KEY POINTS:
East Coast kapa haka group Whangara-mai-Tawhiti has been named the supreme winner of this year's Te Matatini national kapa haka festival in Palmerston North.
Auckland group Te Waka Huia came second and Opotiki mai Tawhiti from Opotiki was third.
Whangara-mai-Tawhiti group leaders Derek Lardelli and Aroha Papa described the award as "an honour for us and our families".
"It represents a lot of hard work and discipline," said Lardelli, the group's prime tutor and composer, who also composed the All Blacks' Kapa o Pango haka.
Whangara-mai-Tawhiti was prominent in the competition's aggregate placings, winning prizes for best haka, action song and waiata tawhito or traditional song.
Many of its members are descendants of famous ancestor and whale rider Paikea, who provided inspiration for the movie Whale Rider, an adaptation of Witi Ihimaera's book of the same name.
Whangara-mai-Tawhiti was first established in 1961 and then revived in 1976. The present group was formed in 1995, after requests from local kuia and koroua who wanted to keep the tikanga and mana of Whangara alive.
Chief judge Te Kepa Stirling said the calibre of performances was excellent.
"Our main focus is to ensure the standard of kapa haka and its true essence is maintained," he said.
The next Te Matatini is in Tauranga in 2009.
- NZPA
