Kaimahi Shine at Te Matatini

After six months of intensive practice, Toi Ohomai Education Pathways Specialist, Meriana Tamati, took to the stage for Te Matatini Te Kahui Maunga with her rōpū, Te Hikuwai, on Paraire (Friday) 28 Pepuere (February).

Through their poi, haka and waiata-a-ringa, Meriana says her rōpū shared with the audience where they are from, and that they are proud to be Ngāti Pikiao.

"Our performance had mutiple kaupapa, but the most important thing for me was telling the world all about our beautiful home through song, actions and wairua. Te Rotoiti I kite ai e Ihenga (Lake Rotoiti) is our haukainga (home) and we are all so proud to be Ngāti Pikiao. We also depicted the important connection between Ngāti Pikiao and Te Kahui Maunga (mountain)," she says.

From September to December 2024, Meriana practised every Saturday and Sunday with her rōpū. From the new year, her group also began rehearsing on Fridays and held an additional practice mid-week.

"The preparation for Te Matatini is a huge commitment," Meriana says.

"A competition as prestigious as Te Matatini takes a lot of sacrifice, but we do it for the love of kapa haka, for our whānau, and because we are proud to be Māori and want to showcase our culture to the world."

Te Hikuwai performed in pool Te Awa at this year's competition, which was held in Te Kahui Maunga (Taranaki region) and accrued streaming and broadcast views in the millions.
Meriana says among the multitude of highlights during Te Matatini and in the lead-up to the festival, reconnecting with her marae, hapū and iwi stood out, along with the support she received from whānau and friends.

"Practising on our whenua surrounded by whānau makes the journey so much more meaningful," she says.

"Then the highlight in Te Kahui Maunga was being surprised by my whānau. My parents left Rotorua at 2am in the morning to watch me perform, and then travelled all the way home again straight afterwards. That meant the world to me! My one-year-old niece was able to watch her Aunty on stage at Te Matatini for the first time - that was another special moment during my campaign."

Former Toi Ohomai kaitiaki nurse, Awatea Mahutonga, also took to the stage for Te Matatini last week. Her rōpū, Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue, was named the competition's supreme winner for 2025. Ngāti Whakaue performed an emotional tribute to the late Tā Robert (Bom) Gillies, a member of their iwi and the last surviving solider in the Māori Battalion. Bom served in WW2, and was knighted in 2021. Sadly he passed away in November last year.

Te Matatini will return in 2027, with festival organisers planning to hold the event in Te Tauihu o Te Waka (Nelson-Marlborough region). However on Saturday, Te Matatini chief executive, Carl Ross, told media the organisation would have to do their due diligence to ensure the festival's next venue had a large enough capacity to accommodate the growing biennial festival.

For more Te Matatini highlights, visit https://www.tematatini.co.nz/ or download the Te Matatini app for Android or iPhone.