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misspaul

Scent for Matariki (Maori new year)

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I'm looking for reccs for a few scents that embody the different aspects of Matariki.

 

In New Zealand, the indigenous people celebrate New Year in mid-June when Matariki (the star cluster otherwise known as the Pleiades or the 7 sisters) reappears in the northern pre-dawn sky. For us, it also coincides with mid-winter and the winter solstice.

 

The rise of Matariki traditionally means a lot of things - the end of harvest and a time of plenty, celebrating and feasting; grief for the dead - as the stars are said to house their souls; the stars were also used to indicate when the next crop planting should occur.

 

Matariki has different legends depending on which tribe you're from. My favourite is that, when Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother were separated by their offspring, the god of the winds, Tāwhirimātea, became enraged, tearing out his eyes and hurling them into the heavens. Hence the name of the star cluster - Mata ariki: eyes of god.

 

Any ideas anyone? I'm thinking of a scent that invokes an image of the lone look out, just before dawn, standing in the cold and peering intently at the sky waiting to see if Matariki will finally rise. A scent that embodies the blue stars that house the dead. The cold rage of Tawhirimatea. Feasting and Celebrations. The end of harvest.

 

I'm completely open to suggestions here! It's a bit late for this year but at least I'll be prepared for next June!

Edited by misspaul

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I'm looking for reccs for a few scents that embody the different aspects of Matariki.

 

In New Zealand, the indigenous people celebrate New Year in mid-June when Matariki (the star cluster otherwise known as the Pleiades or the 7 sisters) reappears in the northern pre-dawn sky. For us, it also coincides with mid-winter and the winter solstice.

 

The rise of Matariki traditionally means a lot of things - the end of harvest and a time of plenty, celebrating and feasting; grief for the dead - as the stars are said to house their souls; the stars were also used to indicate when the next crop planting should occur.

 

Matariki has different legends depending on which tribe you're from. My favourite is that, when Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother were separated by their offspring, the god of the winds, Tāwhirimātea, became enraged, tearing out his eyes and hurling them into the heavens. Hence the name of the star cluster - Mata ariki: eyes of god.

 

Any ideas anyone? I'm thinking of a scent that invokes an image of the lone look out, just before dawn, standing in the cold and peering intently at the sky waiting to see if Matariki will finally rise. A scent that embodies the blue stars that house the dead. The cold rage of Tawhirimatea. Feasting and Celebrations. The end of harvest.

 

I'm completely open to suggestions here! It's a bit late for this year but at least I'll be prepared for next June!

Wow - what a fascinating holiday! And quite a challenge to embody with a single BPAL. :) I'm sure you'll get all sorts of interesting suggestions.

 

For the eyes of the god, you might consider, from Excolo:

THE ZORYA

Also called the Auroras. The Slavic Triple Goddesses of the Dawn, Sky and Light, who govern the paths of the day. The guard the constellation Ursa Minor from the chained Hound of Doomsday; should they ever fail in their duty, and the chain breaks, the universe will end.

 

UTRENNYAYA, The Morning Star

Osmanthus, Damascus rose, violet, delphinium, white mint, palmarosa and white sandalwood.

 

VECHERNYAYA, The Evening Star

Three white musks with poppy and patchouli.

 

ZORYA, The Midnight Star

Spices of the Orient mingle with crystalline musk, midnight flowers and cereus, jasmine, primrose and vesper iris.

 

For 'the blue stars that house the dead', I thought of

SILENCE (The Salon)

White sandalwood, iris, blue musk, lotus root, moonflower, plum blossom, green tea, white mint and white peach.

 

The image of the lookout, the cold night, and the hope for a successful harvest are tough. Maybe

THE BLACK TOWER (Bewitching Brews)

A sepulchral, desolate scent. Long-dead soldiers, oath-bound; the perfume of their armor, the chill wind that surges through their tower, white bone and blackened steel: white sandalwood, ambergris, wet ozone, galbanum and leather with ebony, teak, burnt grasses, English ivy and a hint of red wine.

 

What do you think? Anything resonate from those?

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Unfortunately it's not an official holiday yet - although there has been a lot of support to replace Queen's Birthday weekend with Matariki. Fingers crossed!

 

Thank you so much for your suggestions Tacey! From the reviews I've seen of Silence it looks absolutely dead on perfect for what I had in mind - awesome suggestion! I've thought about the Zorya's but I don't know if they have the cold but beautiful feeling I'd like.

 

The problem with Black Tower is that it just sounds so... english...LOL. Think of something more like this: 1.1258885421.maori-chief.jpg

 

Only maybe a little less stylised and way colder! ;)

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Unfortunately it's not an official holiday yet - although there has been a lot of support to replace Queen's Birthday weekend with Matariki. Fingers crossed!

 

Thank you so much for your suggestions Tacey! From the reviews I've seen of Silence it looks absolutely dead on perfect for what I had in mind - awesome suggestion! I've thought about the Zorya's but I don't know if they have the cold but beautiful feeling I'd like.

 

The problem with Black Tower is that it just sounds so... english...LOL. Think of something more like this: <snip big pic>

 

Only maybe a little less stylised and way colder! ;)

Ooooh, nice image! I see why Black Tower doesn't work! Hmmmm... it's certainly not cold, but what about

THE WILD MEN OF JEZIRAT AL TENNYN

Fiery, primal, and precociously diabolical: red amber, Spanish moss, Indonesian patchouli, ambergris, red pepper, two cloves, and vanilla flower.

