“Māori star lore was, and still remains, a blending together of both astronomy and astrology, and while there is undoubtedly robust science within the Māori study of the night sky, the spiritual component has always been of equal importance” writes Professor Rangi Matamua in his book Matariki – Te whetū tapu o te taū (Matariki – The star of the year). I picked up this book as a keen amateur astronomer hoping to show Matariki off to people in Christchurch this year, as well as being keenly aware of my ignorance of the significance of Matariki to Māori.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://sciblogs.co.nz/kidney-punch/2022/05/18/matariki-te-whetu-tapu-o-te-tau/