Matari’i i Ni’a: The Season of Abundance Returns
In the ancient skies above our islands, long before clocks and calendars, our tupuna – ancestors – looked to the stars for guidance. Among the most revered was Matari’i, the shimmering constellation known to the world as the Pleiades.
Its annual reappearance in the dark velvet of the November sky was no ordinary celestial event. It was a sign, a whisper from the universe that the Season of Abundance – Matari’i i Ni’a – had begun.
In the traditional Polynesian worldview, the year was not divided by months, but by the pulse of nature. Two seasons marked the rhythm of life:
- Matari’i i Ni’a – when the stars rise and nature flourishes
- Matari’i i Raro – when the stars descend and resources wane
The rising of Matari’i heralded the new year. It marked a time of growth, generosity, and gratitude. Rains returned to the land, soaking the fertile soil. Breadfruit trees, tubers, and fruit trees awakened from their slumber. Lagoon and reef life pulsed with activity, fish spawning in abundance, nourishing both body and spirit.
Our ancestors celebrated this moment with rituals, chants, and offerings, thanking the land, the ocean, for their generosity. It was a time of feasting and gathering, of reconnecting with the cycles that sustained life across our islands.
Today, as the stars of Matari’i rise again, we too are invited to tune into nature’s deeper rhythms. And to enter this sacred season with open hearts. Let us remember that the stars we gaze upon are the same ones our ancestors followed. And that their wisdom, passed through the constellations, still guides us home.