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In the Māori language Matariki is both the name of the Pleiades star cluster and also of the season of its first rising〔("... in New Zealand it was the heliacal rising of that group that marked the new year" ), The Astronomical Knowledge of the Maori, Elsdon Best〕 in late May or early June—taken as the beginning of the new year.〔("Winter stars" ), Te Ara website〕 Similar words occur in most Polynesian languages, deriving from Proto-Polynesian *''mataliki'', meaning ''minute, small'', and the use of the term for the Pleiades constellation is also ancient and has been reconstructed to Eastern Oceanic.〔Polynesian Lexicon Project Online, entries ( *mata-liki.1 ) and ( *mata-liki.2a )〕〔("On Stars, and Star Lore" ), ''The Maori: Yesterday and To-day'', James Cowan, 1930〕 ==Māori== The constellation was important for navigation and timing the seasons. The first rising of the Pleiades and of Rigel (''Puanga'' in northern Māori, ''Puaka'' in southern Māori) occurs just prior to sunrise in late May or early June. The actual time for the celebration of Matariki varies, some iwi (tribe or clan) celebrate it immediately, others wait until the rising of the next full moon, or the dawn of the next new moon—and others use the rising of Puanga/Rigel in a similar way.〔("Stars are set for a happy Maori New Year" ), Tariana Turia on the Maori Party website〕〔 ()〕 In traditional times, Matariki was a season to celebrate and to prepare the ground for the coming year. Offerings of the produce of the land were made to the gods, including Rongo, god of cultivated food. This time of the year was also a good time to instruct young people in the lore of the land and the forest. In addition, certain birds and fish were especially easy to harvest at this time. The name Matariki is used also for the central star in the cluster, with the surrounding stars named Tupu-a-nuku, Tupu-a-rangi, Waiti, Waita, Waipuna-a-rangi and Ururangi. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Matariki」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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