Matariki - Noriko Kinoshita

 

The word “Matariki” refers to the Pleiades star cluster and a celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. The rising of Matariki means the beginning of the new year in the Maori’s lunar calendar.

The example sentence: Twinkling in the winter sky just before dawn, Matariki (the Pleiades) signals the Māori New Year.

I found this word interesting because I’m interested in the celebration. This year’s Matariki will take place on June 20th, so I will be able to celebrate Matariki in New Zealand! I also like the sound of this word. I think the Maori language has strong vowels, just like Japanese, so it feels familiar.




Comments

  1. SultanMarch 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM

    I like that they named the stars and use it to know the date of the new year, we have the same thing in Arab countries bt we not often celebrate however it used to be useful to know the ways and the time of the year in the past.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Noriko KinoshitaMarch 18, 2025 at 2:15 AM

      That's interesting! There's no star represent the new year in Japan, but we have an event related to stars in July.

      Delete
  2. Keigo TominagaMarch 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM

    Let's have fun to celebrate togther!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hanako IwatsukiMarch 17, 2025 at 7:18 PM

    I agree that the pronunciation of this word is like Japanese. I will try to find Matariki in this Winter.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Erina YokobeMarch 17, 2025 at 7:19 PM

    That's a nice word! I didn't know the celebration! I'll still be staying in June, so let's celebrate it together!!🤩

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ai MatsunoMarch 17, 2025 at 7:29 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Miyu ImazakiMarch 17, 2025 at 7:39 PM

    It must be special to experience Matariki while you’re in New Zealand:) And yes, the strong vowels in Māori make it feel familiar to Japanese speakers!

    ReplyDelete
  7. David WoodfieldMarch 17, 2025 at 7:40 PM

    Interesting how you have picked up on the similarity between the pronunciation of Maori & Japanese. Both might be call syllable-timed languages while English is a stress-timed language.
    David :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Noriko KinoshitaMarch 18, 2025 at 2:25 AM

    I heard about the concept of syllable-timed languages and stress-timed language for the first time! That may be why I found Maori familiar.

    ReplyDelete

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