“Mā tini, mā mano ka rangatira a kapa haka, kapa haka flourishes through the efforts of many”. If we have learned anything in recent years it’s never to take for granted our capacity to gather together as Māori and celebrate our culture to declare, we are still here.

Te Matatini National Kapa Haka festival encapsulates our cultural identity like no other kaupapa Māori event in the country and showcases to the world Māori performing arts. 

Forty kaihaka performers take to the Te Matatini stage and perform a 30-minute bracket of waiata song and display kapa haka excellence. For many of us kapa haka enthusiasts being able to see, hear our favouirte kaihaka sing our waiata and share our stories stirs within an immense sense of pride in being Māori.

Normally held every two years, kapa haka teams from across Aotearoa and Australia gather to perform. Due to the impact of Covid-19 this event was held in late February 2023 at Ngā Ana Wai, Eden Park, Auckland.

Teams spend years preparing for Te Matatini competition. Tutors, kaihaka and their whānau supporters devote hours of voluntary time and work to hold kapa haka wānanga perfecting their original compositions and choreography, practising, and rehearsing items in preparation for the opportunity to perform for a Te Matatini audience.

The National Te Matatini Committee spend years in planning, engaging with whānau, hapū, iwi, manawhenua, government and corporate organisations Taura Whiri i te reo, local councils, Waka Kōtahi, AirNZ - a plethora of people working collectively to bring kapa haka to life. This gathering did not disappoint drawing together thousands in person, and thousands more joined the streaming online.

In recent months communities from Taitokerau through to Te Tai Rawhiti and Heretaunga have been severely affected by flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle. All parts of the country have felt the sting as we recognise we are all in this together. And yet, via live-streaming we were able to experience and witness through cultural performance the resilience and faith of our people here and now. Controversial and thought-provoking issues were raised in the compositions presented, issues around tribal identity, gender equality, religion, politics and the Covid-19 pandemic were all topical.

A marketplace of over 140 stalls, offered goods and services. Local urban organisation Te Whānau o Waipareira promoted healthy lifestyles being ‘Proud to be Māori’, and Māori Party MP Rawiri Waititi galvanised the crowd in chorus with his rendition of the song. These impromtu moments of the competition thrilled me, as I saw our people standing together strong in our cultural identity and inspiring our people to look for the solutions within ourselves.

Amongst the many gifts I picked up at Te Matatini was a values booklet series produced by E Tū Whānau, an initiative created through the Iwi Chairs Forum in Hopuhopu 2009. E Tū Whānau - a strength based kaupapa - provides resources characterising the qualities of building strong whānau; Te Mana Kaha o Te Whānau. The series offers positive affirmations about whānau free from violence promoting whakapapa (Knowing who you are and where you belong), whanaungatanga, (It’s about being connected), Aroha (Giving with no expectation of return), Kōrero awhi (Positive communication and actions), Mana manaaki (Building the mana of others through nuturing, growing and challenging), and Tikanga (Doing things the right way, according to our values). In an era of increased consumerism and individualism, these resources are uplifting, strengthening the capacity and wellbeing of whānau to thrive. I commend these resources to the church. See the website www.etuwhanau.org

E Tū Whānau Kaitohutohu Matua Senior Advisor and Hui Pōari member Patria Tamaka says, “One of the things that stood out about Matatini was that everyone was proud to be Māori which is a really big deal because there are a lot of Māori communities who don’t feel like that. To find a place where we can be unapologetically Māori is as Dr. Kiri Waititi has stated a healing tool and process to bring whānau back to ora. Using Kiri’s words, Expression plus connection plus healing equals Kapa Haka and the doorway to Te Ao Māori”.

The success of Te Matatini 2023 serves as an example of collective action a powerful instrument in the healing process of our communities facing ecological and economic challenges.

E te Atua O Te Whakaaro Nui

I tēnei ao hurihuri

Ka tukua mai tō manaaki ki a mātou

Kia tau iho te hā o tō Wairua

I ō mātou tinana me ō mātou hinengaro

Hīkina ō mātou whakaaro kia rewa ake ai

Kia whai korōria ki a koe

Tuturu o whiti, whakamaua kia tina!

Tina! Hui e! Tāiki e!

God of Possibilities

In this changing world

Grant us your care

Let the essence of your Spirit

Grace our bodies and minds

Let our thoughts be lifted

To give praise to you

Let us be firm in this belief!

Bind it firm! Let us be one! United together!