atatū
1. (noun) just after sunrise - also written as ata tū.
I te atatū tonu o te 7 o Mei 1846, ka pā te tūpuhi, ka tanuku a Maunga Kākaramea, ka taupokina te pā i Te Rapa (TTR 1990:186). / Just after sunrise on 7 May 1846 a storm struck and Kākaramea mountain collapsed, overwhelming the pā at Te Rapa.
Mātahi o te tau
1. (personal noun) first month of the Māori year. Its beginning was indicated by the first appearance of Matariki (Pleiades) on the eastern horizon before sunrise, about the 15 June. Sometimes shortened to Mātahi.
Ko te mātahi o te tau Māori (hei te takiwā o Hune) te wā e rere ai te piharau (Te Ara 2011). / The first month of the Māori year (around June) is the time when the lamprey are running.
2. (personal noun) eleventh lunar month of the Māori year - approximately equivalent to April.
He paku rerekē te Mātahi, i te mea e whakamahia ana mō te marama ngahuru mā tahi me te marama tuatahi, arā, mō Paengawhāwhā me Pipiri anō hoki (HJ 2012:142). / Mātahi is a little different because it is used for the eleventh and first months, that is for Paengawhāwhā and Pipiri.
Tātai-o-Matariki
1. (personal noun) Pleiades, Seven Sisters - an open cluster of many stars in the constellation Taurus, with at least six stars visible to the naked eye. First appearance before sunrise of Matariki in the north-eastern sky indicates the beginning of the Māori year - about the middle of June. According to some tribes, Matariki is the star of the old year and Puanga-rua the star of the new year.
See also Huihui-o-Matariki, Te
Synonyms: Huihui-o-Matariki, Te, Matariki
Matariki
1. (personal noun) Pleiades, Messier 45 - an open cluster of many stars in Te Kāhui o Matariki, with at least nine stars visible to the naked eye. The brightest star in the centre of the cluster, also known as Matariki (Alcyone), married Rehua (Antares) and is the mother of the other eight stars of the Pleiades known to Māori. The other eight stars are: Tupuārangi (Atlas), Waipunarangi (Electra), Waitī (Maia), Ururangi (Merope), Tupuānuku (Pleione), Waitā (Taygeta), Pōhutukawa (Sterope) and Hiwa-i-te-rangi (Calaeno). The first appearance before sunrise of Matariki in the north-eastern sky, in the Tangaroa phase of the lunar month, indicates the beginning of the Māori year - about mid-June - and is the cause for celebrations. Matariki disappears at the end of the Māori year and traditionally this was also a reason for celebration with some iwi. During this time when Matariki was absent from the sky, she was said to visit four places, each for seven nights, Maukahau, Tārarau-ātea, Papa-whakatangitangi and Tītore-māhu-tū. Matariki is a truncated version of the name Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea (the eyes of the atua Tāwhirimātea). Matariki is associated with good health and wellbeing.
Ko te putanga mai o Matariki te tohu mō te marama tuatahi, ko ngā ingoa hoki ēnei o ngā marama katoa: Te Tahi o Pipiri, Te Rua o Takurua,Te Toru Here o Pipiri, Te Whā o Mahuru, Te Rima o Kōpū, Te Ono o Whitiānaunau, Te Whitu o Hakihea, Te Waru o Rehua, Te Iwa o Rūhi-te-rangi, Te Ngahuru o Poutū-te-rangi, Te Ngahuru mā tahi, Te Ngahuru ma rua (TP 1/3/1901:6). / The appearance of Pleiades is the sign for the first month and these are the names of all the months: The first is Pipiri, the second is Takurua, the third is Here o Pipiri, the fourth is Mahuru, the fifth is Kōpū, the sixth is Whiti-ānaunau, the seventh is Hakihea, the eighth is Rehua, the ninth is Rūhi-te-rangi, the tenth is Poutūterangi, the eleventh and twelth months.
Mō te marama o Mei, arā o Te Hakiharatua ki tā te Māori, o te tau 1922: Ko Matariki te whetū kei te ārahi i tēnei marama, he wehenga tau ki tā te Māori whakahaere (TTT 1/5/1922:13). / For the month of May, that is Te Hakiharatua according to the Māori, of the year 1922: The Pleiades is the star that heralds this month and divides the year according to the Māori system.
See also Huihui-o-Matariki, Te, Tupuārangi, Waipunarangi, Waitī, Ururangi, Tupuānuku, Waitā, Tātai-o-Matariki
Synonyms: Huihui-o-Matariki, Te, Tātai-o-Matariki
