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The Labor Party’s promise to make Matariki a public holiday indicates a “coming of age” for the nation, says one professor, but is concerned about its potential “bastarization.”
If re-elected, the Labor Party will add the Maori New Year to the national calendar starting in winter 2022, which falls on a Monday or Friday and is approaching 50 years since the last holiday was introduced.
Unlike Waitangi Day, which can polarize people, Professor Rangi Matamua, a leading Maori astronomer and academic at the University of Waikato, said that Matariki is about “celebrating the change of season, the environment and each other “.
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Professor Rangi Matamua, an expert in Maori astronomy, became the first Maori to win the Prime Minister’s prestigious science awards this year.
“I think Matariki has gone from being a Maori celebration. Now it is becoming part of our identity, because the way we celebrate Matariki is unique where in the world we find ourselves. It is becoming part of a growing identity.
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JOSEPH JOHNSON / THINGS
People on the streets of Christchurch share what they know, and in some cases what they don’t know, about Matariki.
“All cultures have an association and connection to astronomy, the lunar phases and the movement of the sun … I think if we live here, we all have the ability to see and observe that change of season and celebrate,” Matamua said.
The instigators of a petition that attracted 34,000 signatories calling for Matariki to become a public holiday are claiming victory after Monday’s announcement, but have warned that the holiday could be commercialized.
ActionStation Director Laura O’Connell Rapira, who launched a petition in May, believed that most New Zealanders wanted Matariki to become an official holiday, based on the results of a survey conducted earlier this year.
Ross Giblin / Stuff
Laura O’Connoll Rapira of ActionStation delivered a petition to make Matariki a holiday to Rongotai Labor MP Paul Eagle in July.
“This victory brings all those who have contributed to the revitalization of Mātauranga Māori. Our ancestors are smiling with us today.
“While we are delighted with this announcement, we have some outstanding concerns about the co-optation and commercialization of Matariki.
“It is important for the government to ensure that the way we commemorate Matariki is also reported by Maori experts in Maramataka. [the ancient Polynesian lunar calendar], not just when, ”O’Connell Rapira said.
Simon Woolf / Supplied
The 2019 Matariki Sky Show in Wellington lit up the winter sky as people watched fireworks go off from Wellington Harbor.
Matamua also expressed concern about the potential for “bastarization” of the holiday, saying that he would be “very concerned if it becomes too vulgar and uncomfortable.”
“I am concerned about the corporatization and, in some way, the commercialization, but even more so, the bastarization of what Matariki can be where it is a cultural practice so important that it is greatly diluted.
Look at what we’ve done at Easter and Christmas, and also at some of these other celebrations. I think that no matter what we do, someone will try to profit from a commercial element.
STEPHEN CHADWICK / Things
Photo by Stephen Chadwick of the Matariki cluster that is part of the Matariki-Deep Space exhibition at Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom.
“I have seen the Matariki beer production. I’ve seen vegetable sales on Countdown. I think that if it’s done with the best of intentions and it’s about celebrating Matariki, because Matariki is connected to food and the environment and unites, I don’t necessarily think culture and commerce are enemies, ”Matamua said.
Dr Daniel Hikuroa, Senior Lecturer at Auckland Te Wānanga or Waipapa University, said that integrating Matariki into the calendar will provide a point of difference from other festivals that are event-based or focused on commemorating people who are not from New Zealand.
“The difference with Matariki is that it is based on a knowledge system that is based on the observations of those who have lived in New Zealand for a long time, so it is very nice to have the opportunity to celebrate.
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Dr Dan Hikuroa, Senior Lecturer at Te Wānanga or Waipapa at the University of Auckland, has welcomed the Labor Party’s commitment to make Matariki a national holiday from 2022.
“And it’s also an opportunity for New Zealanders to learn about the rigor and precision, precision and elegance that is Matariki,” Hikuroa said.
Labor leader Jacinda Ardern said “the time has come” to celebrate the Maori New Year.
“Matariki will be a distinctly New Zealand holiday and a time for reflection, celebration and looking to the future as we pride ourselves on our unique national identity.
“We don’t have a lot of legal holidays compared to other OECD countries and it would be nice to break in the long term over the winter,” Ardern said.
If elected, Labor said he will work with a group of academics and experts to plan when the exact dates of the public holiday will be.
