December 23, 2015
Language head defends beauty contest haka
The chief executive of Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Maori says criticism of Miss World contestant Deborah Lambie for performing a haka is uncalled for and counterproductive.
Ms Lambie was slammed on social media for her execution and for doing moves that come out of male haka.
But Ngahiwi Apanui says she did the right thing by going to kapa haka expert Kereama Te Ua for advice and coaching.
He says a climate of negativity doesn’t help efforts to retain Maori language and culture.
"We tend to have fewer and fewer people learning te reo Maori because I think if you talk to learners and look at the research, a lot of them won't speak because they are frightened of getting belted if they get something wrong, and there is an element of this in the criticism of Deborah Lambie as well," Mr Apanui says.
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