Matariki Explained by Scottie Productions

Matariki is now recognised as an official national holiday in Aotearoa/ New Zealand and everyone can celebrate it. Matariki Explained is a special half hour documentary that outlines what Matariki is, why it is significant and how we can celebrate.  

Matariki Explained features renowned Māori astrologer and holder of ancestral knowledge, Rereata Makiha. Rereata shares with us his knowledge of living by the Māori calendar (Maramataka). Ngāti Rangi leader, Che Wilson shows us how they celebrate the traditional Māori New Year in Ohakune and about the significance of the Puanga (Rigel) star. Also featuring is young Maramataka advocate, Hana Rawhiti Maipi. Hana is passionate about sharing the experience of hautapu, the traditional ceremony that makes an offering to the Matariki star cluster. She explains how simple it is for everyone to start up their own traditions in celebration of Matariki, remembrance and renewal fresh for the year ahead.  

As its name suggests, Matariki Explained provides a beginner's guide to understanding what this new national holiday is all about while providing new information for those who do have some knowledge. With thanks to funders, Te Māngai Pāho and NZonAir 

Sing along to the words from popular songs recorded in te reo Māori for Waiata Anthems. 

Rematriation is a programme of moving-image works by contemporary Māori artists, curated by CIRCUIT’s Kaitiaki Kiriata Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka. 

 

me aro koe ki te hā o Hine-ahu-one 

Take heed the breath of Hine-ahu-one 

 

Curated by Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka and commissioned by CIRCUIT Artist Moving Image, this screening programme delves into the profound theme of Indigenous rematriation, a concept which proposes restoration of balance, harmony, and connection to the land through a whakapapa of wahine knowledge. 

Rematriation includes work by six contemporary Māori artists:

• Tia Barrett (Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Tamainupō, Ngāti Maniapoto) 
• Bobby Luke (Ngāti Ruanui) 
• Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka (Ngati Pakau, Ngapuhi) 
• Sandy Wakefield (Ngapuhi, Ngāi Tahu) 
• Keri-Mei Zagrobelna (Whānau-ā- Apanui and Te Āti Awa) 
• Antonia van Sitter (Te Māhurehure, Ngāti Whakaue)

Each work visualises the intrinsic, ethereal, and ineffable narratives woven throughout Te Ao Māori. 

For viewers, Rematriation seeks to foster a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by Indigenous communities, whilst affirming ongoing efforts to restore and preserve Indigenous cultural identities on a spiritual level. 

Facing the many contemporary political, historical, and environmental issues in Aotearoa and the world today, the five films in Rematriation continue conversations about decolonisation, cultural continuity, and the shared responsibility of nurturing a more inclusive and equitable world. Together they celebrate the transformative power of Rematriation as a celebration of identity, resilience, and the enduring connection between people and the land they call home. 

Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka is CIRCUIT’s Kaitiaki Kiriata for 2024, a new curatorial position which supports a Māori curator to present artists' videos in contexts framed by Te Ao Māori. 

Rematriation was originally commissioned by CIRCUIT for the Wairoa Māori Film Festival and will be presented in 2024. CIRCUIT thanks Wairoa and Leo Koziol for their support. 

These Circuit artworks were selected to reflect on Matariki ki te whenua, Matariki ki te taiao, that highlight the artists’ relationships with indigeneity, whenua, taiao, wai, Matariki and urbanisation.  

• Kauri Wharawera - Te Kahui o Matariki (running time 7:36) 
• Layne Waerea - Uninvited Visitor (running time 2:43) 
• Sarah Hudson – Remember (running time 10:10) 
• Martin Awa Clarke Langdon / Rebecca Ann Hobbs – Maungataketake (running time 15:52) 
• Layne Waerea - Bonus Play (running time 9:58) 
• Jamie Berry – Hiwa-i-te-rangi (running time 16:16)