It’s the first regional kapa haka competition held in the city centre of Te Whanganui-a-Tara since 2020 with the arrival of COVID-19 to the country. Sharing responsibilities with Porirua and Hutt Valley, it’s been a decade since the capital’s centre hosted the competition.
The national biannual kapa haka competition Te Matatini 2023 saw three teams representing the region, Ngā Uri Taniwha, Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti, and previous regional winners Te Ahi a Tahurangi. This year, however, with six teams taking to the stage, only two will progress through to the national competition hosted by Ngāmotu in February 2025.
This year the lineup included, and in order of performance:
- Te Kaunihera o Pōneke
- Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club
- Te Ahi a Tahurangi
- Te Kairangi o Poutama
- Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti
- Te Kapa Haka o Pukehuia.
Te Ahi a Tahurangi made their debut in 2020 and won. The group is largely made up of performers from Tūtemaungaroa and Tūhoe ki Pōneke - both groups are former kapa haka representatives of the region at Te Matatini and both affiliated with the Bay of Plenty-based tribe of Tūhoe.
“Ka mate a Hema Temara, ka whakatā a Tūtemaungaroa, e rua ngā rōpū i puta mai, ko Te Ahi a Tahurangi me Ngā Uri Taniwha,” says Te Whanganui-a-Tara delegate for Te Matatini, Te Teira Davis.
(When Hema Temara passed away, Tūtemaungaroa some downtown, and from that two new groups arose - Te Ahi a Tahurangi and Ngā Uri Taniwha.)
Te Kairangi o Poutama debuted this year and is now part of a realm of kapa haka that holds a history of seasoned performers and artists in the region who dominated the world of haka in their time. These include haka stalwarts Te Paekiomeka (Pae) Ruha, composers Kingi Ihaka and Bill Kerekere, and the late Historian Putiputi Mackey. Even the Wellington Māori Cultural Society Inc (WMCS) who organise the event can boast some long-standing champions of kapa haka.
“Ngā tāngata kua tū hei tiamana o te komiti whakahaere, ko Merlene Wehi nō Ngāi Tai, heoi ko Hema Temara, ko Muriwai Ihakara hoki i ngā tau.”
(Those who have been a chair of the organising committee include Merlene Maxwell-Wehi of Ngāi Tai (current chair), Hema Temara, and Muriwai Ihakara in the past.)
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Supported by Te Matatini Enterprises and Te Māngai Pāho, the Haka Regionals 2024 will be live-streamed on Whakaata Māori and available on-demand on the MĀORI+ app.