2017 Matariki

    

      When in 2017 NZ Post didn't issue the annual Matariki stamp issue, I was a bit disappointed as I've come to enjoy each Matariki issue for their interesting and colourful stamps. I understand why they did this because two other Maori related issues were released that year. See 2017 He Tohu and 2017 Te Reo Maori - Maori Language. We don't want too much of a good thing, do we? In the absence of a Matariki issue, I have decided to add my own Matariki post looking at Matariki and some of the legends behind it. When I started this I was looking for a great page of stamps but I could only find two stamps that actually showed Matariki / The Pleiades, so I had to settle on a post using just these two stamps. 

2011 Matariki - Fish Hooks

Matariki - Hei Matau (Fish Hooks)
        The appearance of the star cluster known as Matariki is a time to celebrate New Zealand's unique history and place in the world. New Zealand Post marked the start of the Māori New Year with it's Matariki 2011 - Hei Matau stamp issue.
        Meaning 'fish hook', matau are traditionally an important aspect of Māori life, providing Māori with the means to catch their kai moana or 'food from the sea'. Many fishermen had their own 'lucky' fish hook, which they would wear around their necks (hei matau) for safe keeping.
        Today hei matau are used less for catching fish and more for catching someone's eye when worn as pendants. They remain a cultural treasure (taonga) and have an important link to the origins of Aotearoa, New Zealand. According to Māori legend, New Zealand's North Island was once a giant fish that was caught by the half-god and seafarer Māui, using a woven line and his magic bone matau.
        Hei matau have a strong connection to Tangaroa, god of the sea, and as such the stamps in this issue feature the commonly stylised element of the sea. Meaning 'the fish hook of Māui', the phrase 'Te matau o Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga' has also been incorporated into the design.

2010 Matariki - Maori Kites.

Matariki - Manu Tukutuku (Traditional Maori Kites)

       In this post, we feature another of the lesser known crafts of Maori, the making of Maori kites. This issue included only have four values, a miniature sheet and the usual two First Day Covers. Kites were made and flown by both Maori adults and children. As is shown in the stamps below they were made out of many materials and came in a variety of styles or shapes.

See our Matariki Collection.                       See our Index - New Zealand Maori.

50c – Manu Aute

Maori made many of their kites in the shape of birds (manu), reflecting their belief that this was how a person’s soul or spirit was made manifest. ‘Manu aute’ was one of the largest birdlike kites, and the one featured on our 50 cent stamp is the oldest of all surviving specimens.

2012 Matariki - Maori Rock Art.

          Māori rock art is not as well known as Maori wood carving but examples can be found throughout the country. The stamps in this issue depict examples of rock art documented in Te Waipounamu (the South Island) where more than 500 sites have been recorded to date.

           Rock art is applied to a variety of stone types, and while the common perception is that rock art was created using a burnt stick, the majority of the ‘drawings’ in Te Waipounamu appear to have been applied as pigment in solution. The style of Māori rock art is similar to that from wider Polynesia, suggesting that it was a practice brought to New Zealand by its earliest people.

           Māori rock art gives a glimpse of New Zealand’s history and culture, and the drawings included on the six self-adhesive stamps in this issue portray animals now long extinct, representations of everyday life and depictions of the supernatural.

          The rauru (spiral design) on the stamps pays respect to Rangi and Papa, and the light and knowledge that came about from their separation. The colours used in the rauru reflect the land and environment, and the koru represent growth and life and pay respect to the past, present and future.

2013 Matariki - The Koru.

         When the star cluster known as Matariki appears in the night sky it signals the Maori New Year and a time of new beginnings. The Matariki 2013 stamp issue celebrates the koru - a pattern symbolising new life and regeneration.

          Matariki is a significant event for Māori and is widely acknowledged to signal a change of seasons. In traditional Māori society, Matariki was believed to foretell whether the year ahead would be plentiful. It was also a time of festivity when communities would come together to reflect on the past and look ahead to new beginnings.

          The message of new beginnings is represented in the koru pattern, which is derived from an unfurling silver fern frond. Each of the six self-adhesive stamps in this issue incorporates the koru pattern along with aspects of traditional Māori culture that have particular significance during the time of Matariki.

2016 Matariki - Kete

         In the Māori language Matariki is the name of the Pleiades star cluster, in the constellation of Taurus the Bull. The first rising of the Pleiades and of Rigel (Puanga in Māori) occurs just prior to sunrise in late May or early June, and this indicates that the old year has ended and the new year has begun. The annual appearance of the seven stars of ‘Matariki’ (or the Pleiades star cluster) signals a time for renewal, reflection and celebration!
         The actual time for celebrating Matariki varies depending on the iwi (tribe). It has become common practice for various private and public institutions to celebrate Matariki over the period of a week or month anywhere from early June to late July.

