Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui delivered an "awesome performance" at Te Matatini in New Plymouth. Photo / Te Matatini Enterprises
Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui delivered an "awesome performance" at Te Matatini in New Plymouth. Photo / Te Matatini Enterprises
Hundreds of hours of practice all came down to an exceptional 30 minutes on stage for the team representing Tauranga Moana at the world’s biggest kapa haka competition this week.
Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui thrilled the audience at Te Matatini in New Plymouth on Wednesday morning with their performance, Tauranga supporter Andrew Savage said.
“It was an awesome performance by Ngāti Ranginui. They wowed.”
Savage said the Tauranga Moana team “really brought it”.
“They are always excellent but this year the quality of sound and their performance was so outstanding. It was a very polished performance.”
The performance by Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui at 8.30am on Wednesday was the first of 14 groups on day two of the preliminary competition, with each group on stage for half an hour. The groups now have to wait until Friday evening before learning if they have been selected for the finals on Saturday.
Tauranga’s Tommy Wilson has family involved in the local team.
“I’ve been to the Brooklyn Bowl before, I’ve seen some amazing groups. I’ve come from One Love, but the sound and the aura and the vibe here was next level,” Wilson said.
“Something special happened when Ngāti Ranginui came on stage. It was more than magical, it was more than euphoric. It was next level, it was beautiful.
“Well done all those who have invested in Matatini, it’s a wonderful thing. In these crisis times when there’s so much bad news, here’s the good news. So beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.”
Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui perform at the competition in Taranaki. Photo / Te Matatini Enterprises
The Te Matatini biennial festival is the largest celebration of traditional Māori performing arts excellence. It encapsulates the power and beauty of kapa haka at the most elite level as groups from New Zealand and Australia compete for the title of national champion.
Judges’ scores and comments are entered into an automated system, which identifies the three teams from each pool with the highest marks to go through to the finals.
Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui had 30 minutes on stage to impress judges. Photo / Te Matatini Enterprises
Judging then starts over again to find Te Toa Whakaihuwaka – the best kapa haka overall in seven compulsory disciplines: whakaeke (entrance), mōteatea (traditional chant), waiata ā-ringa (action song), poi (song with poi), haka, whakawātea (exit) and te kairangi o te reo (excellence in Māori language).
Trophies are also awarded to the winners of each discipline and for the best choral, male and female leader, costume, and original compositions.
The competition began in 1972, originally as the New Zealand Polynesian Festival involving 17 groups performing in front of 5000 spectators.
Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui were up early on day two of the contest but must wait until Friday to learn if they have made the finals. Photo / Te Matatini Enterprises
From Tuesday to Saturday, 55 groups will perform on stage at Pukekura Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth to an audience of about 70,000, and an expected 2.5 million viewers on TV or online.
Te Matatini manahautū Carl Ross announced yesterday that all tickets for Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga 2025 finals day were sold out.
“The Bowl of Brooklands holds 15,000 and we are at capacity. It’s an amazing feeling to know that we have achieved a sold-out finals day.”
