With a colourful legend behind it, a full-on physical contact game is taking hold in Wanganui - and it has a local champion.
Ki o rahi is a traditional Maori game that dates back to pre-European times. Wanganui man Reneti Tapa is off to France on September 15, to play in
the New Zealand national team.
The game reached France when the Maori Battalion fought in Europe during World War II. It is still played there, and in Italy and the United States.
Rules vary according to negotiation, but can involve full contact and tackling. In the old days it was played to prepare warriors for combat, often at Matariki, the Maori New Year.
Ki o rahi is being revived in many parts of New Zealand. Most Wanganui schools play, there are national adult competitions, and secondary school competitions are held on the East Coast.
The Ki O Rahi Ki Whanganui group has been inviting people to play for nearly two years, member Jay Rerekura said.
It's now starting a competitive series next month and looking for 12 teams to take the field, each with three adults, two young people and two children playing.
It would also like to form a Wanganui team to play in nationals and in modules with other regional teams.
"It's gettting our people out and running about and being active. And then, the other side of it is bringing back traditional cultural things," Mr Rerekura said.
Playing in family-based teams would also build whanaungatanga.
It's a fast, exciting game to watch. There's only one ball. One team is trying to get it to the tupu in the middle, and the other scores points by getting it to any of the seven poles around the outside.
The game is played in four quarters, with the teams swapping objectives after each one. It needs speed, agility, strategy, teamwork and sometimes brute force.
In Wanganui funding is being provided by HEHA's Maori Community Action Fund, and play is free. Teams need to register and pay a bond to compete in the module, but the money will be paid back if they turn up to all their games.
Behind it all is an engaging tale. The game is based on a story about a woman kidnapped from her husband. In his attempt to find her, he constructs a kite to carry him into the sky and then becomes marooned on an island.
The playing area, usually outdoors, is marked out with the shape of the island with a rock in the middle. It's surrounded by a deep channel. On the outside are seven poles, representing the seven stars of the constellation Matariki (the Pleiades).
There are many versions. In some the rock can represent a tupuna (ancestor) whom players have to protect.
TO GET INVOLVED
- Free form games, noon-1pm, Thursdays, Springvale Stadium
- Referee workshops 9am-noon Saturdays, September 11 and 18, at UCOL Fitness Centre
- Module games 2-6pm on Sundays, September 19 to November 14 at Springvale Stadium.
- Register for referee workshops or module at kiorahi.org.nz
GROUPS BACKING THE REVIVAL - Wanganui Hospital's Public Health Centre
- Healthy Eating Healthy Action initiative (HEHA)
- Family Planning Health Promotion Services
- Te Oranganui Iwi Health Authority
- Nga Tai o Te Awa, a Maori Development Organisation