The Seven Sisters

Kia ora, in Te Ngahere we have been doing Matariki Activities to celebrate Matariki. Matariki is a constellation that is known by other names in other parts of the world, like Subaru or The Shoulder Of Taurus. There are also many myths, legends and beliefs about Matariki. The Māori believed that if the stars of the Matariki Constellation shone brightly it would be a good year for harvesting and it would be a good year, however if the stars were dim they would have to leave the planting of crops until October. We have only done one activity so far but there will be multiple more, the one that we just did was a Matariki Quiz. We had to read a text then answer the questions, in total there were 11 questions. I think I answered the questions pretty well. Do you celebrate Matariki?

Here are the answers to the questions. I forgot what the questions were and I can't find the text for the questions.

1. Matariki is a constellation that signifies the beginning of the Māori New Year.
2. Some constellations like Taurus are, Leo, Cancer, Scorpio, Aquarius. Zodiac Constellations or any constellations in general.
3. The Māori could have used a drop in temperature to tell it was around May or June.
4. Matariki appears in the month of June.
5. The Māori believed if the stars were shining brightly then it would be a good year and there would be a lot of crops to harvest.
6. I think there’s multiple myths because different iwi had different beliefs.
7. A: Storage house B: Feast C: Land D: Family E: Ancestry/Genealogy
8. Three of the many ways to celebrate Matariki is, eating food, being with family and dancing.
9. I think they told myths and legends when they were telling stories during the Matariki celebrations.
10. Christmas is an important celebration that my family celebrates. We eat a lot of food, catch up with family we haven’t seen in awhile and get each other presents.
11.  To celebrate Matariki I could spend time with my family.