Following delays due to the Covid Era and concerns about the recent extreme weather events Te Matatini 2023 - herenga waka herenga tangata has come back bigger and better after a four-year hiatus.
The biggest kapa haka whakataetae in the world is also an opportunity for all of Te Ao Māori to congregate together again and to celebrate being Māori.
Our own Tauranga Moana kapa including Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui and Tutarakauika ki Rangataua both gave stellar performances on the opening day of the competitions in back to back slots 2 and 3 across the 3 days of preliminary performance.
Ongare Trust recognises the value of pan Māori kaupapa like Te Matatini, the opportunity for our whānau to participate at the regional level towards winning a place at Te Matatini every 2 years and the hard work, sacrifice and dedication it takes to get there.
In 2023 Ongare Trust have given both of our Tauranga Moana kapa a community grant of $2500 each towards their respective Te Matatini campaigns and in the case of Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui a celebration later this year of their 34th anniversary as a kapa.
At this point we would also like to acknowledge one of our Ongare owners and whanaunga Te Maumako August who is a lifetime member of Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Ranginui and who also created the men’s maro for Tutarakauika and the women’s dresses for Te Iti Kahurangi this year. Ka rawe tō mahi e te whanaunga.
Aunty Kura and Aunty Pua were also invited to accompany Tutarakauika as their Kuia and we know that they are great ambassadors for not only our Tauranga Moana pakeke but also for Ongare Trust wherever they go.
The tagline of Te Matatini is herenga waka herenga tangata referring to the tying together of waka and people or a collective bringing together of people from various waka and tribal rohe under one banner kaupapa - te kaupapa o te kapa haka.
In this way also Te Matatini is a kaupapa where whakawhanaungatanga is a key part of the festival and the opportunity to catch up with whānau and friends alike is always high on the agenda and happens naturally between trips to the kai stands, browsing through the shopping stalls and finding the best spots to sit and watch the kapa.
Some of our Ongare Trustees joined whanaunga and ASB Kaihāutu Māori Anthony Ririnui for a day at Te Matatini as Anthony manages Ongare’s business banking with ASB. For those of you who know Uncle Waraki Paki and Aunty Polly Paki, Anthony is Aunty Polly’s nephew.
It was also an opportunity for us to touch base with other whanaunga and new contacts Rangi Ririnui (Uncle Mita Ririnui’s son) and Tahana Tapsell (mokopuna of Peter Tapsell) both of New Zealand Trade and Entreprise.
Thanks to the introduction by Anthony, Rangi and Tahana have provided funding from NZTE for Ongare to engage in a Te Pae Roa workshop with MyFiduciary governance professionals where we intend to start to build a SIPO framework and utilise this session to inform our 2023 strategic planning.
