VENUE: Island Bay Presbyterian Church, 88 The Parade, Island Bay
MATARIKI - MĀORI NEW YEAR
* In the year 2000, the military satellites which enabled the GPS (Global Positioning System) making possible the mapping technology which we now take for granted, were de-militarised by President Bill Clinton. The rest is history.
* So, what's this got to do with Matariki? Satellites and stars are both heavenly objects, of a sort. So let's celebrate the newest public holiday in New Zealand, and combine it with the anniversary of the start of geocaching. These Community Celebration Events were originally intended to be held in 2020, but COVID-19 put paid to that. Thankfully, the Events were permitted to be held until the end of 2021, and then 2022, so we can still celebrate!
MATARIKI in Māori folklore:
According to Māori mythology, the star cluster was believed to emerge from Tāwhirimātea who had gouged his eyes out of rage from the separation of his parents Ranginui and Papatūānuku. 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 (Alcyone), with the surrounding stars named Tupu-ā-nuku (Pleione), Tupu-ā-rangi (Atlas), Waitī (Maia), Waitā (Taygeta), Waipunā-ā-rangi (Electra) and Ururangi (Merope).
THIS EVENT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT ...
On the morning of this Celebration Event, I am going to publish my newest Adventure Lab. which will end up, shall I say, somewhere near here. If you have the time, or the inclination, to start your geocaching day with that, good on you! There could be a small convoy of AdLabbers chasing each other. But it's not compulsory ... no FTF's are awarded for Adventure Labs.
... BUT ALSO THE SAME!
The Event itself will follow a similar format to Infoferret's recent Event (GC9QY79) in Ngaio (even with a preceding CITO). Barefootguru has his CC-CITO at 10 on the morning of this event.
Looking forward to seeing as many of you as can make it. Remember, it's a public holiday. Happy Matariki!
COVID:
This event is planned under the COVID gathering restrictions in place at May 2022. If the alert level changes, I will update the cache page and put out an announcement as necessary. But of course, if you are feeling unwell, please do not attend.
The venue does have a QR code for you to scan in, but this is no longer compulsory. I'll use the Event Log as a means of recording attendance.
"COs are being asked to communicate this by the reviewers in advance, so everyone is aware of the rules required by the Ministry of Health to attend this event."
COMMUNITY CELEBRATION EVENTS - 2020-2022:
This Event is part of a limited release of Community Celebration Events to celebrate 20 years of geocaching. Geocachers are hosting events between May 2, 2020 and December 31, 2022. Learn more about Community Celebration Events on the Geocaching Blog.