For international followers:
Te Matatini is the nationwide competition for traditional Māori dance, which happens every two years. From Feb 25th 55 groups will perform live for an audience of ~70,000 people.
If you're interested in haka or māori culture, keep an eye out on social media next week.
Te Matatini is the nationwide competition for traditional Māori dance, which happens every two years. From Feb 25th 55 groups will perform live for an audience of ~70,000 people.
If you're interested in haka or māori culture, keep an eye out on social media next week.
Comments
I've been a fan of theirs since 2021, when they beat Te Rangi-a-niwaniwa at the Northland regionals. That performance was (imo) legendary, and you can watch it:
https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-tv/tokihi-ki-tua-2021/18372/te-kura-kaupapa-maori-o-kaikohe
General was a protege of my Uncle Brian Paparoa, who led Pukekiwiriki w/ my mum and later performed this Māori rendition of "The Circle of Life" with Waka Huia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRFSmZAzVWM
So if you don't have a team to root for yet, feel free to borrow mine!
https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-tv/te-ahurea-o-te-tai-tokerau-tokihi-ki-tua-2023/35797/te-pu-o-te-wheke-te-kura-kaupapa-maori-o-kaikohe
I wish I could go watch in person but my niece lives in Taranaki so I'm gonna make sure she can go and root for them for me.
https://www.instagram.com/te_pu_o_te_wheke/
In fact, this opened just this week, in time for Te Matatini: https://airportstories.co.nz/matairangi-airport-lookout/