February 20, 2017
Kapa Haka expression of identity
One sleep to go before Te Matatini 2017, and the stage at the Hawkes Bay Sports Arena is ready for the 47 kapa haka to show in their allotted 20 minutes why they are Aotearoa’s best.
Te Matatini chair Selwyn Parata says the venue, renamed Kahungunu Arena for the occasion, is large enough to comfortably handle the 15,000 people a day expected.
He says the festival is not just about the effort in front of the audience but the lifestyle around it.
The essence of Te Matatini is back in the whanau and the hapu and wherever Maori congregate
"Kapa haka in its full sense provides the opportunity for us to express ourselves and our identity in our language and tikanga that is complementary to our everyday living as Maori, as whanau in Aotearoa," Mr Parata says.
He notes a much greater level of Maori conversation not just by younger kapa haka members but in the support groups around them.
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