Te Matatini

When the gates opened at 7am, whānau sprinted into the stadium and quickly marked their seating area.

It's considered the biggest Māori performing arts festival in the world. The national kapa haka competition has returned for the first time since the pandemic. Forty-five groups over four days will compete for the title.

Tainui Iwi leader Tukuroirangi Morgan laid down the challenge to Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei during yesterday's Te Matatini powhiri. Photo / Duncan Brown.

Which was one of the things that Tuku was saying. The problem with that thinking is things are never usually resolved on the marae or we just don’t talk about them in an attempt to seek resolution. Usually its the crown who are the recipients of these kinds of challenges. There were moments of disbelief from the large national gathering and at times some may have cringed at what they were hearing. Not in the sense that I saw a real stoush occurring but because these two leaders were very clear and frank (sometimes brutal) about where their people stood. When Tuku laid down his kaupapa, he knew he would get an angry response because it was directed at the hosts Ngāti Whātua.

Trust board chair Marama Royal says Ōkahu Bay has recovered from the Anniversary Weekend floods, and looked magnificent for the pōhiri. “We really want to ...

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Described as the "Olympics of kapa haka", the festival has been running since 1972. Some have been queueing at the venue since 3am to ensure they get the ...

Te Matatini, the world's largest kapa haka competition, is in full swing. Here's how to join in the fun.

/ Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki [konei](http://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/te-reo-maori/300813348/he-whina-ng-mea-katoa-m-te-matatini-me-mhio-e-te-minenga). It will also be broadcast for live television on TVNZ 2. [Te Matatini: The Olympics of kapa haka explained](https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/131024417/te-matatini-the-olympics-of-kapa-haka-explained?rm=a) [streaming all four days of the competition](https://www.tvnz.co.nz/) for free online. [already booked out this week](https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/131289131/many-auckland-hotels-fully-booked-out-as-te-matatini-kicks-off) due to the number of competitors, with the limited rooms available often fetching top dollar. [Auckland Transport website](https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/journey-planner/?timeMode=Leaving+now&date=2023-02-22T12%3A01%3A52%2B13%3A00&time=12%3A05pm&transportMode=bus%2Cferry%2Ctrain&fareType=ADULT&maxWalkingTime=15&walkingSpeed=4&routeFilter=&showExternalProviders=true&preferredRoute=FASTEST) or app as [some trains will be down](https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/service-announcements/planned-rail-closures/#feb). [here](https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/te-reo-maori/300813348/he-whina-ng-mea-katoa-m-te-matatini-me-mhio-e-te-minenga). [free travel](https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/events/te-matatini/) on Auckland transport buses and trains around the city. [Many Auckland hotels fully booked out as Te Matatini kicks off](https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/131289131/many-auckland-hotels-fully-booked-out-as-te-matatini-kicks-off?rm=a) [Te Matatini: Tainui groups to bring aroha to kapa haka stage in wake of Cyclone Gabrielle](https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300811565/te-matatini-tainui-groups-to-bring-aroha-to-kapa-haka-stage-in-wake-of-cyclone-gabrielle?rm=a) [the Olympics of kapa haka](https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/131024417/te-matatini-the-olympics-of-kapa-haka-explained) – began on Wednesday morning. [almost 50 teams](https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/131289131/many-auckland-hotels-fully-booked-out-as-te-matatini-kicks-off) from across the country have come to Auckland to perform.

Known originally as the New Zealand Polynesian Cultural Festival, the inaugural kapa haka competition was held in Rotorua in 1972. Bad weather forced the ...

The next festival will be held in 2025 in Aotea (Taranaki / Whanganui) followed by: The competition as we know it today is called Te Matatini. A $1 million annual funding increase was agreed upon, and Te Matatini will now receive $2.9 million per year. A new ‘finals’ system was introduced in 1994 which saw six of the best groups battle it out in a separate finals day. Te Matatini is the biggest kapa haka festival in the Māori calendar and is growing each year. As more and more groups entered the competition the number of groups allowed into finals day was increased to nine and then 12 in the 2023 competition.

Where to watch, how to attend, how does it work and other questions about this week's kapa haka festival, answered.

