VIEWING the creme de la creme of our kapa haka elite at last week's Te Matatini 2011 in Gisborne was a veritable feast for the eyes, ears and heartstrings.
The legacy of Te Matatini o te Ra is something Maori from across the country have grown up with and aspired
towards for generations.
From early days spent watching the family at practice, rising through the ranks, for many there is no prouder moment than standing alongside your whanau at the nationals.
For those not familiar with kapa haka, it is so much more than Maori performance on stage and, here in Rotorua, amidst Te Arawa, we are blessed with some of the best exponents of kapa haka in the world.
Being a novice and having only ever made it to one nationals with Te Whare Wananga o Waikato - Waikato University - I can only sit back and admire the dedication and commitment of these groups and the skill and leadership involved in creating these programmes and training for competition.
The individual style and intonation defining each group is as distinctive as each region and its iwi across the country. From the words and dialect, to the choreography, the dress and the execution, this is as much an expression of Maori identity and celebration of past and present as it is a way of life off-stage for those who live and breathe it.
While every region can rightfully be proud of their teams, none (dare I say) can be more-so than Te Arawa.
Well-represented through regional champions such as Manaia, Nga Uri o Te Whanoa, Tuhourangi - Ngati Wahiao and Ngati Rangiwewehi, all did their people proud. That said, the group that clearly inspired the audiences and judges this year was Te Mataarae I Orehu, who won the overall Supreme Award and the majority of aggregate and non-aggregate sections.
While you would expect such an accomplishment to be seen as an outstanding group and individual achievement, it is first and foremost dedicated to those since past, then to the respective whanau and supporters and, somewhere, thereafter, the individuals themselves.
In many ways, this same modesty and approach is something that typifies the wairua (spirituality) that leader Wetini Mitai-Ngatai imbues - in his group, and in his highly successful tourism enterprise at Mitai Maori Village.
As the founder and owner of the village, Wetini continues to share the culture with visitors from around the globe and we are all the better for him choosing to do so.
This latest achievement, supported by the region's strong overall performance, puts Rotorua and the mantle we aspire to hold as the Maori cultural capital of New Zealand in an even stronger stead.
- Oscar Nathan is the managing director of the RENOSC Group