Yes, we had a junior group as well as a senior group, who were one of the top groups in the country for many years. Still are.
One of my recollections of that midget group was a trip we did to the Christchurch national competitions, known today as Te Matatini.
I remember this well because I was so small that we kids slept in “beds” down the aisle of the bus during the night travel.
In fact, the buses did not even have seat belts which is not only an indication of how long ago it was but unfortunately, how old I am now.
Everyone on that bus was whānau, hapū and iwi, family, subtribe, and tribe.
Ngati Rangiwewehi tuturu! We were all “on the kapa haka bus”.
Being on that bus was the culmination of many hours together at the centre of our universe in Awahou, just outside Rotorua.
We got on the bus because of many hours of practice and whanaungatanga (kinship). Many hours of every kid my age belonging to every adult on our Awahou marae during those long Sunday practices.
Our marae was humming with the sounds of every generation either practising or swimming in our river afterwards.
So, kapa haka is about community. It is one of the taonga (treasures) passed down from our ancestors to unite us with each other and with them.
Speaking of ancestors, kapa haka is also about keeping our te reo Māori alive and well.
The language courageously preserved by our ancestors for us to speak and sing and haka today.
Through our treasured Māori language we have held on to our history and are able to share our stories, which are all true of course.
The history of our famous and infamous ancestors, our whenua (land), taniwha (guardians), whakapapa (genealogy), awa (rivers), maunga (mountains) and wairua (spirituality).
Kapa haka is our history book which is created with every word written and performed being stored in the kapa haka treasury.
Kapa haka has ensured the retention of many physical skills from throughout our Māori past.
Performance actions such as poi, waiata-a-ringa and haka are from many generations ago.
Each modern Matatini performance not only reflects the actions of the past, but has also enhanced those actions to the nth degree.
The movements of taiaha, patu and tewhatewha weapons becoming so swift they are a blur.
The haka are incredible physical feats, and the poi are now performed while participants move in mesmerising formations with four long poi, not just one or two short poi.
The physical attributes required to perform these physical skills are demanding and require strenuous effort and focus, which is why the chilling waters of our Awahou river were so welcoming after practices.
Kapa haka is our modern-day gymnasium.
I eventually graduated to the juniors and then the seniors, but unlike my amazing cousins did not graduate to performing at today’s Matatini equivalent competitions in our senior team.
However, in my teenage years, I did get roped in to performing on various concert stages for tourists as we raised funds for our marae and kapa haka activities.
I recall older cousins such as Tapu, Stanley and Jack-Jack leaping off stages with weapons flying as they “enhanced” our performances.
International audiences’ excitement and petrification were turned into tumultuous applause by this indigenous Māori culture.
There were many photos taken and I recall the old cube-shaped bulbs on top of Kodak Instamatic cameras popping off all over the place.
Kapa haka is a window to our Māori world for international audiences.
If there is one attribute that stands out for me above others regarding kapa haka it would have to be the singing that kapa haka creates and fosters.
I clearly remember voices like my aunty Dina Maxwell, aunty Marcia Tuhakaraina, Merehini Clarke and many others who made me feel like I was in the presence of angels.
Many people in this year’s 2023 Matatini performances had similar angelic voices.
Kapa haka teaches us to sing and gives us an excuse to sing. Māori, like many peoples of the world, love singing.
Kapa haka is our singing platform.
Kapa haka is about community, the preservation of our Māori language and history.
It is our modern-day gymnasium and window for international audiences. Kapa haka places us amid angels and warriors, past present and future.
Ngahihi o te ra Bidois is an international keynote speaker, businessman, author, columnist husband, father, koro and MBA. A Māori Boy from Awahou. See https://thefaceofnewzealand.com/