[this Youtube account](https://www.youtube.com/@haka-bro/videos) has videos of every performance from the last festival. If you’re keen to brush up on the competition that went down in 2019, - Poi: The rhythmic twirls and flutters of a poi often mimic elements of the environment – like water, insects or birds. Unlike other waiata performed on stage, mōteatea is unique in that the tune doesn’t adopt Western melody and harmony. - Mōteatea: The unbroken rhythmic chanting of mōteatoa is perhaps the most traditional item within a kapa haka performance. If you can’t make it to the festival, it will be live on TVNZ (the first time it has been broadcast by TVNZ in 20 years). The whakaeke often includes polished waiata, haka, movement and instruments from the group as an expression of who they are, where they are from and what their purpose is. The nine groups that will perform on finals day will be announced on Friday evening. Only the top three groups in each pool will qualify to compete on the finals day on Saturday, which is called Te Matangirua. On the last day, Haka Translate will be available in five additional languages: Mandarin, Tongan, Samoan, Fijian and Cook Island Māori, via the Matatini Festival app. It’s overseen an ever-changing approach to performance, sound and costume in the world of kapa haka. What started as the New Zealand Polynesian Festival in 1972, among the geothermal wonders of Whakarewarewa in Rotorua, has grown into a state-of-the-art biennial festival that’s hosted by a different iwi each time.

Hania Douglas: Te Matatini 2023 was kicked off by Muriwhenua from Te Tai Tokerau kicked in dynamic fashion. It was very beautiful to watch and a nice way to ...

I suspect as we start going through the more established groups, that standard will lift. One of the trends I’m seeing is almost every group has their men with painted thighs and they look like biker shorts. One team had their men paint their thighs white, so the black tattoo markings stood out. It was very beautiful to watch and a nice way to get the party started. Most groups can do one or the other but Whāngārā are kings of doing both. Nga mate o te wa.

There were 15 haka groups from across the motu performing at the long-awaited Te Matatini national kapa haka festival today.

Some fans did not know which groups they were cheering for - they were just there to cheer for their friends. "I'm happy. [Listen to the full report from the festival here duration 2:35](/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018879009/excitement-at-eden-park-for-first-day-of-te-matatini) [Download](https://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ckpt/ckpt-20230222-1757-excitement_at_eden_park_for_first_day_of_te_matatini-128.mp3) [Listen to the full report from the festival here](/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018879009/excitement-at-eden-park-for-first-day-of-te-matatini)

Te Matatini is under way. Here is a breakdown of a kapa haka performance and what it means.

A winner will also be judged for each of the seven compulsory disciplines. The competition has been split into three pools: Te Ihu, Te Haumi and Te Kei. Haka is often used to highlight political or social issues facing te ao Māori and challenge the status quo. Waiata-ā-ringa or action songs are a fairly contemporary addition to kapa haka, becoming popular from World War I. There is no harmony or choreography, but performers often emphasise the meaning and personal interpretation of the words through pūkana and other facial expressions, vocal emphasis and rhythm. Each section has four kaiwhiriwhiri (judges) who will judge the best group for those disciplines.

From a drum beat to footwork, to singing in tune while twirling a poi, the first lot of kapa haka groups took the stage singing their hearts out and fiercely ...

Where to watch, how to attend, how does it work and other questions about this week's kapa haka festival, answered.

[this Youtube account](https://www.youtube.com/@haka-bro/videos) has videos of every performance from the last festival. If you’re keen to brush up on the competition that went down in 2019, - Poi: The rhythmic twirls and flutters of a poi often mimic elements of the environment – like water, insects or birds. Unlike other waiata performed on stage, mōteatea is unique in that the tune doesn’t adopt Western melody and harmony. - Mōteatea: The unbroken rhythmic chanting of mōteatoa is perhaps the most traditional item within a kapa haka performance. If you can’t make it to the festival, it will be live on TVNZ (the first time it has been broadcast by TVNZ in 20 years). The whakaeke often includes polished waiata, haka, movement and instruments from the group as an expression of who they are, where they are from and what their purpose is. The nine groups that will perform on finals day will be announced on Friday evening. Only the top three groups in each pool will qualify to compete on the finals day on Saturday, which is called Te Matangirua. On the last day, Haka Translate will be available in five additional languages: Mandarin, Tongan, Samoan, Fijian and Cook Island Māori, via the Matatini Festival app. It’s overseen an ever-changing approach to performance, sound and costume in the world of kapa haka. What started as the New Zealand Polynesian Festival in 1972, among the geothermal wonders of Whakarewarewa in Rotorua, has grown into a state-of-the-art biennial festival that’s hosted by a different iwi each time.

