The Best Kapa Haka In New Zealand. All Of It
Never before has a television channel been in the position to broadcast a national kapa haka festival in its entirety.
Maori Television is proud to announce the premiere of a new kapa haka series TOI WHAKAARI – showcasing every performance
from Te Matatini National Festival 2005, Te Koroneihana 2005 and Tuhoe Ahurei 2005.
TOI WHAKAARI premieres on Maori Television on Monday May 9 at 6.30 PM, and will continue to play out each weekday. More
than a showcase of the festival’s finalists and winners - Te Whanau A Apanui, Te Waka Huia, Te Hokowhitu A Tu, Opotiki
Mai Tawhiti, Waihirere and Te Roopu Manutaki – the series offers Maori Television viewers an exclusive chance to relive
the entire festival with each episode dedicated to an individual group and their performance.
Held in Palmerston North and hosted by Rangitane from February 24 to February 27 2005, the festival was the first
national festival held since 2002 and involved over 1200 performers from 14 regional kapa haka competitions throughout
New Zealand and Australia. In a first, this year’s festival also saw the addition of four new stages offering audiences
a diverse range of artists from as far abroad as the Americas and the Pacific.
But there is more! TOI WHAKAARI also includes the entire performances from the annual Te Koroneihana, held at
Turangawaewae in Ngaruawahia to commemorate the coronation of Dame Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu. The series will also
include each performance from the annual Tuhoe Ahurei – the annual Tuhoe iwi festival held in Ruatoki.
The series kicks off to life with Ruatoki Mataatua. This group was originally established to farewell and support family
who went off to fight in World War II and the group has represented at national level since 1990. The group’s
performance at Te Matatini National Festival 2005 includes a choral tribute to Hirini Melbourne, followed by a whakaeke
that talks of land confiscations and a waiata lamenting the rangatira who died at Ruatuhuna in 2004. Meanwhile, their
poi item discourages the act of flirting and its consequences and their haka again revisited the deeply felt issue of
land confiscations in Tuhoe.
Don’t miss out on the best kapa haka in Aotearoa, only on Maori Television, every weekday at 6.30 PM on TOI WHAKAARI.
Ends