Celebrating Matariki: Response to text

Highlight the answer that best fits:

1  Which star cluster appears in the sky just before dawn in mid-winter?

a) Suzuki

b) Hailey’s comet

c) Matariki

d) Ursa Major

2. What is another name for Matariki?

a) Tupuārangi

b) Hailey’s comet

c) Orion

d) Pleiades

3. When is the Māori New Year celebrated?

a) During winter

b) During spring

c) During summer

d) During autumn

4. What are some common activities during the celebration of Matariki?

a) Playing sports and video games

b) Going on camping trips

c) Lighting fires or lanterns to honour the dead

d) Watching movies and playing board games

5. What is the significance of Matariki to Māori people?

a) It is a time for remembrance, celebration, and looking to the future

b) It is a time to hibernate and stay indoors

c) It marks the start of the summer season

d) It signifies the end of the harvest season

6. Which of the following is NOT a meaning of the Māori name for Matariki, 'Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea'?

a) The Vision of the Sky Father Tāwhirimātea

b) The Eyes of the Sky Father Tāwhirimātea

c) The Stars of the Sky Father Tāwhirimātea

d) The Gaze of the Sky Father Tāwhirimātea

7. What are the stars in Matariki named after?

a) Famous people

b) Food, water, and the sky

c) Planets

d) Animals

8. Which cultures celebrate Matariki?

a) Polynesian only

b) European only

c) Māori only

d) Māori, Polynesian, and European

9. What were some traditional activities during Matariki?

a) Building houses

b) Hunting and fishing

c) Planting crops

d) Storing food for the winter, weaving new clothing and baskets, listening to the stories of ancestors, and learning about the natural world

10. Which star represents the connection to loved ones who have passed away?

    a) Pōhutukawa

    b) Tipuārangi

    c) Waitī

    d) Tipuānuku

11. Which star determines the bounty of foods such as kūmara?

   a) Waitī

   b) Pōhutukawa

   c) Tipuārangi

   d) Tipuānuku

12. Which star is linked to birds and other elevated foods such as fruits and berries from trees?

   a) Pōhutukawa

   b) Tipuārangi

   c) Tipuānuku

   d) Waitī

13. Which star is associated with all freshwater bodies and the food sources sustained by those waters?

   a) Pōhutukawa

   b) Waitī

   c) Tipuārangi

   d) Tipuānuku