Kāhu ki Rotorua: He kakanō i rūia mai i Rarotonga - While Te Matatini pauses, Rarotonga calls

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Kāre e tino kītea ana te wairua kapakapa o Te Whakarewarewa, The Living Village inākuanei, i tū ai ia hei wāhi whakakitenga mā ngā turuhi o te ao.

Nā te mate urutā tonu i pēnei ai. E rere mokemoke nei ngā wai o te Puarenga i te korenga o te hunga ruku-kapa, kai whea kē ngā tamariki e takoto kau ana i te piriti me ō rātou tāora?

Ka rua, kai whea hoki ngā ngeru o te pā? Kua aua noa atu te katoa. Otīā, whakawhitia e koe te piriti ka mā te rori o Tukiterangi ki te whare karakia Katorika ka rangona ai ōu taringa i ngā reo korokī o te iwi nei o Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao e pāorooro kau ana.

Nā tā rātou tū rangatira i Te Matatini ki te Ao 2019 ka kaha whakaritea e te kapa mō te whakataetae Matatini 2021 ki Tamaki Makaurau. Pāpā te whatitiri, hihiko te uira, ka patua tātou e te mate urutā, ka whakakorengia te Matatini ka hikina ki te tētehi anō tau.

Ka tū Te Matatini a te Pepuere a te tau e rua mano, e rua tekau mā toru ( kia kaha mai!). Engari ko te mahi nui ko te manaaki i te wairua o te kapa kia kōtahi tonu ai te tukinga o te manawa.

Ka hui te kōmiti nui rokohanga atu he kaupapa whakahikihiki wairua ka tū ki Rarotonga, ko te hui ahurei o Te Maeva he kaupapa whakamihi i te mana rangatira o ngā Kuki Airani.

"He kaupapa whakakōtahi i tā mātou kapa haka, ko te pae tawhiti ko te kawe atu i tētehi pahi kapa haka e toru tekau o ngā tangata haka hai te hiku o te marama o Hūrae nei' hai tā Milly Ruaporo tētehi o ngā ika-ā-whiro e whai whakapapa nei ki a Ngai Te Arawa me ngā iwi o ngā Kuki Airani.

'Ko ahau tētehi o ngā kaumātua o te pahi" – hai tā Milly.

Kua puta te reo pāoho ki ngā iwi huhua o Poronēhia me ngā iwi taketake o te ao whānui. ' Ko te tikanga ka kapa haka hoki ai mātou, kai te kawea hoki ngā tamariki hei whakapakari hoki i a rātou ki te tū – ko tēnei mea te whānau te uho o tā mātou haka'.

Ko ngā konohete nei ka tū i te pā he āwhinatanga i a mātou ki te pena pūtea e noho ngātahi nei me tā rātou poutautoko, the Village Tours. He wā whakakōtahi anō i a rātou ka rua, he wā whakapakari hoki i tō rātou mōhiohio ki ngā waiata whakangahau hāunga ngā waiata ka waiatangia e rātou ki te ātamira.

Ae, he kaupapa penapena pūtea, engari he awhina hoki i tō rātou pā he whakangāhau atu ki te tini manuwhiri ka ū mai ki tō rātou kāinga.

Ko ngā kaihaka ēnei nō te Kapa Haka ō Tuhourangi-Ngāti Wāhiao e whakangahau atu ana ki ngā manuhiri nō ngā hau ē whā. Whakaahua/Homaitanga

Hāunga te kapa haka ko ētehi atu o ngā mahi manaaki manuwhiri ko te hakoke a pahikara-e, me te whakahope atu ki tētehi o ngā pou arataki māna te pā e whakakōrero.

Kai te whārangi ipurangi o te pā o Whakarewarewa katoa ngā whakamaramatanga.
Ko tētehi atu o ngā kaupapa penapena pūtea kua oti noa atu e te whānau ko te tohatoha atu kia kotahi mano e rima rau o ngā hangi ki te hāpori he kaupapa tautoko i te pūwero mate urutā ā motukā kua pahemo atu nei.

Hai tā te pou whakahaere me te tiamana o te kōmiti nei a Watu Mihinui, he tino waimarie nō te kapa kia riro mai i a rātou tēnei kirimana he mea ngāwari hoki ki te tunu i ngā hangi i ngā waiariki o te pā.