 

Or maybe one of these? I'm looking for something that suggests that cold jungle, with a hint of loneliness (for the sole watcher)

THE ISLES OF DEMONS

Twin islands near Newfoundland, now lost, that were believed to be gateways to Hell. The scent is of wet, dark greenery, carnivorous flowers, volcanic gas, and the hot black musk of the demons and wild beasts that populated the islands.

 

ÎLE DE LA TORTUE

Damp air trapped in limestone caverns, heady greenery, hothouse orchids, nicotiana blossoms, bois de chandel, elemi, palm wine, garambullo, pega-pega, flame of the forest, and a swirl of Haitian vetiver.

 

NIFLHEIM

The House of Mists, a land of icy fog, shadowy darkness and soul-chilling cold. Dark, damp blossoms winding through an impenetrable, murky gloom.

Edited by tacey

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I'd never heard about Maori New Year before. How neat!

Are you open to past LEs? There are plenty of chillier notes once you consider winter scents...

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I'd never heard about Maori New Year before. How neat!

Are you open to past LEs? There are plenty of chillier notes once you consider winter scents...

 

Not surprising - it died out as a celebration in the 1940's (colonisation strikes again) and only experienced a resurgence 10 years ago. It's quite big now, we have all sorts of music festivals, gatherings, feasts, tournaments etc.

 

I'm open to hearing about past LEs but probably only as a curiosity and to take notes in case something comes back or has a GC equivalent. I only buy from the Lab directly (although I often find myself pining for Snow Glass Apples... it just sounds heavenly!!).

 

Hey, what do you think of "Death of the grave digger"? Is it just a little too dark/depressing maybe?

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Hey, what do you think of "Death of the grave digger"? Is it just a little too dark/depressing maybe?

 

It's cold, earthy, and solitary - not depressing, I don't think. Not anticipatory or green, either, though. For the cold, quiet, stillness - that could work! You might consider Cloister Graveyard in the Snow for a related concept.

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Hey, what do you think of "Death of the grave digger"? Is it just a little too dark/depressing maybe?

 

It's cold, earthy, and solitary - not depressing, I don't think. Not anticipatory or green, either, though. For the cold, quiet, stillness - that could work! You might consider Cloister Graveyard in the Snow for a related concept.

 

hmmm. ..one of these two could potentially be a great scent to wear to a dawn ceremony... Especially "Cloister graveyard in the snow"

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I have been fascinated with Maori culture for years, I think the tattoos are amazing ( and I am not a tattoo person ), and I covet the art. Thank you for sharing this with us. :)

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I have been fascinated with Maori culture for years, I think the tattoos are amazing ( and I am not a tattoo person ), and I covet the art. Thank you for sharing this with us. :)

 

You're more than welcome :D I love the tattoos too, I have been meaning to get one for a few years now but I haven't yet found an artist I vibe with. One of the cool things about them is that they tell entire family histories and - if they're done properly, each one is meant to be unique.

 

I have fantasies that one day Elizabeth will add a Maori deity to her Excolo line! LOL - one can only wish right? :beg:

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knowing Beth I wouldn't be surprised. :) If she made one, what scents do you think would be right for it? I'm really curious, I have no idea what New Zealand smells like, or a Maori deity for that matter!

 

I have to also admit, I think Maori men are sexy as hell. :blush: I once had a year long flirtation with a Maori man who owned a salmon farm. He was also an artist, he did pendants out of abalone shells. He was a very intelligent, eloquent man.

Edited by Kristana

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Kumari Kandam might fit the bill as well

 

It definitely has a chill and the florals are soft and have a Pacific vibe for me

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knowing Beth I wouldn't be surprised. :) If she made one, what scents do you think would be right for it? I'm really curious, I have no idea what New Zealand smells like, or a Maori deity for that matter!

 

I have to also admit, I think Maori men are sexy as hell. :blush: I once had a year long flirtation with a Maori man who owned a salmon farm. He was also an artist, he did pendants out of abalone shells. He was a very intelligent, eloquent man.

 

LOL - yes I've heard our boys are popular overseas.

 

Hmmm... I'm no perfumer but for me the scents would have a heavy wood and green vibe. Sun warmed earth and stone, peppery herbs, sharp green flax, manuka honey, warm skin, berries... NZ doesn't really have much in the way of fragrant native flowers except for the Kowhai tree - which apparently smells like wild honeysuckle (never smelt real honeysuckle so I don't know). I love Kowhai trees - our birds regularly get drunk off the nectar and you find them passed out underneath them.

 

I don't know what a Maori deity smells like either. But I know the three I'd love to have represented in a scent (actually if you have any recs for these three go ahead):

 

My favourite - Mahuika (she's my avatar...love her :wub2: ), Goddess of fire. Hell of a temper. Lives in the base of a volcano.

 

Hine-nui-te-po (literally: Great woman of the night): originally Hine-ahu-one the Dawn Maiden, first daughter born of a mortal woman and a god. She flipped out when she found out her husband was actually also her father Tane (the God of the forest and fertilisation). She ran to the spirit world where she became the goddess of night and death, and the Guardian of the underworld (Yup, death is a woman - love it).

 

and finally there's Maui: trickster demi-god and the one who tricks the secret of fire from Mahuika. He also trapped the sun with flax ropes and beat the crap out of it because he thought it moved too fast. He's sort of the lovable rogue of our stories. He eventually winds up crushed between Hine-nui-te-po's legs when he tried to make mankind immortal by crawling up into her womb and killing her. He failed and ironically became the first man to die.

 

Whew...please excuse the long, slightly off topic post :blush: I love myths, legends, powerful women etc...

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