Te Māoritanga WELLBEING AND IDENTITY Kapa Haka as a Vehicle

“….they couldn’t keep in time, so you’re the leader, and so from then on I knew I
was the leader, so I just excelled because I had a positive feeling about it, and
that’s important……., so it was quite a thing, so what that tells you is that if you
make people feel something good at the beginning, then maybe they’ll carry
that through, I was like that, because I was told by that lady the first time that I
did it that I was good because I kept the beat, so that was the beginning of my
confidence in kapa haka.”(P3)
Kapa haka as a vehicle for facilitating the construction of a secure
identity in youth was noted by one pūwānanga;
“….they’re there, they’re wiriwiri as, and like for me personally, those were my
roopu that I’d like to say, I’d look after yous for the next five years, you know,
we’ll sponsor that roopu in terms of our tuition and just see what you can do
with them, that might be a research study for you. Grab a green group…you
know, there’s a reason why they would submit themselves to that
embarrassment if you like, and is it because they’re searching for something
deeper, and they know that they are, or is it that they don’t know they really
don’t come up to scratch, or what is that makes that little group of 15 get up
when there’s a group of 50 coming up after them. So there’s something there
with those ones. “(P2)
7.5. Hauora
The following theme of hauora was evident through analysis of the data,
but within this theme, subthemes evolved, and were deemed important in terms
of providing examples of quotes that help to address the research question.
The first comment related to meaning of Māori words and the wider
concept of hauora and language, and is illustrated by this passage. This
pūwānanga was concerned about Māori language and the importance of the
meaning behind words used, and the proper portrayal of them to people
participating in kapa haka;
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