         I have been looking in the eastern sky just before dawn hoping to spot Matariki but this will prove difficult since I live near the western side of the large city of Auckland. But if you look for it later in the year, first find Orion the Great Hunter also called The Pot by some in New Zealand. Those three stars that make up his belt are very distinctive. Then move your attention ahead of Orion towards the west. The Pleiades will appear as a small group of seven stars very close together but if you use binoculars or a small telescope many more stars can be seen in this spectacular star cluster. 

See our Matariki Collection.                      See our Index - New Zealand Maori.

2008 Matariki - Maori Culture.

         For the Māori people, the night skies in June traditionally have huge significance: they herald the dawn of a new Māori year. In te reo Maori, yhe Māori language, Matariki is the name of the Pleiades star cluster, in the constellation of Taurus the Bull.  In traditional times, Matariki was a season to celebrate new beginnings and was important for agriculture in establishing the correct time to plant crops. It was also a good time to instruct young people in the lore of the land and the forest as being the colder months much more time was spent indoors. The constellation is also believed to have been used by navigators. See our post -  2007 Southern Skies. 

         The first rising of the Pleiades and of Rigel (Puanga in Māori) occurs just prior to sunrise in late May or early June, and this indicates that the old year has ended and the new year has begun. The annual appearance of the seven stars of ‘Matariki’ (or the Pleiades star cluster) signals a time for renewal, reflection and celebration!
         The actual time for celebrating Matariki varies depending on the iwi (tribe). It has become common practice for various private and public institutions to celebrate Matariki over the period of a week or month anywhere from early June to late July.

         This is the first in a series of annual Matariki stamp issues, exploring different aspects of Maori culture and heritage. In this first issue we take a fascinating journey through Maori history and culture. We celebrated not only the constellation itself but also connections that the Maori spiritual world has to the sea, to the land and to family (whānau). We also learn about the Maori worldview in which the gods, Sky Father Ranginui, Earth Mother Papatūānuku and their children, personify the dramatic forces of nature.

See our Matariki Collection.                      See our Index - New Zealand Maori.

2015 Matariki - Kowhaiwhai

         Typically featured in the whare whakairo (decorated meeting house) on the heke (rafters), kōwhaiwhai is an art form that is distinctively Māori, and unique to Aotearoa New Zealand. Issued to coincide with the dawn of Māori New Year, the Matariki 2015 stamp issue celebrates this ancient art form in a more contemporary setting.
        In this post I have shown the full set below so you an get an over-view of the designs. Further down we will feature each of the six stamps with more detailed notes on each artist. (Current images will be replaced when better ones become available.) Next there is an area of other items of interest, including the usual Miniature Sheet and First Day Covers. At the bottom just above the Technical Information is a 1988 issue that also featured Kowhaiwhai. 

See our Matariki Collection.                       See our Index - New Zealand Maori.

2014 Matariki - Papatūānuku and Ranginui.



The Rising of Matariki.        

        For the Māori people, the night skies in June traditionally has huge significance as the dawn of a new Māori year. The annual appearance of the seven stars of ‘Matariki’, also known as the star cluster 'The Pleiades' in the constellation Tauris, or by its common name 'the seven sisters', signals a time for renewal, reflection and celebration! This celebration is something unique to New Zealand.

        Each year New Zealand Post  issues a set of postage stamps to mark this event. These stamps always feature some aspect of Maori culture. The 2014 Matariki issue was about the well known story of Papatūānuku and Ranginui. The set of six stamps show how six famous artists used this story to inspire their art.

See our Matariki Collection.                      See our Index - New Zealand Maori.

Heitiki

For an index to all our posts on The Maori People.



         Following on with the Matariki theme I decided to do a post on the heitiki, an ornamental pendant of the Māori people of New Zealand which is worn around the neck. 

See our Matariki Collection.                       See our Index - New Zealand Maori.

1935 Pictorials.

Wahine (young Maori girl) - 3d
The 1935 Pictorial Issue featured a young Maori girl on the 3d value. What is of interest to us is what she is wearing. The head-band is made of plaited flax, dyed red and black. The feather is that of the huia, a native bird now known to be extinct. Held by a flax cord fastened around her neck is the Maori amulet known as a "tiki". Today it is more commonly known by the correct name of "Heitiki." This is not particularly a good view since she is side on but its been included here as the first example found on a New Zealand Postage Stamp.

View our post 1935 Pictorial Issue.