Ngā Kura Māori o Tūwharetoa practising at Te Kura o Hīrangi in preparation for today's Te Arawa primary schools kapa haka competition. Photo / Supplied
Ngā Kura Māori o Tūwharetoa practising at Te Kura o Hīrangi in preparation for today's Te Arawa primary schools kapa haka competition. Photo / Supplied
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
The lead-up to kapa haka competitions, from primary school through to the national showcase Te Matatini event, can be gruelling - physically, mentally and financially. But the cultural capital gained is priceless, says one small Tuwharetoa school.
When children from Te Kura o Hirangi take the stage today for the Te Arawa Primary Schools Kapa Haka competition in Rotorua, they will stand proud with the weight of that preparation behind them, says tutor Tūpoutama Paki.
“The journey that a kaihaka [competitor] goes on and the growth gained through learning waiata, history, and korero ā-hapu and ā-iwi is priceless,” he said.
Ngā Kura a Iwi o Tūwharetoa placed 3rd at the primary schools regionals in 2020. Photo / Supplied
The school is part of a combined Ngā Kura Māori o Tūwharetoa haka team which consists of 25 Year 7 and 8 pupils from two tribal schools in Taupō-nui-a-Tia: Te Kura o Hīrangi on the southern end, and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Whakarewa i te Reo ki Tūwharetoa on the northern end.
Thirteen groups will compete today for a spot in the national primary school kapa haka competition in Nelson next year.
Te Kura o Hīrangi Principal Henarata Ham said kapa haka was essential to iwi Māori; it formed the bedrock of who they are.
It taught time management, team bonding, and a unique “wairua component” that instilled school and tribal pride within the kaihaka (performer) at an early age.
Ham says the big price tag for the regional campaign covers tutors, entry fees, seven total wānanga, equipment, travel to Rotorua, accommodation for participants and supporters, uniforms, food, and koha (marae costs). The school had budgeted $45,000 for the opportunity for the pupils to participate.
“The school board very kindly gives us a quarter of pūtea every year before kapa haka to develop it, to progress it, so all the kids reach Year 8 have a bank of skills that have been honed and developed.”
At a regional level, it’s up to the local school committees to source funding which can be a huge financial strain on whānau, schools, and kapa.
Dan Vaka, Te Arawa delegate for the national kapa haka festival Te Matatini, says it gets harder each year as competitions get bigger.
The Te Arawa primary schools kapa haka committee funds the event through ticket sales. The on-profitable organisation consists of delegates from each participating school, who also provides small financial support for competing teams.
The regional kapa haka committee for Te Arawa primary schools funds the event through ticket sales. Delegates from each participating school make up the non-profit organisation, which also offers modest financial support to competing teams.
Vaka says the Government needs to invest more pūtea (funds) into the development of kapa haka, “especially when there are so many positives that come out of it for our people”.
This year the senior festival, Te Matatini, celebrated its 50th anniversary. The biennial event attracted more than 40,000 spectators and contributed an estimated $15 million to the regional economy.
Following the Government Budget announcement earlier this year, $4 million has been allocated across four years to the national body for kapa haka.
According to a comparative chart made public by Te Matatini, it earns about $5.2 million less annually than the Royal New Zealand Ballet and $16.7 million less than the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Up to 2000 performers attend the four-day kapa haka event and have the second-largest active participation and third-largest audience in the arts, gathering more than 30,000 in-person spectators and over 900,000 online viewers.
The popularity of rangatahi (youth) kapa haka today has grown, seeing the audience levels online and on TV for the secondary competitions surpassing Te Matatini, Vaka says.
“When you see how much the kids learn from being in kapa haka, it an intrinsic value that you can’t put any dollar sign on,” he says.
Principal Ham says the value can be seen at times like the recent Tūwharetoa tangihanga of respected kaumātua Te Kanawa Pitiroi seeing the fruits of it.
Tūwharetoa iwi gathered to celebrate kaumātua and historian Te Kanawa Pitiroi, who died recently. Photo / Supplied
“We saw current and past pupils of kura who have chosen a kapa haka path post kura, coming together to celebrate their late kaumātua.
“Schools are screaming out for kapa haka tutors, and if there are generous people out there that want to support haka in schools, go to your local school and offer support.”
