Rotary Meeting 3 August 2021 (Thanks Paul D for the notes)
Last week our Guest Speaker was – Jackson Lacy
Jackson is a member of the Tawa Community Board and is currently studying Maori Resource Management at Victoria University. Next year Jackson intends to begin a Masters Degree in Indigenous Studies at Victoria.
Jackson provided an overview of Matariki and the significance to Maori. There are six stars in the Matariki cluster and Jackson explained the significance of each. Each Iwi has a slightly different perspective of Matariki and each star. The rise of Matariki signifies the start of the Maori New Year and is a time of celebration and a time for future planning – not just for Maori, but for all peoples of the Pacific.
New Zealand will have its first public holiday next year to celebrate Matariki. Matariki follows the lunar calendar rather than the European calendar and therefore the dates change each year. A Maori academic has scheduled the Matariki dates for the next 30 years.
Jackson undertook to send through links to the Club for those wishing to increase their knowledge of Matariki.
