Kāhu ki Rotorua: Iwi proud to share in kapa success

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air

See below for English translation

He aroha nōku ki ngā hapū katoa o Te Arawa

E hoki ana ngā maumaharatanga nōku e itiiti ai ko Ngāti Whakaue te iwi e noho mai na ki Ōhinemutu.

He whānaunga tata ki ahau otīā he hoa haere hoki nōku ki te kura. Ko tō mātau matua wahine, tūturu he Taeotu. Nō ngā marama e whia kē kua hinga nei, kātahi nei au ka āta mōhio ki te take e tū whakahī tēnei iwi o tātau i ngā mahi a o rātau tupuna moroki noa nei. Me te mea hoki te take e tūmatahao hoki ai rātau hei iwi mana whenua ki te takere waka nui o Te Arawa.

Ko tō rātau na ekenga ki te taumata o Te Matatini Herenga Waka, Herenga Tangata i ngā rangi kua pahemo atu e tika ana hoki ki a rātau. E tika ana hoki ki a ngangahu ai nei tēnei iwi rangatira. I tuarua rātau mana ōrite me Te Whangarā Mai Tawhiti. He rōpū haka nō Te Tai Rāwhiti.

Ko te mana nui whakaharahara o te Matatini i tau anō ki runga ki ngā rae whakairo o ngā uri o Tūhoromatakaka ara ki Te Whānau a Apanui otīā ki a Mataatua waka.

He ahakoa kāhore ahau i haere ki Te Matatini, kāore he painga o te mātakitaki i ngā rōpū huahua o Te Arawa i te tiwi ki te poho o taku kāinga hāneanea. Ka timata te heke o te roimata i aku kanohi i te putanga mai o taku iwi ki te ātamira. Ko Tūhourangi-Ngāti Wāhiao me te kaupapa o Hereana Roberts i whakatōkia ki ngā whatumanawa o ia pouhaka o ia manu tīoriori.

Ko tā tātau tamāhine poipoi tēnei i mate i te tau ko hori i Rarotonga nōna e haka ana i Maiva. Ka puta mai tā tātau mokopuna a Te Ngawari Wright me tana reo rōreka āna, ka heke anō te roimata i aku kanohi. E tika ana te korero he ngongorotangiwai ki te nehenehe ko Te Ngawari Wright ki te pae kaiawha o Rēhia. E tika ana hai tāku ki a tū ko ia te Manukura Wahine. Atu i tēnei ka whakawhiwhiā hoki rātau ki te paraihe mō Te Reo Rangatira, ā, ka mana ōrite hoki rātau me Te Waihirere mō te waiata-a-ringa. Ki a rātau hoki te tūranga teitei mō te haka me te mōteatea.

Etehi o ngā kuia o Ngāti Whakaue ki roto i te mahau o te whare tupuna a Tunohopu.

Nā reira e rata atu ai ōku taringa nā reira e hinga hoki ai taku ngākau i te pai o a rātau tu. Ko te kounga hoki o a rātau tuhinga. Auahi ana.

Engari anō tēnei iwi haka, ehara i te mea ka haere ko rātau anake, e kao. Haere ngātahi ai ngā koeke o Ngāti Whakaue e toru tekau katoa. Kia tika hoki taku arero. He aroha nōku ki ngā hapū katoa o Te Arawa i whakapau wehi. Tokorima o ngā kapa e ono i uru atu ki te whakataetae whainara. Ko Ngāti Rangiwewehi, ko Te Pikikotuku o Ngāti Rongomai, ko Te Heketanga Ā Rangi, ko Te Mātarae i o Rehu me Ngāti Whakaue.

Engari ki a Ngāti Whakaue te kapa i hau atu ki te kaha o te whakataetae nā wai rā ka puta mai ki te taumata tiketike kai te rangona tonutia te ihi rangaranga o tā kotou tū waewae. Tō rātau hokinga mai ki te Waiariki, ka whakatakotoria te matataki whakahoki e te hau kāinga ki tēnei waka whakarei ki runga o Paratehoata – hūkere ka hūkere hī, hā, hī !

