Matariki
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Pleiades_large.jpg
Pleiades_large.jpg
The Pleiades star cluster, known to the Maori as Matariki (NASA/ESA/AURA/Caltech image)
In Polynesian mythology (specifically the Maori of New Zealand), the Matariki ("small eyes") are the seven gods of the Pleiades, deities of agriculture and patron deities of navigators.
Matariki is also the name of the Maori new year, which is celebrated at a time associated with the first rising of the Matariki constellation in the morning sky, just prior to sunrise. The actual time for celebrating Matariki varies, depending on the iwi. Some iwi celebrate it immediately. Others wait until the rising of the next full moon, or alternatively the dawn of the next new moon.