Remembering the 28th Maori Battalion (+video)

Te Pito Whenua perform a tribute to the 28th Maori Battalion at the Turner Centre.

To help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Turner Centre in Kerikeri earlier this month, Te Pito Whenua, the cultural group at Waitangi Treaty Grounds, composed a tribute to the 28th Maori Battalion.

Watch the tribute here:

Combining historic images, waiata, mihi and haka, the five-minute piece was performed to a full house at the Turner Centre on August 5.

The tribute starts with a series of historic photos of troops leaving New Zealand, the opening of Whare Runanga at the Treaty Grounds in 1940, Sir Apirana Ngata and Sir James Henare.

Attention then switches to the stage as one of the women sings a maioha, the wail of a mother watching her son going away to war, knowing she may never see him again.

All the women are wearing wreaths of leaves on their heads, a sign of imminent death.

That is followed by Mori Rapana, head of visitor experiences at the Treaty Grounds, delivering a mihi acknowledging the soldiers of the 28th Maori Battalion, especially those who did not come home, as well as the audience at the Turner Centre and those who had organised the 10th anniversary celebrations.

Then the group breaks in to the Ngati Porou haka dedicated to Ruamoko, the god of earthquakes (a reference to the way the ground shakes under bombardment) and end their tribute with the famous "Ka Mate" haka composed by Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha.

Watch another item by Te Pito Whenua at the Turner Centre 10th anniversary celebration here:

See more photos from the Turner Centre variety show here:

Image 1 of 18: