Matai Smith is a key note speaker at M9. Photo / Supplied
Nine powerful voices, nine unique perspectives
TV broadcaster Matai Smith will take on the mantle of kaikōrero at the upcoming M9, which celebrates kapahaka through the motto of: “Taku ihi! Taku wana! Taku wena!”
“Ihi means excitement, thrill, power and charm,” he says.
“Wehi means awesome but also to be afraid or fearful.
“And finally, wana means excitement and exhilaration.”
Presented by broadcaster Stacey Morrison, the M9 lineup includes 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.
And thrills is what Smith is looking forward to at M9 and Te Matatini a few days later.
“So I think that all encapsulates kapa haka because whether you’re watching or performing kapa haka, you feel the fear, the thrill, the energy, the wairua of the performance and it enthrals you. That’s how I interpret ihi, wehi and wana,” he says.
Smith is an award-winning broadcaster, reo Māori champion, host of the hit show Five Minutes of Fame and has graced the screens of Aotearoa for over 27 years.
Although he has performed kapa haka since childhood, he says it was during high school that he dived into understanding the art more.
“You feel and have a sense of identity, a sense of responsibility, to ensure that when you perform, you perform to the best of your ability and that’s what exudes ihi, wehi and wana,” he says.
Smith credits his home Te Tairāwhiti as inspiration for his appreciation of haka and te ao Māori.
The region is also home to prominent rangatira such as Tuini Ngāwai, Papa Anaru Takurua and Wiremu “Bill” Kerekere.
“I am surrounded by greatness here in Te Tairāwhiti and I’m truly blessed to be from a region that’s so entrenched in haka.
Smith says kapa haka benefits Māori in many ways and can and has been used as a means of activist expression.
“As much as it’s about iwi up on stage telling their stories, it’s also an opportunity for groups to make political statements.
Smith recalls a group who did a haka called tonetone paraihe, which translates to a brush for a vagina. The name is also a transliteration for Don Brash.
He says the haka was an expression for the group’s dismay and disgust at former politician Don Brash’s controversial Orewa speech in 2004.
“I vividly remember thinking tonetone paraihe? What a bloody kaupapa to talk about!’ But when the penny dropped I was like ‘oh this is clever’.”
With Smith’s upcoming role of kaikōrero, he says that despite his vast experience in presenting he is still nervous due to the nature of the event.
“While I’ve done kapa haka, drama and a little bit of acting in kids’ shows and dressed up, this is no dress up, this is Mātai Smith at M9 on his own.
“I don’t have 39 others around me to pick me up in case I drop my rākau or I forget my words,” he says.
Smith says he aims to uphold the morals and values his whānau have raised him with as he goes into M9.
“I want to make sure I do the mahi to ensure that I deliver something that not only M9 can be proud of but also that me and my whānau can be proud of.
“So I’m nervous but: Tū whitia te hopo!
“Feel the fear and do it anyway!”
• Tickets for M9 are available now – go to Ticketmaster for more details.
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