Te Whānau a Apanui kapa haka rōpū will be competing in the Te Matatini Festival in Auckland. Photo / Supplied
Te Whānau a Apanui kapa haka rōpū will be competing in the Te Matatini Festival in Auckland. Photo / Supplied
The “Olympics” of Māoridom is taking this week with five kapa haka rōpū [teams] from the Mātaatua region set to compete in the biggest kapa haka event in the Māori calendar.
Rōpū from Te Kaha, Ōpōtiki, Ruatāhuna and Tauranga are heading to Te Matatini in Tāmaki Makaurau, which will beheld over four days at Ngā Ana Wai Eden Park from February 22.
Te Matatini is held every two years, in a different city every time, but was last held in 2019 due to Covid-19. It is one of the most highly anticipated events for performers, their whānau and the mass of passionate kapa haka fans throughout the world.
Kapa haka is the major art form through which Māori can access and express their cultural identity in te reo Māori, sharing their unique narratives through the beauty and power of waiata and dance.
Te Whānau a Apanui kapa haka rōpū. Photo / Supplied
Mātaatua Kapa Haka deputy chairman and Te Whānau a Apanui Kapa Haka leader Tamati Waaka said preparation efforts of the rōpū were “enormous and mind-boggling”.
He said the composer prepared six to seven new items one to two years before the competition, including tunes, beats, rhythms, lyrics musical arrangement and choreography.
“A small group then continues on to give life to the initial vision and then teach all of that to 70-odd performers of all ages and abilities. This takes around five months until there is a finished product, or bracket.”
Waaka said members travelled from all over the country to Omaio - a tiny village 45 minutes past Opotiki - from anywhere between Wellington and Kaitaia.
“Costumes are a huge part, with fittings required each and every year. Feeding the tribe is also a huge task, every weekend.”
Te Whānau a Apanui kapa haka rōpū practising. Photo / Supplied
Waaka said he likened Te Matatini to the “Olympics” of Māoridom, as participants needed to be able to perform on stage for 30 minutes.
He said kapa haka performers sang and danced as an entire group.
“Māori have embraced the guitar and harmonies and group singing wholeheartedly therefore each team usually has a singing coach.”
During Covid-19, Waaka said rōpū started practising online.
“But kapa haka is about being in the presence of others to create magic together, so that is a special part of this festival,” Waaka said.
“A lot of people have passed on too since 2019, and as an iwi and as Māori we take our loved ones with us, so a lot of teams will be performing with that in mind.”
Isabelle Ngamoki of Tauira Mai Tawhiti said almost 180 hours of learning physically and mentally demanding wānanga went into creating a 25-minute performance on stage.
“Individuals have made huge sacrifices to travel ... but rewarded through the efforts of the collective to sing and tell their tribal narrative on a world stage about what matters to them, their whānau, hapū and iwi.
“This campaign the kapa have chosen to focus their attention on their tribal importance and decimation of the Raukumara ranges.”
Ngamoki said despite the delay of the festival, the “hunger and passion” of kapa haka had not waned in Tauira Mai Tawhiti and they were “biting at the bit” to display their collective efforts in Tāmaki Makaurau.
