Kapakapa ai ko te poi o ngā mātua ki te matatini ki tāmaki herenga waka, herenga tāngata - Taranaki teams proudly represent at kapa haka nationals

Poi flew, faces represented generations, stories were retold, and hearts stayed firmly connected to home as Taranaki kapa showcased to the world at Te Matatini.

Taranaki kapa Aotea Utanganui and Ngā Purapura o Te Taihauāuru were back on the national stage in February after tough campaigns following the disruptions and cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They were the Taranaki rohe teams representing the vast Te Kāhui Maunga rohe (previously known as Aotea rohe), encompassing Taranaki, Ruapehu and Whanganui Awa, right through to Rātana Pā.

Tama Pokai describes the driving force for Pātea-based Aotea Utanganui as the old people of Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāruahine, Ngaa Rauru and especially Pariroa Pā.

“It was all captured in our whakawātea: the old people who wanted to keep our reo alive and encouraged our people to come back to the marae, how in 1968 we originated from the Pātea Māori Methodist Club, the meatworks closing, our history in a nutshell.

“Uncle Napi Waaka and Uncle Dalvanius Prime, who along with many others helped start the group, and those wawata and ōhākī of our tūpuna, the kuia and koroua who wanted to ensure our reo and stories were kept alive.”

One of the things Aotea Utanganui carries is their mita/ distinct dialiect, Tama says.

“Our mita is unique within Aotearoa, and unique again within our own iwi spaces. We utilise our kaitito/ composers at home, our tāngata matauraura/experts. Our kaitito challenge themselves to use Taranaki and Aotea kupu. We revisit and revive old kōrero and waiata within our compositions and our bracket so we are living and breathing our kōrero, our mita.”

Poi also feature strongly, and were used in four of the team’s seven Te Matatini items.

“It reflects an aspect of our rohe – the poi is very much part of our world, our tikanga, our tāera,” Tama says.

One of the pūrākau taken to Te Matatini this year was the story of Rongorongo.

Image: Te Matatini Society Inc, Ngahuia Ormsby

“There’s a misconception around Aotea waka being only Turi’s. Our narrative is it belonged to Rongorongo. She brought taonga with her on the waka and looked after them. We sing a lot about Ruaputahanga but you don’t often hear the story of Rongorongo. Te Matatini was an opportunity to sing this story to the motu.”

Also distinctively Taranaki is the takahi/foot placement and movement.

Tamzyn Pue, kaiwhakahaere for Ngā Purapura o Te Taihauāuru, says their takahi aligns with the wero ‘not one more acre’, e kore e riro te whenua, and is intertwined with the raupatu, muru and shackles of Parihaka.

“Our particular style of takahi is about being firmly fixed on the whenua, being one with the land and not giving up our whenua. We are uri of Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke. He didn’t give up his land at Waitara – so here in the north, we don’t lift our foot off the ground. When we watched our nannies perform, they didn’t lift their feet off the ground at all, ever.

“It’s not easy to do. You have to use a lot of hip action to get the piupiu moving.”

Ngā Purapura o Te Taihauāuru was established more than 20 years ago to retain reo and tikanga, and teach the whakapapa of tribal connections to Taranaki and the story of Parihaka.

Another unique aspect of its style is the haka.

“It is predominantly done on our knees. That goes back to our Te Atiawa men and our old people at Parihaka.

“We also perform poi manu, where appropriate, and ngeri. Ngeri is something Taranaki do as a region. It’s not haka, it’s not singing, it’s in between. We try to be as Taranaki as we can in our entries and will always be grounded with the karanga to invoke the protection and presence of our tūpuna – then poi manu and then ngeri. That’s our trademark. We can’t be any other iwi or any other rohe but ourselves.”

This year’s stand honoured the legacy of the late Koro Te Huirangi Waikerepuru, who fought for the revival of te reo me hōna tikanga.

Image: Te Matatini Society Inc, Kiriana Hautapu

“Every item written by our lyricist Papa Rauru Broughton was dedicated to not just one facet of Koro Te Huirangi’s life, but every kaupapa – intricate excerpts from 60 or 70 years of his writings, messages and nuggets of wisdom, and a conversation between him and us, his mokopuna.

“That bracket was written three years ago, and we have waited all that time to finally deliver Koro to the world. It was probably the first time we’ve been to Te Matatini without Koro physically there with us. A lot of people never got to mourn him or to honour him. It was our responsibility to take him.”

Ngā Purapura o Te Taihauāuru placed second-equal in Te Kairangi o Te Reo ā Tuhi (best written composition) award category.

“That was huge, most importantly because it was for written excellence in te reo – and that, for us, was a fitting recognition back to our Koro Te Huirangi.”