What I didn't know about Matariki

Having only heard of Matariki when they moved to Aotearoa New Zealand, a new MAS team member shares how they've been learning the history and meaning behind the new public holiday and their excitement at marking it for the first time. 

 Matariki fireworks in Wellington

When I moved to Aotearoa earlier this year, I didn't know about the rich history this country had, or how much there was to learn from Māori culture. I didn't even realise that there was a Māori name for New Zealand.

During my induction week at MAS, I was surprised to hear that there was a new public holiday being introduced in 2022, Matariki. 

I didn't understand the significance of Matariki until one of my colleagues mentioned this was New Zealand's first public holiday to recognise Te Ao Māori, or the Māori worldview.

After learning that Matariki is sometimes called the Māori new year, and what it represented, I was keen to find out more about the concepts of Te Ao Māori and mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge). Being new to Aotearoa, and realising how important this was to my workplace, I was keen to understand as much as I could about Māori culture. 

Learning and continually evolving

As I began to find out more about Matariki, I noticed parallels between my own views and experiences, and how mātauranga Māori helped interpret the world around us. The basis of mātauranga Māori was essentially a holistic view of who we are, and how we engage with others. Just like us, the concept of mātauranga Māori is continually evolving. 

I talked about this a lot with Anita Flowers, MAS' Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Engagement and Wellbeing Lead. One of the first things she said to me was how important MAS believed it was to incorporate Māori knowledge and the language Te Reo Māori into the workplace. 

"Understanding mātauranga Māori and using te reo at MAS is something we're committed to. Honouring the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and improving the wellbeing of our employees, and our Members, has always been really important to us," Anita told me, and my experiences at MAS have reflected this.

Anita and I talked about how lucky we felt to be able to weave these ideas into our work at MAS, and how the Māori worldview could help inform the life I lead here in Aotearoa.