March 19, 2024
Polyfest generational rite of passage
Host Ngā Puna ō Waiōrea has held a pōwhiri for the other teams competing against it at Polyfest, which starts tomorrow in Manukau.
The school based at Western Springs College is looking for a fifth consecutive title on the Maori stage.
Festival director Seiuli Terri Leo-Mauu says 8000 students will perform from 69 secondary schools, which is close to the pre-Covid high of 75 schools.
“It’s more than a festival, it’s a generational rite of passage almost for all of our whanau that come to the festival and defend their family on that stage. So, we’re all about really just nurturing and harnessing the cultural well being of every young person that comes onto that stage and allowing them to be who they are,” she says.
Seiuli Terri Leo-Mauu says the Māori stage is a pathway for taitamariki into the national high school competition later this year,.