Dannevirke hosts biggest-ever Ngāti Kahungunu Regional Kapa Haka contest

The hosts Ngāti Kahungunu o Tamaki-Nui-a-Rua welcomed the guests at the Friday pōwhiri for the Ngāti Kahungunu Regional Kapa Haka Competition.

What a weekend!

After a dawn start on Friday morning representatives of the 13 teams entered for the Ngāti Kahungunu Regional Kapa Haka Competition hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu o Tamaki-Nui-a-Rua‚ assembled at 10am for a very impressive pōwhiri in the Dannevirke A&P Showgrounds.

The guests came to the Friday pōwhiri in large numbers.

The proceedings held in sunny weather in front of the big stage and surrounded by large marquees set the tone for the two days with speeches from two local kaumātua gaining replies from seven representatives of visiting groups each followed by the traditional waiata.

The group then moved to lunch supplied by four hāngī laid down about 6am. After amazing kai most groups then dispersed to local marae where they were hosted.

A karakia began Saturday’s main event the kapa haka regional competition with over 600 participants each performing to win a place in Te Matatini Nationals set for February 2025 at Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth.

With 13 entries - the most ever in the Ngāti Kahungunu regional finals - four groups were to attend at New Plymouth and the competition was fierce.

Te Kapa Haka o Tamaki-nui-a-Rua were third to perform on Saturday and did so with spirit and passion.

Te Kapa Haka o Tamaki-nui-a-Rua were third to perform and did so with pride and passion much to the delight of the local crowd and support group of over 200 responsible for the care and wellbeing of all visitors.

Although the locals did not place in the top four they were happy their entry made one more team eligible to qualify.

Pa Ariki, Rarotonga’s queen, attended the contest.

One very special guest Pa Ariki, Rarotonga’s queen, had flown in the day before to attend, her connection being the Takitimu canoe which voyaged from Rarotonga to bring the original members of the iwi.

A crowd in excess of 8000 attended this first-time Ngāti Kahungunu Kapa Haka event hosted by Tamaki-Nui-a-Rua.

Hospitality, kindness and generosity were remarked upon by the visitors and the contest ran with precision.

Beyond the venue a large range of food stalls, market stalls and bouncy castles for the children filled the pauses between performances whilst the judges adjudicated.

Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui from Tauranga came to defend their title won four years ago.

The style of the winners -Te Rangiura o Wairarapa, who were last to perform - thrilled the huge crowd and the judges.

Throughout the day, the performances continued to reset the standard. The last five all seemed like winners/qualifiers, previous winner Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui of Tauranga looking like retaining its title but Te Rangiura o Wairarapa concluded the competition in front of a full crowd with a spectacular winning performance.

Representatives of Te Rangiura o Wairarapa hold the winning Ngāti Kahungunu Kapa Haka trophy.

Chairman of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tamaki-nui-a-Rua, Hayden Hape, was a very proud leader and thanked everyone who made the two days such a success - the sponsors, the performers, the judges, his team of volunteers and the community who turned out to see such an amazing display of Māori culture.

The qualifiers were: 1. Te Rangiura o Wairarapa, 2. Te Rerenga Kotuku, 3. Te Kapa Haka o Kahungunu, 4. Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranganui.