Matariki is the Māori name for a group of
nine stars, seven of which are visible to the naked eye, known as the Pleiades
star cluster. Some traditional Māori stories describe Matariki as a mother star with six
daughters, while others refer to the cluster as the Seven Sisters.
Matariki appears
in our eastern sky sometime around the shortest day of the year, and is thought
to influence how successful the harvest crop will be in the coming season. The
disappearance of Matariki in autumn was an important marker in the traditional
harvest calendar, the time to gather and preserve crops.
After the harvest, when the storehouses
were full, Māori would celebrate the harvest season. This celebration
coincided with the reappearance of Matariki. Matariki begins to rise on the 13th
July in 2020, and this symbolises the coming of the Māori New Year.
Traditionally Matariki was celebrated by gathering
with whānau (family) and reflecting on the past. Nowadays, Matariki
is still seen as an important time to celebrate the earth, and our loved ones,
and show respect for the land on which we live (kiwifamilies.co.nz).
Matariki is a very special time of year
at Mairtown Kindergarten, providing valued opportunities for our whānau to
gather and celebrate our wonderful community; reflecting on the year that has
been and the special people we have spent it with, looking towards the coming
year with joyful anticipation, and sharing the bounty of the completed harvest
with each other.
This year, the appearance of Matariki
occurs during our holidays, so our celebrations span the end of Term 2 and the
beginning of Term 3. It began on June 23rd with one of our favourite events, Harvest Day. Harvest Day 2020 was particularly special for two
reasons; firstly because it marked the return of our freedom to share resources with each other since New Zealand's return to level one Covid-19 status, and
secondly because it marks the introduction of our new Pataka kai. We are so
excited that this beautiful Pataka kai, an initiative close to our hearts, will
be positioned outside our kindergartens gates from next term, providing a place
for the sharing of food resources within our local community.
Na tō rourou, nā taku rourou
ka ora ai te iwi
With your food basket and
my food basket the people will thrive
Harvest day celebrates the joy of ‘random
acts of kindness’, and enables the sharing of harvest surplus. Each whānau are
invited to bring in a gift from their garden or preserve stores, or a homemade
treat, accompanied if they wish by a provocation or thought to nourish the soul
of the receiver. The offerings are displayed on a beautiful harvest table, and
this year for the first time, also on the Pataka kai alongside it. At the end
of the day, tamariki and their whānau are able to choose a gift from the
display to take home and enjoy.
Participating in this celebration of reciprocal
giving, where tamariki arrive with a treasure which they offer to others, then
leave with a treasure offered to them by someone else in their community, is an
important experience of kindness and generosity, attributes which are key to
our daily practices at Mairtown kindergarten.
Kindness is a
simple eight letter word that has the extraordinary power to make the world a
better place (source unknown)
In the
period leading up to Harvest day, we spend time talking about the event with
the tamariki. Along with providing an opportunity to discuss the harvest of the
season, this discussion builds both an understanding of what to expect on the
day, and develops a keen sense of anticipation and enthusiasm! Ideas are
shared, along with memories of previous harvest days offered by our experienced
tamariki.
When
Harvest Day arrived, we were overwhelmed by the participation and generosity of
our whānau as they arrived with their excited tamariki, bearing their gifts and
carefully displaying them on the table.
The table and Pataka kai were soon overflowing with a huge range of
offerings, demonstrating the abundance of produce available in our beautiful
corner of the wold. Tamariki revisited this area many times during the day,
discovering what was on offer and thinking about what they might choose to take
home at the end of the day.
This experience requires the exercising of those all-important
patient muscles, and builds resilience as some tamariki cope with the giving up
of the prized offering they had brought with them to a different home, and
others manage disappointment as someone else chooses the item they were
initially hoping for. But everyone was able to find something which filled
their hearts with love as they set off for home.
There is such a lot of learning occurring as tamariki contribute to the joyful experience of
Harvest day, working together for the common good and developing a strong
spirit of togetherness and reciprocity (Te Whāriki, 2017).
So much
joy and love was shared, given and received along with the harvest bounty on
this day,and it was so heart-warming to see this extended as whānau shared
their enjoyment of and gratefulness for the gifts they received, as they
acknowledged them on our whānau Facebook page; and as tamariki happily shared
with each other what they had brought from their Harvest Day gift in their
lunch box the following day.
Tamariki also shared memories of the day during
our morning whānau time discussion.
I love that you get to eat
something else than you bring (Kate)
I love that I could take home
chocolate cake and strawberries!
(Alastair)
My favourite was the Fry bread (Taikura)
I enjoyed Harvest Day- especially
the Plum Cake (Holly)
Thanks for the yummy brocolli! (William)
I had some Lemon raspberry
strawberry muffins and I could share them with Mum and Lilly and Maddy (Ivy)
I got Susie’s ricie slicie and I
shared it with my Nan (Harper
C)
Giving
to others, without expecting anything in return is something that we, as
adults, should all role model to children. No matter how small an act of kindness
is, it has a huge impact on how someone may feel. Our hearts are full, and
being able to return to celebrating our traditional Mairtown kindergarten Matariki
celebrations after the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 crisis was so
special. We now look forward to being able to extend the Mairtown ethos of
caring and sharing into our wider community through the Pataka kai; and of
course to the next highly anticipated event on our Matariki calendar, our hangi
evening early next term.
E hoa ma, ina te ora o te tangata
My friends, this is the essence of life.
Ngā mihi
mahana
Anne
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