Where haka meets hula
Hawaiians are embracing Maori culture like never before as LOUISA TE’I finds out at the annual Te Whanaketanga performing arts competition held in O’ahu.
The mournful sound of the karanga echoes across the marae. It’s a haunting female cry that welcomes visitors. The powhiri is performed every day throughout Aotearoa, but this one is unique because it takes place in O’ahu, Hawai’i. The north shore of O’ahu is world renowned for its giant waves and Hawai’i is more synonymous with hula girls swaying in grass skirts, rather than tattooed warriors performing a haka. But once a year, the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) hosts a kapa haka whakataetae, or Maori performing arts competition, which attracts many Maori and those with a love for Maori culture.
The PCC recently held the 8th annual competition – aptly named Te Whanaketanga, which translated means ‘developmental education.’ The competition is alternated with adults competing one year and youth performing the next. This was the year of the youngsters and the powhiri was held to welcome the performers and judges. Te Whanaketanga featured two categories with junior (6-12yrs) and intermediate (13-18yrs) groups. A non-competitive group made up of children under five was a crowd favourite, with babies on their mothers’ hips, showing that you’re never too young to learn.
Poi and haka are on display every day throughout the Hawaiian Islands. In another example of the use of Maori culture in Hawai’i, many American football school teams have added haka to their pre-game rituals, with mixed reactions from fans and media. Te Whanaketanga presented Maori performing arts as it is meant to be, with the importance placed on respect for the Maori people. There is a small number of Maori residing in O’ahu, but the majority of performers at Te Whanaketanga do not have Maori geneology. What they do have was an eagerness to learn and an understanding of the pride that Maori have for their language and culture.
Hone Bailey (Ngati Tuwharetoa) works at the PCC’s Maori Village. Originally from Nukuhou in the Bay of Plenty, Bailey is a student at the nearby Brigham Young University. He worked with the hula troupe ‘Te Manawa O Atui’, from the neighbouring island of Kaua’i and in three months prepared them for Te Whanaketanga. Bailey composed all original content for the groups who ended up winning the junior competition and coming second in the intermediate division. None of the children in Te Manawa O Atui are Maori.
“They come from a hula background and are very disciplined in learning, which made my job easy,” Bailey says after his group’s performance. “They were very eager to learn and embrace the Maori culture. Three of the kids were Hawaiian but the rest were Filipino and Japanese. I wanted them to feel pride in themselves and who they are and I think they showed that on stage.”
Guest judge Donna Grant (Te Arawa), the daughter of Sir Howard Morrison and herself a stalwart of Maori performing arts, has been judging this competition for a number of years and is always impressed with the caliber of the groups competing. “When you consider that this is an island that’s an eight and a half hour flight from Aotearoa, the level of competition here is very high,” she says.
The well travelled Grant still finds it hard to pinpoint what it is about Maori culture that makes it so popular with international audiences. “I suppose it’s the emotive and evocative response that an audience feels when they see and hear us perform. We not only sing, we dance, we chant, we haka! There are a variety of emotions portrayed during a Maori culture performance. Our Maori people back home should be proud that here in Hawai’i, our culture is being celebrated.” Another aim of Te Whanaketanga is to encourage the composition of original material. Groups were given extra points for poi, haka or action songs that were original compositions. 15-year-old Mokonuiarangi Makekau (Tuhoe/Whakatohea and Hawaiian) helped tutor the winning intermediate group Te Roopu O Tumanako. He grew up in Aotearoa but has been living at his father’s home in Hawai’i for the past year. Makekau wrote his group’s winning action song.
"I wrote an essay about my elders who have passed away both in Hawai’i and in Aotearoa and we turned it into a song. My message was that we know where they are going so we don’t have to worry for them.” Te Whanaketanga wrapped up with a performance by popular Kiwi Samoan soul group Adeaze. Samoan brothers Vi’i and Feagaigafou Tupa’i had performed in Hawai’i in June and were pleased to return. “It was an honour to be able to come back to Hawai’i and this time we brought our families so it’s really different for us. We were impressed with all the young kids doing the poi and singing,” says Vi’i.
“Knowing that most of them are not Maori and to see them doing what we see back home every day was amazing!” His brother Feagaigafou added, “It makes you proud to be a New Zealander!” After a successful junior competition, the PCC is looking ahead to the adult competition to be held in August 2008. Kapa haka groups from London, Tokyo, Hawai’i and mainland USA are expected to compete in a true representation of Maori culture in the northern hemisphere. Organisers are hoping that the winning group from the adult competition will be able to represent the northern hemisphere at the bi-annual Te Matatini festival to be held in Tauranga in 2009. The only international entry currently accepted at Te Matatini is the winner of the national competition in Australia. Te Whanaketanga and events like it are proving that the future of Maori performing arts abroad is looking bright indeed.