Nō te wiki ko hori nei ka tū tetehi hui whakangāhau ki Scion nā ngā hapū e toru i whakaara. Ko Ngāti Whakaue, ko Ngāti Hurungaterangi ko Ngāti Taotu me Ngāti Te Kahu. Koia ko ēnei te mana whenua o tētehi wāhi 114 eka te rahi , he kaupapa i whakaritea ki a noho tahi ai rātau me Scion.

Nā ngā tamariki o te kura tuatahi o Rotorua i whakatūwhera whai muri i a rātau ko te kanikani o Poronēhia. Ko Auntie Krissie Knapp te manu taki mō te rā, ā, ko te kapa haka o Ngāti Whakaue te rōpū whakakapi i te kaupapa. Atu i te taha o te whakangāhau he wā tika hoki mā Ngāti Whakaue ki te kōrerotia i ā rātau kaupapa hou, ā, ko Wai Ariki Spa tētehi o ēnei kaupapa. Kapi kau ana te wāhi ki te whare kai, whare pūeru, rongoā me te huhua noa atu o ngā tēneti hokohoko.

Kāore au e huna i te korero. Kua rehitangia ahau hai uri o Ngāti Whakaue. Wheoi anō kai ngā kākā wahanui o te kāinga, kāhore anō kia tō te rā ki tā tātau kaupapa, he kaupapa hākoakoa āpōpō he hākari nui, engari ko te hiku o te rā ka tū anō ngā rōpū katoa ki Kouramāwhitiwhiti ā te wiki haka ai!

English Translation

OPINION

For most of my life Ngāti Whakaue have been those people who live down at Ohinemutu.

I went to school with a number of them and our mother was always proud of her Taeotu connections.

In the past few months I have become aware of just how proud the iwi are of their legacy and their standing as mana whenua.

The unprecedented success of Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue at Te Matatini Herenga Waka, Herenga Tangata at Nga Ana Wai Eden Park just a fortnight ago was the icing on the cake.

Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue placed second equal with Whangara Mai Tawhiti from Te Tai Rāwhiti.

Te Whanau A Apanui from Mataatua won the contest for the third time.

I didn’t go to Tamaki Makaurau but I was glued to the television screen and I was so proud of all our Arawa teams.

I cried when my Tuhourangi-Ngāti Wahiao team marched on with their tribute to Hereana Roberts, a kapa stalwart who died when the team were attending Maieva in Rarotonga in July.

I cried when Te Ngawari Wright filled the stadium with her beautiful presence, her performance powerful — from the entry right through to the whakaeke. Observers were in no doubt who held the stage for Ngāti Whakaue.

The title of Manukura Wahine could go to no other, in my view.

Ngāti Whakaue also won the Te Reo Excellence Trophy and were first equal with Waihirere for the new waiata a ringa.

They also won in the new haka and new moteatea categories.

Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue on stage at Te Matatini.

It was the quality of their material and performance that caught my eye and ear.

Their performances were witnessed by more than 30 Ngati Whakaue koeke who were able to make the trip to Auckland thanks to the generosity of various iwi trusts. Truth be told I loved all our Te Arawa performances.

Five of the six Te Arawa groups — Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Te Pikikōtuku o Ngāti Rongomai, Te Hekenga Ā Rangi, Te Mātarae I Ōrehu and Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue — made the final.

The overall second-placing set off a wave of celebration and happy buzz among the hau kainga that shows little sign of faltering.

For instance, Ngāti Whakaue turned out for a whakatau at Paratehoata to welcome the kapa home the day after Matatini.

Then on Sunday just gone there was a beautiful whanau day at Scion hosted by Nga Hapu E Toru — three koromatua of Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Hurunga Te Rangi, Ngāti Taeotu and Ngāti Te Kahu. Nga Hapu E Toru are tangata whenua of the 114ha area and has a memorandum of understanding with Scion.

Tamariki from Rotorua Primary School opened the entertainment with a haka bracket and Pasifika dancing.

Auntie Krissie Knapp was her genial best as MC and Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue were the stars of the show.

Ngāti Whakaue entities also took the oppportunity to advertise what they are doing including encouraging people to apply for jobs at the Wai Ariki Spa which is only months away from opening.

There were kai stalls, clothing and rongoa stalls as well as community information tents.

I am now officially a member of Ngāti Whakaue as I registered with the team that is updating the iwi database.

The celebration continues tomorrow with a special brunch and culminates in a free concert featuring all six Te Arawa kapa at the Lakefront, on Sunday.