Weaving a flax star (harakeke whetū) for Matariki

Last week our lovely Māori Relationship Advisor, Jenny, taught a group of us how to weave a harakeke whetū (flax star) for Matariki. I took photos to remind myself how to do it and thought I’d share them with you.

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. Every year in June, they rise to the north-east and when they are visible just above the horizon at dawn it is considered Matariki, or Māori New Year.  Matariki literally means the ‘eyes of god’ (mata ariki) or ‘little eyes’ (mata riki). According to myth, when Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother, were separated by their children, the god of the winds, Tāwhirimātea, became so angry that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens. Traditionally, Matariki was a time to remember those who had died in the last year. But it was also a happy event – crops had been harvested and seafood and birds had been collected. With plenty of food in the storehouses, Matariki was a time for singing, dancing and feasting.

Preparing the flax
When you harvest the harakeke or flax you must show respect. First, you must give thanks to the plant and also to Tane Mahuta and his wives who, in Maori myth, were responsible for the natural world. The correct way to cut the flax involves harvesting only the outside spears and leaving the “rito” (baby) and awhi-rito (parents) in the middle so the plant can rejuvenate. All offcuts and unused flax should be returned to the plant of origin.

You will need four weaving strands. Start with two flax leaves – remove the woody part at the bottom where the leaves start to fuse and trim away the tatty bits at the top. Fold the leaves together in the middle, shiny sides facing inwards. Insert your thumb nail approx 5mm from inner rib and pierce the flax. Run your thumb nail up the edge from the bottom, stripping the edge off. Repeat with outer edge to leave two strips about 1 cm wide (depending how big you want your star). Repeat with other spear so that you have four lengths – note that they have a shiny side and a dull side.

Windmill knot
The first and hardest part of weaving your harakeke whetu is to get the central windmill knot set up.
Take 2 of the strips and place them on top of each other with both shiny sides facing upwards.
Hold them in your left hand and wrap the top part down and around your hand. Adjust so that the loop is roughly in the middle.

Take the other 2 strips and slide them horizontally between the 2 strips in your hand (under the right hand one and over the left hand one) to form a cross.

Take the left hand side of both the horizontal strips and wrap them around behind your hand from left to right; then bring them to the front above the first horizontal strip, weaving them over the right hand strip and under the left hand strip.

Now carefully remove your hand and pull all the ends to tighten up the square windmill knot so that it will stay in place. Adjust it as you go to try to get the knot roughly in the middle of the strips and the ends even.

Turn the knot over. You will see a diagonal cross pattern on the other side.