Te Matatini finalists 2023

2023 - 2 - 24

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Image courtesy of "RNZ"

Te Whānau-a-Apanui take Te Matatini kapa haka title (RNZ)

Thousands cheered on at Eden Park today as Te Kapa Haka o Te Whānau-a-Apanui from Mātaatua were crowned Te Matatini champions for the third time.

Hailing from the region around Omaio, Te Kaha and East Cape, Te Whānau-a-Apanui previously won in 2005 and 2015. "And when we got here we were ready and it ended up being an hour and a half later, so we had to stay up for that long of a time then go home and sleep and back into it again." Eventual winners Te Whānau-a-Apanui were the last group to perform yesterday after a lengthy delay because of rain, and they then had to repeat their performance today.

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Image courtesy of "1 News"

Te Matatini finals - one last chance for performers to shine on stage (1 News)

Eden Park is heaving with thousands of spectators for the final day of the competition.

Two groups are representing Tāmaki Makaurau, and two are from Te Tairāwhiti. There are also two groups from Waikato and one from the Mātaatua region. Five of the 12 groups are from Te Arawa, the strongest presence of any other region.

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Image courtesy of "New Zealand Herald"

'Te Arawa is in the house': Five out of 12 Te Matatini finalists from ... (New Zealand Herald)

Te Arawa is represented in nearly half of Te Matatini's final 12 teams competing in the prestigious kapa haka competition today, the most finalists the iwi ...

Historically Te Arawa has had two or three teams in the finals, but never has achieved five. Prizegiving was expected to start at 4.15pm. “I’m so proud of the 12 teams going through.

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Image courtesy of "Stuff.co.nz"

Impressed by some, bored by others, Tīmoti Kāretu delivers his Te ... (Stuff.co.nz)

This year he's been watching the festival from afar, taking notes along the way. Tā Tīmoti shares his thoughts with Pou Tiaki reporter Katie Doyle. You've now ...

I think the way they come on and the way they go off is important, and also the traditional chant and the action song, and the poi, and the haka, of course. But I think the language standard is pretty high. But the worst problem is the diction. A lot of new groups have come in, and a lot of groups that are not really up to the standard of the “name groups”, but that's how things are. You know, it's hard to sort of stay at the top for a long time. There are obviously lots of different components to a Matatini performance.

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