Kia ora, ko Kristina Muller tōku ingoa, he uri tēnei nō Ngāpuhi a Hōkianga. Our stall is Te Ataarangi. Our kaupapa is the language, so te reo Māori, the ...

I think this is just a chance for us to hiki (lift) the wairua a little bit and just continue to keep our whānau that are struggling in our hearts and our prayers – but you know, like, have a little bit of time to enjoy each other, enjoy our space, and enjoy what we all love to do and that’s haka and to be a haka spectator. but yeah, just the passion and just also the choreography ... All you’re gonna see is smiling faces and people wanting to give you free stuff. and connect with people I haven’t seen for years. like, no matter what, tūturu (staunch) to the kaupapa and follow to the death. I think just following the cyclone and all that devastation … Every now and then, someone will walk past and I’ll say, hey. The kapas have been mean, and I think definitely Waka Huia, Muriwhenua brought the fire, and you can hear it from all the way over here. it was $15, but it was totally worth it – especially if you’re a kina-crazy person like I am. I had a kina shot ... sort of, but I also think that kapa have huge ope (entourages) behind them and people have their favourites and people have bias, so there’s those like me that can get swayed just by like, whoa, with what they see, but then there’s those staunch ones ... “Yes and no.

Matai Smith recounts his experience at the Māori performing arts festival Te Matatini as performer, reporter and presenter. It was in front of the TV screen ...

to be one of the roving reporters for the live coverage,” Smith said. “I had mixed emotions, I was absolutely and immensely proud of them, but at the same time kicking myself... I mean you had to be 16 or older to be eligible for Te Matatini, which at the time was called ATMPAF,” he said. as the name suggests, there's an opportunity for you, through the action song ... "Obviously, Tū Te Manawa Māurea who are my whānau team... It was in front of the TV screen that little Mātai Rangi Smith got his first taste of professional kapa haka. to delve into a plethora of kaupapa,” he said. "I was a kid, I was a little bit ignorant of kapa haka at the time,” he said. He was part of the inaugural group that performed at Te Matatini in 2007 when it was held in Palmerston North. The first time the kapa haka festival was broadcast live on television was in 1996, when it was the Aotearoa Māori Fesitval of the Arts. “The first time I watched Te Matatini was probably on the television set, and I think it was the 1988 Whangārei festival,” he said. “It used to be like they filmed it in Hawera, then they had like a two-hour special on a Sunday morning with highlights from each of the groups,” he said.

Every Te Matatini festival the call goes out for volunteers, Te Hāpai Ō, and this year's event had no trouble, with people eager to put their hands up.

This is the first Te Matatini for Merle Takimoana, from Ngāti Maniapoto. There are close to 400 volunteers, from young people to adults, helping at Te Matatini. And you will know you have arrived at Te Matatini,” Herewini- Mulligan says.

Summer outfits reemerged as the sun came out for the first day of Te Matatini, Aotearoa's most prestigious kapa haka festival.

“It just helps to ground me back into Papatūānuku”. “At my age, a lot of my clothes I’ve had for years. I’ve got so many influences and I feel like a lot of them were influenced by my whānau because I was raised by wāhine.” Tia likes to colour-coordinate and “keep it funky fresh”. As well as the competition itself, there is also a marketplace featuring stalls from Māori businesses. It is also the 50th anniversary of the event that has been

Respected Māori choreographer and creative thought-leader Jack Gray loves kapa haka - but explains why he thinks it's time some critical thinking was ...

