Kāhu ki Rotorua: Kapa haka in blood of proud performer Atutahi Potaka-Dewes

OPINION:

E rua e rua. Ko te kapa haka me te oranga o te tangata. He hākinakina, he tapere, he tū taua, he take nui tāna. Kai tētehi wā ko te kapa haka te kai e ora ai te whānau tūturu ki a tātau ngā uri o Tamatekapua ki Te Waiariki. He ahakoa tēnā kāore e take ana ngā whakaaro take kore o wētehi e titiro pōhēhē nei ki te hunga kai te huarahi o te ao kapa haka. E tū ngātahi ana me tana whānau, hapū otīā tana iwi. He mana, he wehi.

Nōku e itiiti ai i Te Whakarewarewa ka kite kau ahau i ngā tini kanohi o ngā tautawhito o ngā mātanga kapa haka, kātahi ka whakahīhī taku tāhūhū tangata.

Nō taku pakeke haeretanga kātahi nei ahau ka tino kite i te wairua

whakaparahako e tāmī nei i ngā mahi a Rēhia. Kai tēnā kōrerotanga e kaha kawea ana e wētehi o ngā mahita o aua taimā, ' kāore e take ana o te kapa haka, he moumou taimā. He punga e noho nā ki te papa moana kai mate koretake noa koe’.

Ehara i te mea ko ngā arero o ngā mahita kura anake e tere nā kai wētehi hoki o ngā whānaunga. E whakaōrite nā te tangata ki te tangata, te rahi o te tangata ki te rahi o tētehi atu tangata, me aua whakaaro poroheahea katoa.

Ka tangi ahau. Anei pea te wairua e whakamomori ai te wairua o te tangata otīā te whare tapere hoki. Kai te ngāhere kē te mana o te pā, ko te pae kura i kaha akiakingia ko te mātauranga me ngā hūngorungorutanga. Ka kata ahau, ko te ua patapatanui e tere nā i taku tūara me he uri o Tamatekapua tēnei.

Ka wehe ahau i taku mahi tunu ika ka aro kē ki te whakakīkī i ngā whāwhārua kapa haka konohete, whakangāhau manuwhiri. Ko Te Whakarewarewa tētehi o ngā wāhi, ko Te Puia, te DB, ara anō tētehi ko te Millenium, ki tūā ko te Destinction, ko Rydges anō tētehi, ā, ko te Sudima. He hōtera te nuinga o ēnei wāhi. Atu i ēnei wāhi i tae noa ahau ki Mītai ki reira haka ai mō te pō kotahi anake. Ka tae te tau e rua mano kotahi tekau mā tahi ka tū Te Matatini ki Tūranga nui a Kiwa, kātahi ka tere taku manawa. E tere ana ki ngā toki, e tere ana ki ngā tupua e tere ana hoki ki te hunga kai kapa haka.

Wheoi anō ki pāmamao kē ahau tū whakamīharo atu ai, ka uru mai ki taku tīnana ētehi āmaimai porohaurangi, ko te take tēnei kāore au i tū i whai rānei i te huarahi ki Te Matatini mō te tau e rua mano, kotahi tekau mā iwa.

Kai te hoi taringa ngā kupu iti a ngā pakeke. E kō, e hoki ki te kāinga mā tō iwi koe e kauawhiawhi e poipoi. Nā reira kai te pā taunaha o Te Whakarewarewa ahau ināianei. Engari ko te mea nui, kāre kau aku wehi. E tū nei ahau, titiro mai, whakarongo mai.

E hoki ana ngā maumaharatanga. Kua parekuratia tātau katoa te ao Māori, ae me tēnei taha mai o Te Matatini. Mārakerake kau ana ngā tūnga tuwhera, ka kite kau i ngā whakawāteatanga ka tangi te ngākau engari mā te tai o mahara ēnei pūwatawata e whakakī. Ko te huarahi ki Te Matatini Herenga Waka, Herenga Tāngata, he ara hauora, he huarahi haupūaroaro tāpiki, he huarahi haupūaroaro haohao, he huarahi haupūaroaro wairua. Me ū te ngākau pono e tere ai te waka ki tai ki tai ki uta. E tika ana hoki, e rua, e rua. Ko te kapa haka ko te oranga o te tangata ngātahi e.

* Atutahi Potaka-Dewes. He tauira hoki ia ki Te Rito – he wānanga kōrero-ā-nūpepa. He uri a Atutahi Potaka Dewes nō Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Whakaue - Te Arawa, Ngāti Uepōhatu | Raurunui - Ngāti Porou.

English translation

Kapa haka is a way of life. It’s a sport, art, endurance, passion, and purpose. For a time, kapa haka was bread and butter for many of us, especially in Rotorua.

With all of that, I will never allow anyone to second-guess the power of a journey in unison with your chosen or blood tribe - even when sometimes that someone is me.

Growing up in Whakarewarewa Village and seeing the multitude of faces beam at the up-close-and-personal experience of haka instilled in me pride in my culture and Māori performing arts.

Yet, the older I got, the more I understood how underappreciated kapa haka was. Once I reached high school and practices for the regional and national competitions would increase, teachers would often say, “Kapa haka will never take you anywhere; classes are not worth missing for a little sing-song dance.”

Atutahi Potaka-Dewes.

Sometimes whānau and friends are your worst critics, constantly comparing your ability, beauty, size, and ‘Māori-ness’ to the next one in line.

How detrimental that mentality is, not only for self-confidence but for the future of a cultural art form. Priority on identity took a backseat to the curriculum and insecurities.

Lucky for me, defiance with a purpose run through my whakapapa. Me he uri o Tamatekapua tēnei.

I left my high school job grilling fish to fill in for the concert performances at Whaka, Te Puia, the DB, the Millenium, Distinction, Rydges, and Sudima hotels - even a one-night stint at Mitai and all the pop-up pōhiri/performances around the city.

Filling in for the performers that were off to the 2011 Te Matatini in Gisborne, I had my first experiences of a “haka crush”, “haka idol”, and “haka freaks”.

Always admiring and fan-girling from afar, the self-deprecating thoughts were a constant barrier, and partly why I didn’t even think of campaigning with a kapa until 2019.

Mentors and massive influences in my life told me the best journey to self-love is to “come home”, and so I have taken their advice and decided to dedicate every step forward to being unapologetically comfortable in my skin. We’ve farewelled many giants from the haka world since the last Te Matatini, and losses within our iwi have left gaping holes that only melodies and memories can try to fill.

The road to Te Matatini Herenga Waka, Herenga Tāngata is one about health and wellbeing - the art of balancing life, endurance through pain, and passion to commit to the purpose. Kapa haka is a way of life.

* Atutahi Potaka-Dewes is a Te Rito Journalism Cadet of Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Whakaue - Te Arawa, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Raurunui - Ngāti Porou descent.