Tamararo 2024: Five rōpū advance to Te Matatini nationals

Waihirere deliver a winning performance at the Tamararo kapa haka festival held at Houhoupiko Showgrounds Park & Event Centre over the weekend. It was the 71st year of the event and 21 rōpū competed — five of them earning the right to represent Tairāwhiti at Te Matatini national competition in Taranaki next year. Pictures by Te Matatini/Tairāwhiti Cultural Development Trust

Hundreds of people attended the 71st Tamararo Festival over the weekend and enjoyed the performances of 21 different rōpū from across Tairāwhiti.

Tamararo is the country’s longest-running regional kapa haka competition, having started in 1952 as a fundraising event for the Māori Anglican church across the East Coast.

The five teams to advance to the national Te Matatini event set for Taranaki in 2025 in order from first to fifth were Waihīrere, Whāngārā Mai Tawhiti, Te Hokowhitu a Tū, Tū Te Manawa Maurea and Hikurangi.

Teams who competed over the 2024 two-day event were Toihoukura, Te Hauora o Tūranganui a Kiwa, Ngā Marae Kāenga o Matakaoa Kapahaka, Te Kapa Maumahara ki ngā Hōia a Tūmatauenga, Te Aitanga a Hauiti ki Titirangi, Hikurangi Ahikaa, Hikurangi, Mangatū Kapahaka, Te Hokowhitu Toa, Ngā Uri o Tūranga, Whāngārā Mai Tawhiti, Waihīrere O Mua, Tū Te Manawa Maurea, Te Whānau o Te Aho Matua, Te Kapa Haka o YMP, Hau Kāenga ki Ngāti Konohi, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou, Te Hokowhitu a Tū, Rongo Te Manawa Maurea, Te Toka a Taiau and Waihīrere.

Ngā Uri o Waikohu withdrew before the event started while Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti were disqualified.

Te Matatini Te Tairāwhiti delegate Maui Tangohau said the Tamararo was a cultural institution that had promoted the love of kapa haka in the region for many years, and helped lift morale despite recent setbacks such as Covid-19 and Cyclone Gabrielle.

“Kapa haka is in our blood and our whānau want to express themselves and their art on the stage,” Mr Tangohau said.

Groups and marae across the region were devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 and Mr Tangohau said a lot of the rōpū shared their inspirational stories of survival and resilience in  their performances.

“Many of us have been heavily impacted by flooding, loss of whenua, damage to homes, but we have been slowly rebuilding.

Kapa haka has given us purpose and has lifted the spirits of our people,” he said.

•  Each bracket is available to watch on the Māori+ website.