Kāore anō kia puta noa atu tēnei kapa i Aotearoa nei hei kapa, ko te take i whakaarongia ai a Rarotonga he mea ngāwari kau, tirohia te whakapapa me ngā pūrākau o te kāinga kai reira te pūtake – nō ngā moutere tātou, nō Poronēhia, ā, nō Rangiātea.

'He kaupapa whakawhanaungatanga hoki tēnei kia kāua ai tātou e matata". 'Mātua hoki e pūare kau ana a Rarotonga, he ahakoa te ngārara mate urutā e hāereere nei'.

He ahakoa i whakatūria ai tēnei rōpū i te tau kotahi mano e iwa rau e waru tekau mā rima kai te whakapau kaha tonu rātou ki te pena pūtea. Ka mana ai tēnei hiahia o rātou i ngā konohete hei tā Watu Mihinui, 'he mea Māori noa tēnei āhuatanga ki a mātou'.

"He huihuinga whakamaumāharatanga kē tā mātou konohete tuatahi inā rawa te roa e noho wehe ana mātou ko te Oketopa o te tau tawhito kē te wā i kitekite nei tātou i a tātou – hari koa ana te ngākau'.

'He ahakoa hoki kai te pēke ētehi moni, ko te tikanga ki tēnei haerenga me whakatakotoria e rua rau tāra e ia tangata e ia tangata , he mea kore whakahoki atu ki te tangata tuku, kāti, ko te take o te pena pūtea kia ora ai o tātou pūkoro- mā te whakarite tika te waka ka tere."

Whakarewarewa, The Living Maori Village, shows few signs of the bustling life that made it a must-see on tourists' itinerary.

Thanks to Covid-19 and lockdowns, international tourists are a memory.

The Puarenga is empty of penny divers, tamariki are few and far between on the road. Even the stray cats are scarce.

But make your way across the bridge and up Tukiterangi Drive towards the catholic church around noon every day during the month of January and you will hear the unmistakeable sound of haka.

And the distinctive sound of Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao.

Buoyed by a successful outing at Te Matatini ki Te Ao 2019 the kapa was looking forward to Te Matatini 2021 at Tamaki Makaurau.

Then Covid-19 struck and the 2021 event was postponed another year, still to be at Eden Park in Tamaki Makaurau.

"The lunchtime concerts are a bonding session with the aim of taking a team of 30 to Raro at the end of July." Photo / Supplied

It's now been pushed out to February 2023 (hopefully).

But keeping the kapa together and engaged is not so easy without an end goal in sight.

The kapa committee looked around and after consulting members decided a trip to Rarotonga for the 10-day Te Maeva Festival, a celebration of Cook Islands culture. The biennial event marks the Cook Islands constitution.

"The lunchtime concerts are a bonding session with the aim of taking a team of 30 to Raro at the end of July," said Milly Ruaporo a senior kapa performer whose whakapapa embraces Te Arawa and the Cook Islands.

"I'm one of the geri[atric]s" says Milly.

All the motu of Polynesia have been invited, said Milly, as well as indigenous people from all over the world.

"We are going to be performing there too. Many of the team are taking their children so it will be a chance for the next generation to get some experience.

"Families are all part of the practices too."

The concerts in the village are part of a fundraising effort by the kapa, in conjunction with their sponsor, the Village Tours.

They are a chance to keep the team on their toes and to expand their repertoire to include numbers not usually presented on the Matatini stage.

As well as being a major fundraiser for the kapa the concerts all the Village Tours to further expand the Whakarewarewa experience for tourists.

The Tours also offer e-bikes and trail hikes as well as guided tours.

The Whakarewarewa Village page shares videos and advertises the concerts.

Another major fundraiser for the kapa was providing 1500 prepacked hangi meals for the Covid drive-through vaccination hub.

Watu Mihinui, co-ordinator and chair of the kapa organising committee, said the kapa was fortunate to win the contract for the hangi meals which were cooked in the natural steam boxes at Whakarewarewa.

The team has never travelled as a kapa overseas before and Rarotonga seemed fitting because of the Te Arawa hononga to the islands as our tupuna waka called there on its journey from Rangiatea.

"This is an incentive to keep us together, continue our whakawhanaungatanga.

"As well, Rarotonga has no border restrictions."

While the group, formed in 1985, is hard out fundraising through its concerts, Watu said it's just a normal part of kapa culture.

"The first concert was like a big reunion, the first time the kapa had been together since our muster in October. It was great.

"Even though we have reserves and for this trip there is a $200 non-refundable deposit, we always fundraise so that when we attend an event there is always something for our pockets."