June 21, 2024
Parata driver for kapa haka expansion
Tāmaki Makaurau’s Te Matatini delegate, Annette Wehi, says Tā Selwyn Parata’s work as chair has helped extend the reach of kapa haka.
Tā Selwyn’s will be invested tomorrow by Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro as a kinght of the Order of New Zealand in a ceremony at Uepōhatu marae in Ruatōria.
Ms Wehi says after struggling through its first 50 years of the national competition as a largely voluntary activity, Te Matatini Society now has the funds to help its regions foster the ahi kaa of kapa haka.
“Tā Herewini would say himself, that that starts me, whakakā te hā ki te pā, you know, let’s build our people at the pā and we can see that mana motuhake ki te kainga, so 70% of this pūtea goes out to rohe, out it goes, it goes out there, so that we can develop our people,” she says