Te Matatini: Community Trusts chips in $150K to support the olympics of kapa haka

Te Matatini is not just about kapa haka. Photo / Supplied

The New Zealand Community Trusts has awarded a grant of $150,000 for the Te Matatini Herenga Waka Herenga Tangata National Kapa Haka Festival.

NZTC Operations Manager Toti West says Te Matatini is not just a kapa haka competition but a chance to showcase all things good about Māori.

“The Festival primarily showcases Kapa Haka at its pinnacle,” West said.

Te Matatini - coined by Māori academic Professor Wharehuia Milroy - not only promotes and fosters the use of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga, but also provides a platform for Māori businesses to showcase through a festival marketplace.

“It is a wonderful opportunity to foster collective connectivity among communities from all across Aotearoa. The need to connect together as whānau is critical to the health and wellbeing of Te Ao Māori,” West said.

Māori academic Professor Wharehuia Milroy coined the Te Matatini describing the diversity and numbers of performers. Photo / File

COO of Te Matatini Enterprises Wi Pere Mita acknowledged the $150,000 grant and said the money would go directly to running the event at Eden Park.

Te Matatini attracts the best kapa haka teams in Aotearoa and is also a chance to reconnect with friends and whānau, Mita said.

“NZCT has long been a supporter of Te Matatini which draws over a thousand performers from around the country as well as Australia, 50,000-plus attendees in person, and over a million viewers tuning in locally and abroad.”

The festival prides itself on being whānau friendly, as well as a smoke and alcohol-free event. It has an open-door policy, where all are welcome to experience the timeless tradition and spectacle of kapa haka. It is the culmination of years of hard work, passionate commitment, and unswerving dedication to bring their best to the national stage.

This year, Te Matatini celebrates fifty years of kapa haka excellence and remembers the giants of the kapa haka world who have campaigned tirelessly for the betterment of the Māori language, customs, arts, and culture.