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Posts by Zingela Property Management Ltd
1297 days ago

Understanding Māori Culture - Matariki

Zingela Property Management Ltd

Matariki is the Māori name for the Pleiades star cluster.

It rises during Pipiri (June/July) and marks the beginning of the Māori new year. The word is an abbreviation of Ngā Mata o te Ariki (Eyes of God) in reference to Tāwhirimātea, god of the wind and weather. In the story of creation, Tāne Mahuta (god of the forest) separated his parents Ranginui and Papatūānuku, and his brother Tāwhirimātea got upset and tore out his eyes, crushed them into pieces and thew them into the sky.
Traditionally, Maori iwi, or communities, would gather together at night during a time of the constellation's prominence, making use of the period between harvests to celebrate and make offerings for a bountiful future.
When Matariki disappeared in April/May, it was time to preserve crops for the winter season. When it re-appeared in June/July its appearance was said to predict the success of the season ahead; clear bright stars are a good omen and hazy stars predict a cold, harsh winter. The brightness of each individual star predicts the fortunes of a specific thing that star represents, such as the wind or food that grows in trees.

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More messages from your neighbours
11 days ago

Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.

If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?

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Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
  • 62.5% Summer
    62.5% Complete
  • 36% Winter
    36% Complete
  • 1.5% Other - I'll share below
    1.5% Complete
1887 votes
4 hours ago

What word sums up 2024, neighbours?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....

In one word, how would you define 2024?

We're excited to see what you come up with!

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J
12 hours ago

Advice on hedgehog please

Justine from Saint Johns

Hi neighbours
We seem to have a hedgehog walking around our lawn for the last few days during the day. We thought it was just a one off when we first saw him/her and put some bread out soaked in milk ( have since learned that this isn’t good ) but he’s been seen a few other times since. When we tried to pick him up I noticed his eye was closed or crusty almost and he had a patch where the spikes were missing ( is this mange ?)

We don’t know what to do to get it help. Does anyone know if there’s a rescue type place that can help?