Ko Te Kapa Puāwai, nō Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi i Tāmakimakaurau, te toa whakaihuwaka o te whakataetae kapa haka kura tuatahi o te motu, e kīia nei ko Te Mana Kuratahi.
E hia nei marama rātou e whakaharatau ana, ka haere ēnei kapa haka nō ngā kura tuatahi ki Whakatū ki reira haka ai mō ētahi 25 meneti i Te Mana Kuratahi. E 45 ngā kapa i tēnei whakataetae, ā, i riro i Te Kapa Haka o Te Pūwhāriki te tuarua, ko Ngā Taiohi te tuatoru.
Hei tā Sonny Alesana, nō Te Tauihu o te Waka, kua hia nei tau ēnei tamariki e mahi kapa haka ana. E pūhaehae ana ia nā te mea kāore i pēnei te nui o ngā kaiako kapa haka nōna e taiohi ana. Hei tā Alesana, me nui kē ake ngā kaiako hei tautoko i te whānui haeretanga o ngā mahi kapa haka puta noa i ngā rohe o Aotearoa.
He tuatahitanga tēnei, te hautū a Whakatū i Te Mana Kuratahi, ā, wanawana ake nei! Ā te tau e tū mai nei, ka riro mā rātou te whakataetae mā ngā kura tuarua, ā, hei te tau 2027, mā rātou Te Matatini. Ko Te Matatini te whakataetae kapa haka nui katoa i Aotearoa.
E tūmanako ana a Alesana kāore ngā kapa i aro kau noa ki te wikitōriatanga, engari kē ia i ako hoki mō te rohe mā ngā waiata i ākona e rātou. Ka mau te wehi!
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ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Te Kapa Puāwai from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi in Auckland were crowned the champions of the national primary school kapa haka competition called Te Mana Kuratahi.
After months of practice, primary school haka groups travelled to Nelson to perform for 25 minutes for Te Mana Kuratahi. There were 45 teams at the event, and Te Kapa Haka o Te Pūwhāriki got second place, with Ngā Taiohi in third.
Sonny Alesana, from Te Tauihu Māori Cultural Council, said tamariki have been doing kapa haka for years. He’s a bit jealous because when he was their age, there weren’t as many kapa haka tutors. Alesana thinks they need more tutors to help kapa haka grow even more in the region and in Aotearoa.
This was the first time Nelson hosted Te Mana Kuratahi, and it was awesome! Next year, they’ll have the secondary school’s competition, and in 2027, they’ll host Te Matatini. Te Matatini is the biggest national kapa haka competition in Aotearoa. Alesana hopes the teams didn’t just focus on winning but also learned about the region through the waiata that they learned. Sounds like a blast!
