Competing students’ war cry seeks respect for all women
A Wellington kapa haka group has performed a haka about valuing women, and ending the violence shown toward them.
Te Haeata Awatea – a team made up of Wellington College and Wellington Girls’ College students – was attending the Otaki Regional Kapa Haka competition on Wednesday when the group showcased its new haka.
Until then, the war been kept secret.
The performance was so powerful, it had people in the audience in tears, said Janet Carson, whose son is part of the group.
Parents of Wellington College boys were particularly sensitive to the issues explored in the haka, after a public outcry earlier in the year.
An anti-rape protest was held at Parliament following the publication cry had of social media posts in which some students talked about raping girls.
Carson said those events had made the group’s tutor, Wellington College old boy Ben McGee, reflect on what conversations he wanted to have with his male team members. The haka he subsequently wrote likened violence to an angry demon that attached itself to people. ‘‘It says you have attached yourself to me but you are not me, it says to men ... you can shake it off.’’
As part of their kapa haka practices, the boys had stayed on a marae for about six weekends. Some of those sessions saw the team members break off to discuss the haka and new material they were performing.
It was heartening to see the bond between the students from the college, and Wellington Girls’, Carson said.
The college’s deputy principal, David Thorp, said the school had known that McGee was writing material about valuing women and decrying violence.
‘‘It’s a continuation of what we’ve always stood for, which is gender equality, and healthy relationships between genders, and things we teach in the health curriculum.’’
Those involved had worked incredibly hard ahead of the competition, and got a fantastic reception from the audience.
He said watching the combined Wellington College and Wellington Girls’ group had been wonderful. ‘‘They’ve been on an amazing journey.’’