Marsden Kapa Haka girls inspired by Te Matatini
Kapa Haka is one year old at Marsden and we celebrated by giving our performers the opportunity to experience the very best of Kapa Haka at Te Matatini, the four-day National Kapa Haka festival. It was Wellington’s turn to host this biennial event at the Westpac stadium, where two thousand passionate and skilled performers entertained the picnic crowd.
With our rugs and backpacks, we were ready when the gates opened at 7am to make a beeline for a sweet spot on the grass in front of the stage. Over the course of the day, the girls were privileged to see some exceptional performances of waiata, poi and haka, including the groups that went on to be placed first and second at the festival.
Matua Nepia, our Kapa Haka tutor, was very keen for the girls to experience Te Matatini. He commented that “the girls all seem enthusiastic and eager to do Kapa Haka but what I wanted was to give them the national peak as an example of what they can aspire to”.
Along with the performances, there were plenty of stalls in the concourse promoting Maori culture. From hangi to moko – there were plenty of new experiences for the girls to try.
Kapa Haka girls get moko at Te Matatini
As far as the girls were concerned, they had a fantastic day! Here are a few comments:
“It’s really, really cool!” Louisa
“I really recommend it to anyone in Wellington – or anywhere!” Ata
“I found it really cool how their whanau stood up afterwards and gave a response to their performance." Abby
And how good will the Marsden Kapa Haka group be after the Te Matatini experience?
