After Te Matatini ki Te Kāhui Maunga launch and the announcement of judges today, Ngāmotu locals are excited about the upcoming events and are honouring their te reo champions past and present.
Te Matatini chairman Tā Herewini Parata says the spirits of the event were unmatched.
“Ka rongo i te wairua o te whenua, ka rongo i te wairua o te taiao, ka rongo i te wairua o ngā iwi o te Kāhui Maunga, o te Kāhui Wairua, o te Kāhui Tipua.”
You could feel the essence of the land, of our environment, the essence of the people of the Kāhui Maunga, a gathering of spirits.
“E kōrero nei e hīkaka ana otirā te āhuatanga o Te Matatini kua tae mai ki konei ki te whakapūmau i ngā kāwai tangata tuatahi, ki te whakaara ake i tō tātou reo, i ō tātou reo, ki te manaaki i te iti, i te rahi, i te whakamataku e tae mai nei ki roto o te Kāhui Maunga mō Te Matatini ā te tau e tū mai nei.”
Talking on the excitement of having Te Matatini back in this rohe, it has come here to cement the lineage of people first and foremost, to reinvigorate our language, our many languages, to cater to the many people who will gather within Te Kāhui Maunga for Te Matatini next year.
Te Matatini ki Te Kāhui Maunga is a return by the national kapa haka event to the tribes of the west coast after a 30-year wait.
The last national kapa haka competition held in the Taranaki district was in Hāwera in 1994 and Te Matatini chief executive Carl Ross says this will be the best one yet.
“We’re looking this year at the biggest and the best Matatini that’s ever been run. When we look now and people talk about accommodation, they talk about this, they talk about that, it just goes to prove the forecasted $27 million that we’re going to bring as an economic impact to this region is going to be massive.”
Memories of past language champions of the region were remembered today too including the late Dr Huirangi Waikerepuru, Mereiwa Broughton and Morvin Te Anatipa Simon.
Te Taepa Kāmeta says the occasion is also a chance to remember those who fought for the language and culture.
“Anō nei ko ia, ko Mereiwa Broughton, ko rātou mā, Te Anatipa. Nā rātou anō i tapa te ingoa ki runga ki tēnei rohe, ko te Kāhui Maunga, he Kāhui Wairua, inā hoki ko ngā poropiti o tēnei takiwā o te hauāuru, he takimaha.”
It was Mereiwa Broughton, Te Anatipa, all of them. They were also the ones who named this region Te Kāhui Maunga, a gathering of spirits, also mentioning the prophets of this region, the West Coast, there were a plethora.
Parata says the event is another chance for Māori to be proud of their language and culture as well as immerse themselves within it.
“Taku ōati mō tēnei tau o Te Matatini, kia whakatō i te wairua o ō tātou mātua tīpuna i roto i ngā kōhungahunga, i roto i ngā whānau kia warowaro te reo i roto i ō tātou kāinga, i ō tātou wāhi mahi. Kia mōhio ngā uri o ngā reo o tēnei whenua, he rangatira tō rātou reo.”
My oath for this year’s Matatini, to plant the spirits of our ancestors within our babies, within our families, to murmur our language in our homes, our workplaces. So our descendants are aware of the languages of this land, and ours is a chiefly language.