Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
He kaupapa motuhake nei ki a Te Arawa ko Wheturangihia. He kaupapa whakanui i te kāhui whetu e tere nā i te rangi i a Matariki. He waka kawe hoki i ngā mahi a Rēhia e noho mātau ai te hāpori o Rotorua ki te haka me ngā koringa a Tānerore.
He kaupapa nā Te Whare Tapere o Te Arawa. Ko te whare Rēhia tēnei e kaha pikau ana i ngā taniwha oreore o te ao kapa haka.
Ko ngā poupou o te whare, he pukenga nui, he mātanga haka, he tohunga ki te kanikani, he toa ki te tiata, he rangatira ki ngā mahi pouaka whakaata, kai kōnei hoki ētehi tangata mātau ki ngā taonga whakangahau o nehe, ā, me te raweke hoki i ngā taonga matihiko o te ao hou.
Hai te Hūrae te kotahi ngāhuru mā rua tae ki te kotahi ngāhuru mā toru tū ai tēnei whakakitenga ki te whare whakangāhau o Tā Howard Morrison.Ka mātai ake te titio o te whakakitenga ki tētehi rangatahi tokorua e hikoihia ana i ngā huarahi kōpikopiko o te ao, ko ngā taumahatanga me ngā kaupapa papai ka pā ki a rāua engari rā e arahina ana rāua e Te Kāhui o Matariki.
Ka roa rāua me te kaupapa e haerehia ana ka pūāwai te wairua atawhai o ngā whetu e iwa,whaihoki ka mārama hoki te tokorua nei ki tō rāua hononga ki te taiao, kātahi ka tīramarama ai.
Ko Tiaria Manipoto me Rona Waerea-Tamai ngā pou whakaari. Wheoi anō, nō te tau e rua mano, kotahi tekau mā iwa whakarewa ai tēnei whare ngāhau a Te Whare Tapere o Te Arawa. Ko te take o te whare he kawe, he whakarauora i ngā tatai kōrero mana nui o Te Arawa ā whakaari nei.Ko Tiaria (Nō Ngai Te Arawa me Tuwharetoa) te tamāhine a Marg rāua ko Maru Maniapoto.
Ko te tūranga ngāhau ki a ia mō tēnei whakakitenga ko Matariki. " Ko te aronga o ngā whakaharatau ko te waiata me te haka. E harikoa ana taku ngākau e noho nei ahau me ēnei rangatira nui. Engari ko te whakahaeretanga he mea nui mai i te timatatanga. E tūmeke hoki nei ahau ki te momo o ngā pouako, he mōhio nōku he waimarie māua ko taku hoa i ēnei tūranga whakangāhau.
Kāti he kaupapa tika hoki tēnei heaikawe i te mana o te rangatahi Māori’.
Ko Zeeah-Rona Rangimakehu Waerea-Tamai he tamāhine nā Marewa Waerea rāua ko Shaun Tamai. Ko riro i a ia he tūranga whakangāhau hoki.
He kotahi tekau mā whitu te rahi o Rona, tuturu ko ōna kāwai whakapapa he Ngai Te Arawa, he Kahungunu, he Kai Tahu, he Ngai Te Rangi hoki. Ko te tū ki te whakangāhau te pito mata o tōna ao hurihuri. Engari ko tētehi o ngā mea whakamīharo rawa ki a ia ko te ako, he ahakoa te kaupapa, he ahakoa te momo o te tiata me te momo o ngā ringa tohu.
Nōna te waimarie ki te kawe i te ao Māori ki te ātea nui o te kāinga. ‘Ko oku whakaaro noa ēnei, ae, ka whakaurua he momo rerekē o te ao whakaari mō te tangata rata ki te whakaari tēnā i ēra atu tūāhuatanga o te ahurea Māori.
Me te titiro ki te pae tawhiti, pea ka rere tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira ki ngā kokonga huhua o te ao tūroa, he whakaihiiihi hoki i ngā tamariki katoa ki te tahuri mai ki tēnei mea te whakaari e mahi tahi ana me te kapa haka’.
