Mairtown Matariki Hāngī 2018

To finish off our Matariki celebrations at Mairtown Kindergarten we had our annual Matariki Hāngī.

This event is something that the children and their whānau really look forward to. In the weeks leading up to the Hāngī, we have a count down of days on our calendar which helps build a sense of excitement for everyone. We asked our families to donate vegetables for the event and we had an overwhelming response to this - thank you. We also were kindly donated the hireage of the MultiKai Cooker from Gayla and Doug Andrews.

Matariki symbolises the coming of the Māori New Year.  Matariki has two meanings, both of which refer to the cluster of stars.  Mata Riki means Tiny Eyes, and Mata Ariki means Eyes of God.  Matariki appears in the eastern sky sometime around the shortest day of the year, and is thought to determine how successful the harvest crop will be in the coming season.  The brighter the stars, the more productive the crop will be.

When the day arrived the kindergarten was a buzz of activity as we had whānau helping prepare the food for the cooker and making the fry bread and stuffing. We needed get this on early so it would be cooked in time for the evenings feast. With all the wonderful support we had the MultiKai Cooker on in record time.

Ma tini, ma mano, ka rapa te whai

By many, by thousands, the work will be accomplished.

 Many hands make light work.  Unity is strength.

After session the teachers, with the help of others, transformed the kindergarten environment was transformed ready for the evenings event. It was so lovely watching everyone arrive, filled with joy and delight. The atmosphere was just beautiful; fire glowing, music playing (thanks to Kelly and Wil) and everyone just having a good old catch up.

The lifting of the Hāngī was then underway and everyone got to enjoy the food that was prepared earlier that day. The dessert table was then enjoyed, along with toasted marshmallows over the fire. To finish off our lovely evening we had a lantern parade down the street, singing ‘This Little Light of Mine’.

Thank you so much for everyone who made our Matariki Hāngī such a wonderful event. It was such a beautiful day and night. Thank you for making Mairtown Kindergarten such a lovely place. We really appreciate your support and all the good energy that you bring to our community.

He wā motuhake

A special moment

Please take a moment to watch our lovely video that Christine has put together, which captures our day beautifully.





Kindest regards,
Zair, Susie, Amy, Sarah and Christine