The Liberal Agenda: Matariki Review – An important moment in NZ culture

By
Martyn Bradbury
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74
1681

The Matariki coverage on TV this morning might just be the most important cultural moment in NZ history.

We rarely see the majesty of Māori culture so raw and dramatic.

The spiritual power of this poetry will touch us as a people in a way we’ve never experienced, this is a nation whose emotional range is stretched at the ANZAC Day Last Post.

To be exposed to Māori culture on mass media broadcasting like this, to have the drama played out against the stage of the dawn was a moment unlike any other and I believe will have a profound impact on New Zealand.

This celebration, part grief-part hope, this powerful theatre of primordial forces of nature speaks to a nation of lonely atheists desperate for meaning on these shaky Isles.

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74 COMMENTS

    • This is said in jest Frank? We already have the lunar new year well and truly recognised by certain parts of the community, it’s just not a national holiday (and has no need to be)

  2. I appreciate the sentiment Martyn, Maori culture is under appreciated and truly rich.
    I can’t help being cynical at the timing of this holiday though, in conjunction with media converting to pidgin and Maorification of everything government, this holiday feels like a softening up exercise for the co governance being forced on us unwanted.
    It’s highly political, never mind calls to not commercialize it – just look at the plethora of opinion articles pushing all sorts of barrows. Revisionism is the new thing.

    • Keepcalmcarryon. It could be part of the softening-up process, just like Kelvin Davis’s unwarranted attack on all white politicians’ ancestry was, even though it was not particularly soft or accurate.

  3. Interesting you say that Martyn, my partner sent out a text to her friends this morning and she got replies straight back for once, all positive about Matatirki, and some feeling a bit teary after watching the TV coverage.

    Despite all the failures, and successes, and incremental changes that few seem to know about, from this Govt. the Matariki public holiday will definitely be a significant legacy for decades to come. And it fits in nicely for a move to a Republic–why have a Queens Birthday when there is no more Queen?

    I live in the Far North and well used to Māori culture in daily life, but this is a new dawn and opportunity–I mean how much more do you want than the Cosmos itself?

    • The QE2 is an evil b**ch, but still slightly better than President of NZ John Key or President of NZ Joe Biden (by default due to the sycophantry of our disgusting, yank loving ruling class).

      God bless the veterans of the Battle of Manners Street.

  5. That warm fuzzy feeling the newly minted homeless get when looking up to the sky. Such empathy.

  6. Yep, I get it Matariki is nice and have learnt a lot in regards to this event, but did we really need/deserve another public holiday.
    Maybe drop Queens birthday or day after New Year

  8. I am not really feeling it, although a midwinter celebration is good.

    I kind of feel about this like mother day and valentines . I not fond of people telling me how, what and when I have to celebrate. Ok I know birthdays and Christmas, but I grew up with them. No one is imposing it on me.

    But I am not completely against Matariki. Wonder how much it has cost us though?

    • Anker. A mid -winter celebration is very welcome in this cold threshold country. Christmases in Budapest – London – Vienna- are a different realm altogether from our silly damn barbecues in the sun. The winter solstice can be celebrated at many levels, but to hell with politicians telling us how to celebrate it. Not their business.

      “ If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”

  10. I will take the holiday as i do Christmas, Easter and all the others and like the others will treat the spirituality and reverence with antipathy.
    Cultures with overt spirituality and ancient beliefs hold no intrest for me including my own ancestory. But if your into that sort of thing knock yourself out.
    Just dont expect me to buy into it and start speaking in tongues.
    Cue the outrage.

    • I’m not a religious person either, but I can still look at the Sistine Chapel and see beauty. I admire and stand with your clarity, but that doesn’t remove the beauty of the Matariki dawn festival.

    • Jack I guess you’d be saying that there’s no spiritual element in rugby worship, or in listening to Beethoven.

    • Ironically the fact that some humans still believe in religion proves that as a species we are still evolving, and some of us have a long way still to go.

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