Kapa haka groups begin campaigns
With just over six months until the biennial national kapa haka competition, South Island teams say they are ready for the challenge.
Officially on a three-month break from training, three South Island kapa haka groups jumped at the chance to celebrate Matariki with tourists and locals at the Christchurch Arts Centre yesterday.
But soon Nga¯ Manu a Ta¯ ne, Te Ahikaaroa and Te Poutu¯ ma¯ ro¯ would begin their gruelling campaigns for the national biennial kapa haka competition Te Matatini, held in Wellington in February.
Te Poutu¯ ma¯ ro¯ ’s members span the whole South Island including Nelson, Christchurch, Queenstown, Dunedin and Invercargill, tutor Tiana Alesana said.
Most members were aged 20 and 30-years-old and the group relied heavily on social media to discuss ideas and arrange monthly training sessions.
Alesana said Te Matatini was always daunting for South Island teams. During the last competition South Island teams made up five of the 43 teams in total.
‘‘There can be a stigma that South Island teams aren’t good.’’
But Alesana said Te Poutu¯ ma¯ ro¯ wanted to take a positive approach.
‘‘We wanted to say we in Te Waipounamu are awesome and we want to push the level of kapa haka within ourselves . . . to be as competitive as we can be.’’