka wheturangitia Matariki, te whetu o te tau"
"Look above beyond the horizon and there you shall witness Pleiades, sign of the
New Year."
"Matariki, huarahi ki te oranga tangata"
"Matariki, pathway to the wellbeing of man"
Recipes
Matariki falls at the end of the harvest and was traditionally a time of plenty. Kumara, other root foods and fish were plentiful, and native berries and pikopiko (fern fronds) were gathered. Giving is a part of celebrating Matariki. Why not get your family together and celebrate Matariki with something delicious to eat?
Valance Smith - Tiitii Puha Volauvant
Ingredients
1 Mutton Bird
Puha
vol-au-vant's
Boil your mutton bird and puha how you like it. Finely chop/shred and mix together.
Fill volauvants (large, medium or small) with the mixture.
Place volauvants on baking tray and bake on medium heat for 2-4 minutes until pastry is soft and crispy.
E kai!
You can do this with creamed paua and mussel chowder too.
Ella Henry - Maori Itaria kutae
Ingredients
12 fresh kutae - mussels, shelled
1 red onion, diced
4 peeled and sliced kiwifruit
Handful of finely chopped coriander
Tablespoon of brown sugar
Mix together all ingredients and let sit in refrigerator for at least one hour, maybe two. Salt and pepper to taste.
Mauri ora!
Mei Hill - Crab and Ika fritters
Ingredients
Raw ika (fish)…chopped finely
Crabmeat
Fresh coriander
1 steamed potato (mashed or blended)
π teaspoon ground cayenne
π teaspoon ground ginger
π ground cumin
1 egg
Mix all ingredients together and then shape into fritters. Coat in flour and then in egg - with a final coat in breadcrumbs. Then fry in grape or bran oil until cooked through.
Enjoy.
Kutae - Mussel Fritters
Ingredients
3 x 2kg bags of mussels = 6.kgs = shelled should yield approx 1.5.kg flesh
150 grams of organic flour
2 free range eggs
1 capsicum – not finely cut
1 onion – not finely cut
1 bunch of Parsley – finely cut
Fry in grape or bran oil
Shell, de-beard and remove the tongues from the mussels. Then finely cut or pulverize the kutae (mussels).
Mix it all together and then fry.
Serves 10-15 people
