There’s a common reason why Tui Ora kaimahi are pushing themselves out of their comfort zone to get on stage to perform at Taranaki’s Puanga Kapa Haka festival – their pride in Māori culture, their mahi, and each other.
Formed with the guidance of Tui Ora Pou Tikanga, Tonga Karena, Te Pae Kura o Rehua rōpū is made up of Tui Ora kaimahi who all have differing previous kapa haka experience.
One member, Tiana Robson (Ngāti Tama, Te Ati Awa) reflects she’s only recently rediscovered her passion for kapa haka in the last couple of years, “I loved kapa haka in primary school, but as I grew older, I started to not enjoy it as much when it got more competitive and more confronting,”
“One day at Tui Ora I was encouraged by some kaimahi to head along to waiata practice, and I thought I’d just give it a go because I could see how passionate they were about it, and then it just became an ongoing thing.”
Since then, Tiana has stepped up to being a leader within the Tui Ora kapa haka rōpū, running one-on-one sessions with others who need a bit more support.
When speaking about it though, she sees herself as ‘More of a behind the scenes member and supporter, rather than a leader and front of stage performer’, especially when it comes to performing at Puanga.
“I’ve been really pushed outside my comfort zone,” she says, “At the pōwhiri we hold at Tui Ora, I love being a part of that, I love performing for our new kaimahi, but I still need to break free of my own head when it comes to performing at Puanga, I put a lot of pressure on myself.”
For Tiana, Puanga holds a close tie to her late Nana. They used to always go watch together and the thought of going without her is something that carries a lot of weight.
“My Nana passed away in 2018 and was lying in state up at the Marae when Puanga was on. My daughter woke up that morning determined to perform. I originally said no, but she found her Aunty Ayla who pulled me aside to change my mind, and we all headed along as a whānau. It was a huge moment where there was a lot of kōrero about my Nan and acknowledgement of our whānau and the grief we were going through. I haven’t been back to that space since, that was the last Puanga I attended,” she shared, “It’s hard to go back, but I know I’ll be very proud once our performance is over.”
For another member of the rōpū, Neetta Koli, her drive to perform at Puanga comes from her love of culture.
Born and raised in India, Neetta moved to Aotearoa ten years ago, and since working at Tui Ora she has immersed herself in every opportunity to experience and learn more about Māori culture.
“I love representing culture!” she says, “Puanga for me is about connecting to the community, connecting to the roots of Māori culture, and celebrating how people come together.”
No stranger to performing on stage, Neetta is part of a cultural dance group that performs at events around Taranaki, so when it comes to kapa haka she’s been quick to learn the waiata and accompanying movements. However, when it came to poi she admits she’s finding it harder than she originally thought she would.
“The poi is the most challenging factor for me, so I have poi sitting on my desk, I have poi at home, in my car that I practice with,” she says with her trademark smile.
“I feel really privileged that Tui Ora gives us the time to learn and practice kapa haka, and for the one-on-one support from Tiana, she has really stood up as a leader to help others with less experience.”
Reflecting on how she’s feeling about getting up on stage Neetta says, “Right now I am feeling nervous and hesitant about how we’ll do, but once we do it, I’ll feel very proud and have that sense of fulfilment that we tried our best!”
Te Pae Kura o Rehua will take the stage to perform at 2.00pm on Friday 31 October at Waitara War Memorial Hall. It’s the 21st Puanga Kapa Haka Festival this year and it will take place from 29 – 31 October. Along with live kapa haka performances the festival will also have health promotion, vaccinations, stalls, netball, hāngī and lots of other activities on offer.