On the 7 August Pūaha Te Tai stood in front of a crowd of 2000 at Te Tau Iho Ki Te Hoe Regional Kapa Haka. Year 11 student Astrid Sayer shares the journey.

 As a rōpū we had been practicing from over four hours each week since the start of the year, not to mention the countless hours we put in as individuals to make sure we did our best for each other.

We held several weekend wānanga and noho to prepare for the competition. During these we really felt the support of our community and wider whānau. There were always ringawera in the kitchen making sure we were fueled for a full day of drilling and learning material and there were an army of people behind them sourcing funding, kai and organizing everything for us so we could deliver the best performance possible. We can’t thank these people enough for believing in us.

Along our journey to regionals, we have created a safe space that is our own and where we can express any emotion. Society often judges those who express their feelings, but that is not the case in kapa haka. During kapa haka we know we can expression any emotion that we need to, we can cry, be angry or overjoyed and we know we can always reach out to anyone in the rōpū.

This was shown on the morning of the 7th, competition day. We performed at 2:30pm. We spent the morning with each other being in each other’s space and mentally preparing ourselves for our biggest performance yet. On stage, we looked like a whānau unit because we have spent the time with each to become a whānau and to build trust in each other.

At the regional competition we performed a bracket of seven items that reflect who we are. Our whakawātea (finishing item), as the last breath we left on stage, was a statement of what we stand for. It was a challenge to the people of Te Tau Ihu, as we have created an outlet that supports three walls of our hauora (wellbeing), te taha tinana, te taha wairua, te taha hienengaro (our physical, spiritual and mental wellbeing). Our challenge to our people is to fill in the fourth wall of our hauora, te taha whānau (our whanau wellbeing) by upholding the tikanga of our tupuna which protect and guild us. We placed first equal in our Waiata Tira (choral), and our kaitātaki tāne (Ohomairangi Tawaka) placed third equal as well. We gained several other third and second placings and over all we placed third.

For many of us, Kapa haka is an incentive to come to school and to stay the whole day. It gives us a release and a way to destress after a long day of school and to connect with Te Ao Māori. At kapa haka we start our session off with a check-in to reconnect and see where everyone is at and how they are feeling.

To our tutors and guiders, Estella and Te Haupai, no matter how many Haka tautoko we do for you it’s never going to be a big enough expression of how grateful we are to have your constant guidance and awhi and to know you always have our backs. The countless hours and all-nighters you put in to make our dreams come true don’t go unnoticed.

We all have a different view of what Kapa haka means to us and what we get from it but something we all share is our connection with each other and the huge Pūaha Te Tai whānau that extends far beyond the 40 who performed at regionals.

Where to next: We need each other, and we need this space to be in Te Ao Māori. So, we continue. Since the competition Pūaha Te Tai have been asked by many schools and organizations to do performances. Therefore, our new mahi is putting together a bracket that we can use for these fundraising opportunities.