Kahurangi Milne will be performing at Te Matatini after she speaks at M9 at the Civic Theatre, Auckland on February 21. Photo / Supplied
Kahurangi Milne will be performing at Te Matatini after she speaks at M9 at the Civic Theatre, Auckland on February 21. Photo / Supplied
Nine powerful voices, nine unique perspectives
Going from one stage to another is no problem for Kahurangi Milne, a māmā, a kaihaka, and wahine in business who will take to the M9 stage on February 21 a day ahead of her Te Matatini comeback.
The third instalment of M9 is a day before the long awaited Te Matatini competition with kapa haka.
The M9 speakers will talk about the significant effect kapa haka has had on their personal and professional lives with its theme ‘Taku Ihi! Taku Wehi! Taku Wana!’ in two weeks time.
Presented by broadcaster Stacey Morrison, the M9 line-up includes a range of renowned kaihaka (performers) in Aotearoa, including Te Pāti Māori co-leader and long time kapa haka exponent Rawiri Waititi, broadcaster Matai Smith, clinical psychologist and decoloniser advocate Dr Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, Māori businesswoman and kapa haka performer Kahurangi Milne, multi-award winning musician Troy Kingi, Māori TV presenter Paeta Melbourne, artist and masters student in mātauranga Māori, Cilla Ruha, veteran kaihaka practitioner Kura Te Ua and Māori businessman and New Zealand Rugby Union deputy chairman Bailey Mackey.
Humbled to be asked to speak on this theme on such a significant week, Milne says, “Ihi, wehi and wana is a force that sits within people. This is my force, this is what I bring to kapa haka, and this is what kapa haka brings for me.”
Kahurangi Milne (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Whakaue) was raised in Ōhinemutu, a living Māori pā (village) in Rotorua. She comes from a legacy of kapa haka performers and entertainers and is passionate about all things Māori.
Her parents Trevor Maxwell and Atareta Maxwell led and tutored the Ngāti Rangiwewehi kapa haka group for 30 years in the early 80s and 90s and she spent every weekend growing up in Te Awahou on the outskirts of Rotorua entrenched in the culture of kapa haka.
“My life was centred around kapa haka, and what that meant was, just like anybody that’s in a sport, you trained for it, you competed in that arena, that’s what it was like for us.”
Kahurangi and husband Chey Milne. Photo / Supplied
Now Milne, alongside her husband Chey, have fused their commitment to te reo Māori with their experience in the television industry to create their own Rotorua-based company, Arataua Media, and also share two tamariki.
As a performer herself, Milne has represented her iwi at the highest competitive level at Te Matatini and cultural shows overseas for many years, but with new opportunities she stepped off stage and on screen, working as part of the broadcasting team for the last three Te Matatini competitions. Her last competitive performance was in 2014.
She says while watching everyone compete every year made her miss it, going back to weekend practices and having a lot of time obligations was something is still adjusting to.
“It’s a full campaign, it’s a very physical undertaking because we’re performing to a very high standard, it might be 30 minutes. If I compare it to sports it’s very much the same thing.”
A commitment she says is easily done when you see the benefits for yourself and your family, noting that as a Māori child, being surrounded by whānau plays a pivotal role in the make up of who you are.
“Coming back into that space requires a bit of learning, but the motivation for that is so my children can be exposed, and absorb everything that is so good and rich about kapa haka.”
Milne says the thing that sets kapa haka apart is the fact that every member of the team, the helping hands, the cooks who come every weekend to help, are all volunteers, there’s no monetary gain, more reasons to return home to your marae are far more rewarding.
She says, “Fortunately what kapa haka does for many, it takes you home to where you’re from, you learn about who you are.”
When asked about taking on the two major events, Milne says she’s both nervous and excited, admitting that she didn’t realise what she had agreed to when she said yes. However, having followed the ground-breaking M9 event since its inception, she says, “When I believe in a kaupapa, you do what you have to do to fulfil and participate in something so powerful.”
She says, “I’m very much going to be taking a lot from this and I’m certain that it will give all of us that are performing what we need to be able to do what we’ve gotta do that week.”
Tickets for M9 are available now – visit Ticketmaster for more details.
