Te Māoritanga WELLBEING AND IDENTITY Kapa Haka as a Vehicle

“Haka is the generic name for all Māori dance. Today, haka is defined as
that part of the Māori dance repertoire where the men are to the fore with the
women leading vocal support in the rear.” (Karetu, 1993, p 24).
Kapa haka has long been a ‘flagship’ of identity for Māori, especially
internationally, and in the area of tourism (Smith, 2003). McLean (1996), states
that the first kapa haka groups hailed from the Rotorua villages of Te Wairoa,
Ohinemutu and Whakarewarewa. By the late nineteenth century, Rotorua had
developed as an international resort where tourists would enjoy the natural
splendour of the ‘thermal wonderland’, and be entertained with haka and poi
(Smith, 2003).
The Polynesian Festivals’ inception (since 1972) encouraged tribes to
revive their own tribal disciplines of kapa haka (Te Awekotuku, 1981) as these
are national competitions in which kapa haka became the modern day
substitute for the traditional theatres of war (Smith, 2003).
Kapa haka has gone through many periods of development. Two of the
most significant were; the time between the World Wars (I and II), and the
decades of urbanization (post WWII). The World War One period heralded the
emergence of the modern waiata-a-ringa or action song. Apirana Ngata has
been credited with most successfully promoting the the waiata-a-ringa in that it
became ‘galvanised into kapahaka history’ (Smith, 2003. p. 115) from this
period on. The First World War period saw many traveling haka troupes
exhibiting their waiata in concert form for fundraising purposes, and also in the
Hui Toopu 24 , and Hui Aranga 25 gatherings. In a magazine article entitled
‘Guardian of the dance’ Kuini Reedy contemplates the contribution of famous
composers of the time, such as Tuini Ngawai;
“Many of her songs were from the war years, and she was renowned for
keeping the spirit alive among the families who were mourning and
grieving during those years. Her songs are powerful; they are still very
much alive, we sing them today to remember those loved ones.”
(Horsley, 2007, p. 15).
24 Hui Toopu - Māori Anglican Church gathering
25 Hui Aranga - Māori Catholic Church gathering
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