A HANGI TO CELEBRATE MATARIKI (Māori New Year)

In Aotearoa New Zealand we celebrate the traditional Māori New Year when the cluster of stars called Matariki (also known as Pleiades) first rises in late June or early July. Traditionally this is the end of the harvest season when all the food stores are full and its a time to reflect, honour the ancestors, symbolically offer food to the Gods and to celebrate with loved ones and community. Here in NZ, Matariki is a public holiday and many of us kiwis like to take the time to prepare the traditional Māori feast called a hangi. This is a method of heating rocks or irons on a fire and then burying them underground with food. The hot rocks steam the food and after several hours of cooking underground the food (kai) is ready to be enjoyed and the taste is delicious! In our family, my brother in law Jimmy is the expert in cooking the hangi. My son Billy and I created a video that shows a story of Jimmy's hangi on the West Coast of the South Island.