Auckland primary school Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae scoops top kapa haka prize

Te Kapa Puāwai - Te Kura o Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae. Photo / Facebook / Te Ao Maori News

By RNZ

Te Kura o Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae has taken out the top prize at Te Mana Kuratahi primary school kapa haka competition.

The Auckland based rōpū overcame 45 other schools from across the motu who competed over the four days of competition.

Tauranga’s Maungatapu Primary School finished in second place with another Bay of Plenty school, Te Kura o Te Teko, rounding out the podium in third.

Groups came from schools as far north as Kawakawa and as far south as Christchurch, each bringing around 40 performers.

The competition was hosted in Whakatū, Nelson, by the eight iwi of Te Tauihu o te Waka-a-Maui, with each iwi supporting six schools.

Schools had only 25 minutes to impress the judges, performing six or seven items, waiata tira (choral), whakaeke (entrance song), waiata tawhito (traditional song), waiata ā ringa (action song), poi, haka and whakawātea (exit song).

This was the first time Te Mana Kuratahi has been held in the South Island and it is the first of several kapa haka events lined up for Te Tauihu, with the national secondary school competition to be held in Nelson next year, followed by Te Matatini in 2027.

- RNZ