What to read this Matariki
Quick reads, long reads and reflection for the new year
Kia ora and welcome to The Weekend. This week we have a short, sweet and special edition of things to read. Since Matariki is a time for reflection, we have some stories about the time itself, as well as some stories from throughout the year. All delivered via bullet points, the world’s most digestible format. Mānawatia a Matariki!
-Shanti Mathias, staff writer
Five things to read about Matariki
How to celebrate Matariki (at the last minute)
A brief guide to the stars of Matariki
Airana Ngarewa remembers Puanga, Taranaki’s tohu of te tau hou
Star maps are a way to see the world as Māori ancestors did
Why Matariki is more than just a holiday
Five great stories from The Spinoff you might have missed
Scamming is everywhere — which is why Nigel Latta wanted to make his new show
Because this newsletter goes out on a Saturday, I don’t usually get to highlight some of our amazing Sunday essays. This one about learning the tradition of “bringing a plate” as an immigrant is wonderful.
And this one about a month of being trans in New Zealand is too
This investigation into the international education industry took me months and I think it’s really good tbh
An incredibly moving article about the hope of IVF
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Five long things that you’ve been meaning to read
Sometimes there is no worse feeling than clicking open a link and seeing that the side bar scroller is really, really tiny…. but maybe a long weekend is the best time to overcome reader’s block?
Take care with this meticulously reported feature about some of the abuse that took place in the Presbyterian Berhampore children’s home
An around-the-world voyage that went very wrong (maybe “following Captain Cook” isn’t such a good idea?)
The argument that Wellington should no longer be the capital of New Zealand
For some reason I am obsessed with semi-conductors and the intense machines that make them. Maybe you can be too?
I’m in Te Waipounamu this weekend and it made me revisit this extract about Māori and maunga from Nic Low’s book
Five things to listen to
This lovely song about Matariki — a total earworm if you want to learn the names of ngā whetu!
This podcast about Dr Rangi Mātāmua’s incredible research into Māori astronomy
I am loving the new season of Stuff The British Stole, about precious stolen objects that ended up in obscure basements and school libraries rather than museums. (For something Aotearoa-specific, the episodes from previous seasons about mokomokai and Te Motonui Epa are wonderful)
These beautiful violin melodies have been really capturing how I feel about winter
I recommended this earlier in the year but I remain obsessed with Force of Nature, an incredible album of contemporary classical music with taonga puoro!
Weekend entertainment
Matariki TV specials abound: take your pick. And what do New Zealand streaming services have at the moment?
Fancy cooking something this weekend? Check out our recipes section, or be inspired by Ingredient of the Week
Do you want your reading list to look like a politician’s? Copy David Parker’s homework — or go for something which isn’t an 800-page book about economics (no judgement) and delve into some of the wonderful recommendations for children’s books from the Unity Books team.
Reignite the debate: are you Thunder or Lightning?
Maybe you just want to be absorbed into someone else’s drama? Here’s the Help Me Hera compendium.