Will there be sweet justice for one of the teams from the impacted regions who prove us all wrong and show that competition is a path to resilience? I understand the cultural importance of Te Matatini and what it spiritually strengthens collectively. Could Te Matatini be pivoted to take advantage of the expected large-scale audiences as a national fundraising drive? Will it be a back-to-back for reigning champs, Ngā Tūmanako (above) from Hoani Waititi Marae (I'm a westie in the hood from way back). Will a first-time out-the-gate team bust out from Hicksville to stamp on the expectations of history? What does it mean to produce this cultural effigy in the aftermath (and continuing) rebuild of our communities at threat of natural disaster? Fiscally, Te Matatini requires funding to stage in the first place, so tickets still maintain the economical parameters of playing out. In this case, I question aspects of manoeuvring that have come as a direct result of living through COVID-19 and unforseen weather events; what immediate responses can occur to provide awareness nationally? The influential nature of social media brings the lived experiences of kaihaka to the masses in ways never seen before. Kapa Haka performers have branched out into the music industry, and the ongoing normalisation of Te Reo Māori which is hugely important and exciting. I am a contemporary dance specialist who looks at multiple ranges of applications from community wellbeing, to cultural research and revitalising, to global inter-Indigenous activation to non-performing arts spaces (i.e., hospitals) such as helping whanau through their hauora journey - which encompasses navigation of systems that often do not sit within the paradigm of Te Ao Māori. And don’t get me wrong I love competition - but I’m starting to think that times change, so what can a new format look like?

The number of vendors at the Te Matatini kapa haka festival has more than doubled this year, with about 150 setting up camp at Auckland's Eden Park.

An Australia-based Te Matatini team is working not only to perform, but also share their kaupapa and do their bit to revitalise te ao Māori for Māori living ...

/ Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki [konei](http://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/te-reo-maori/300814781/te-matatini-e-kingo-ana-te-kapa-o-ahitereiria-ka-whakarauoratia-te-ahurea-mori). Te Hoe Ki Matangireia would be bringing a number of important kaupapa to their performance, Kerr said. I usually have some level of anxiety with a performance. But for some reason this year I’m just really looking forward to the stage.” We didn’t actually start practising until September,” she said. [Kua ū a Araraurangi ki tāna rerenga tuatahi katoa i te reo Māori](https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/te-reo-maori/300811716/kua--a-araraurangi-ki-tna-rerenga-tuatahi-katoa-i-te-reo-mori?rm=a) [Ka tū te kapa nō Te Matau a Māui ki Te Matatini 'mō te kāinga te take'](https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300813648/ka-t-te-kapa-n-te-matau-a-mui-ki-te-matatini-m-te-kinga-te-take?rm=a) [Air New Zealand flies first journey dedicated to te reo Māori](https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/131278893/air-new-zealand-flies-first-journey-dedicated-to-te-reo-mori?rm=a) [here](https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/te-reo-maori/300814781/te-matatini-e-kingo-ana-te-kapa-o-ahitereiria-ka-whakarauoratia-te-ahurea-mori). [festival rescheduling](https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/300441642/te-matatini-postponed-again-to-2023), the rōpū was both ‘pumped’ and ‘prepared’ to get the opportunity to perform for Tāmaki Makaurau. [Te Whenua Moemoeā](https://www.google.com/search?q=Te+Whenua+Moemoer%C4%81&rlz=1C1GCEJ_enNZ999NZ999&oq=Te+Whenua+Moemoer%C4%81&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59j69i60.767j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) (the land of the dreamtime) rōpū based in Australia, is taking the stage at Te Matatini on Friday representing the entirety of the nation. [Te Matatini](https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/style/131304438/how-aotearoa-dresses-street-style-on-day-one-of-te-matatini) team is working not only to perform, but also share their kaupapa and do their bit to revitalise te ao Māori for Māori living in Australia.

A sudden death occurred about midday Tuesday and police confirm it has been referred to the coroner.

Hania Douglas and Tu Chapman break down Day 2 of Te Matatini, which saw the champion group Ngā Tūmanako from Tamaki Makaurau take to the stage.

All these groups are chasing a position - chasing to be in the finals day. Reigning kapa haka champs Ngā Tūmanako were good but I will reserve comment on their performance because I’m a little bit on the fence because after seeing the groups today, they may struggle to make top 3. It was a bit more electric and a bit more of a buzz in the air. They have some of the best kapa haka exponents right there and lots of experience and will only get better. To really appreciate the kapa haka you have to be here. It was a real buzz and I couldn’t be happier that I am here. I don’t think it was the groups yesterday but there was a different energy today. There are many marae covered in knee-deep mud and they painted their legs to signify the struggles the iwi is coping with. From yesterday to today the bar has definitely been lifted. I actually slept in and woke to a moteatea from Tūhourangi - who were first up today. Age shouldn’t be a factor because Angitū, from south Auckland, were in the same boat. But have they done enough to retain their crown?