Lata Peautolu is one of about 50 warriors attending practice haka sessions at the Gate Pa Historic Reserve. Photo / George Novak
Lata Peautolu is one of about 50 warriors attending practice haka sessions at the Gate Pa Historic Reserve. Photo / George Novak
More than 500 warriors are practising their haka for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gate Pa.
Leader Awanui Black said several haka would be used for the commemorations.
"Some are of some antiquity and were done in the times of our ancestors. We have one relatively contemporary compositionthat I composed. The main haka was composed by Reweti Te Mete and myself, which we are in the process of teaching to our warriors and to the leaders of different groups."
Warriors had gone to eight primary schools and most of the secondary schools in the Western Bay to teach young people the kapa haka, and he said about 300 people in Tauranga were learning the haka and members of 12 tribes from the central North Island would be joining local warriors for the April 29 commemoration service.
"On the day there will be more than 500 people involved in the haka to honour our ancestors, to honour those generations and those to come."
Warriors were also gathering at the Gate Pa Historic Reserve on Mondays and Wednesdays to rehearse, he said. About 50 people were attending the sessions.