He kanohi kitea, he whetū ū ki te ātea o te ao whakaari otia te ātamira a Rona. He manu korohī mako nō te papa waiata o te Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra ia.
E titiro nei tātau ki Te Whare Tapere o Te Arawa kātahi nā ka mātau ai te hinekapo ki te take e mana ai te whare. Ko ngā poupou o te whare, he rangatira katoa. Ko te nuinga o ngā rangatira he pouako, ko te nuinga hoki kua niho roa ki te whare o Rēhia me te whare tapere o Te Arawa whānui tonu.Kua mana te hau rongo kua tae ki ngā whaitua o te ao whānui.
Ko te wāhanga ki a rātau he whakawhitawhita me te manaaki hoki ngā pīrere ki a māia ai te tarouma ki a kāua hoki rātau e āwangawanga i te wehi o te ao whakaari.
Engari anō ki te whakapakari hoki i te puna kawe kōrero o te kāinga, ā, e toa ai rātau ki te huarahi o te whakaari ki roto i te kaha o tō rātau mana motuhake.
Nō ngā hau e whā o te takiwā Waiariki ngā pouwhakaari o Wheturangihia. Ko ētehi nō te kura o ngā kōhine, nō Raukura, nō Te Kura o Maketū, nō Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu, nō Te Whare Kura o Ngāti Rongomai me Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hurungaterangi.
E mihi kau ana e kare mā.
—Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori tenei purongo
Wheturangihia is a unique Te Arawa production to celebrate Matariki — and introduces the community to a new world of haka theatre.
It is the dream of Te Whare Tapere o Te Arawa collective whose members share a diverse range of skills, with various specialists in haka, dance, theatre, film, TV, music, traditional arts, textiles, and animation.
The show, which will run at the Sir Howard Morrison Centre on July 12-13, features two rangatahi who navigate some of life’s hardships using Te Kāhui o Matariki as their guides.
The nine stars of Matariki come alive as they provide clarity to their connection with te taiao. Tiaria Maniapoto and Rona Waerea-Tamai have been chosen for the principal roles and are looking forward to seeing it come to life.
Te Whare Tapere o Te Arawa started in 2019, and its aim is to design and deliver haka theatre productions celebrating uniquely Te Arawa stories through excellence in all aspects of the arts.
Tiaria (Te Arawa, Tuwharetoa),student at Te Kura o Te Koutu and the daughter of Maru and Marg Maniapoto, plays the character Matariki.
“During practices we have been working on learning the singing and haka parts.
“At the moment I am loving it, the people, the tutors, and to see things start to happen.
“It is so cool to see the talented tutors coming in and helping us with our vocals. This is a very cool opportunity for rangatahi māori, and I am very fortunate to be a part of it, and I am so excited to see it come together.”
Zeeah Rona Rangimakehu Waerea-Tamai (Rona) also a student at Te Kura o Te Koutu and the daughter of Shaun Tamai and Jasmine Waerea, is the other principal character.
Rona, 17, who has whakapapa to Te Arawa, Kahungunu, Kaitahu, and Ngai Te Rangi, loves being able to showcase Te Ao Māori in a production. For her, the best part of being in the cast is learning new styles, learning under a new set of tutors, and being able to showcase Te Ao Māori in a production.
“I believe it will introduce a new type of style for someone who prefers acting instead of other māori cultural things. My hopes for this program is that it will go world-wide and inspire up and coming actors and tamariki Māori to experience a whole new type of genre of haka/acting.”
Rona is no stranger to the stage, having sung with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra.
Members of Te Whare Tapere o Te Arawa, many of whom are teachers, bring a wealth of experience as many have performed locally and internationally.
They now aspire to bring their pūkenga home, with the intention to open doors to the wider pool of talent in the rohe and pass on knowledge to rangatahi who wish to forge their own pathway using their voices to tell their stories. Our stories.
The Whetūrangihia cast consists of rangatahi from various kura within Rotorua, such as Rotorua Girls High School, Rotorua Boys High School, Te kura o Maketū, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu, Te Whare Kura o Ngāti Rongomai, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hurungaterangi.
'We really have something special going on here,' the academy co-founder says.