Manawatia Matariki

MATARIKI HERENGA WAKA

A place where waka come together - a safe harbour for everyone to connect

Matariki Herenga Waka is the theme for the 2026 Matariki Māori New Year celebrations, translating to "Matariki, the mooring place of canoes". It signifies a time for unity, inclusion, and bringing people together - like canoes coming from all directions and gathering at a dock - to celebrate, reflect, and share knowledge. 

 

Key Aspects of Matariki Herenga Waka:

• Significance: It emphasizes "For Everyone," encouraging all people across Aotearoa (New Zealand) and  Feilding-Manawatū District to connect and celebrate together, regardless of background.

• 2026 Theme: This year the theme reflects the identity of our town and district as a hub for diverse cultures (a modern "gathering place of waka").

• Core Values: The celebration still focuses on the three main pillars: 

• Hunga Nui    - Remembrance to the past

• Ahunga Nui  - Celebrating the present/gathering

• Manako Nui  - Looking to the future)

 

• Cultural Connection: The phrase acts as a bridge between the stars (often known as Te Waka o Rangi—the canoe of Rangi) and the people on earth, strengthening ties to the environment and each other. 

 

Manawatia Matariki it is a call for community, welcoming everyone to participate in the celebration of the Māori New Year. 

 

PUANGA

Puanga is the Māori name for the star Rigel, the brightest star in the Orion constellation. For many iwi (tribes) - especially in Whanganui, Taranaki, parts of the Far North, and the South Island - its' rising in the dawn sky during the mid-winter months heralds the Māori New Year. Puanga is one of the brightest stars in our sky and is associated with the weather, season and kai.

 

Te Rewa o Puanga

By Meihana Durie

Te Rewa o Puanga recognises a profoundly significant time for many of the Tai Hauāuru (West Coast) iwi and hapū of Te Ika a Māui, the North Island, including Ngāti Kauwhata and the neighbouring iwi of Rangitāne, Ngāti Apa and Ngāti Hauiti.

 

Puanga, as it is commonly referred to, is noted as the most visible and therefore reliable marker of the celestial passing of the lunar year for those located within Te Tai Hauāuru.  The observation of Puanga rituals, practices and customs is particularly prominent further West towards Ngāti Rangi (Ruapehu) and across Whanganui and Taranaki iwi and hapū.  In more recent year, these aspects of locaql hapū and iwi cultural identify have enjoyed a significant revival thanks in no small part to the national promotion and recognition of Matariki. 

 

In earlier times, hapū subsistence in particular was highly dependent upon accurate readings and measures of time, weather, tidal and lunar markers alongside seasonal transitions, and the appearance of Puanga served as a critical signifier of a full compliment of seasonal transitions  Indeed, Puanga, or Te Rewa o Puanga, visibly signifies full completion of the lunar year here in the Ngāti Kauwhata takiwā - which is inclusive of the territories of Ōroua, Aorangi, Taonui, Awahuri, Kawakawa and Te Āpiti. 

 

It is important to note, however, that hapū and marae both within Ngāti Kauwhata and Ngāti Raukawa more broadly also recognise and acknowledge the arrival and season of Matariki, partly as a means of maintaining our important Tainui traditions and connections.  Matariki is a central aspect of Tainui seasonal customs and rituals and despite the fact that Ngāti Kauwhata and Ngāti Raukawa left Kāwhia and Maungatautari migrating here in the early 1820's, our people continue to holdfast to aspects such as Matariki partly as a means of keeping alive the rituals, customs and traditions of our Tainui ancestors.  The view of Ngāti Kauwhata is that recognition of Matariki for us, maintains the spiritual and ancestral connection 

 

Both Puanga and Matariki carry significant yet inherently distinctive customs and traditions.  Yet both are immensely important within contemporary Aotearoa.