celebrate Mäori achievement - Te Puni Kokiri
celebrate Mäori achievement - Te Puni Kokiri
celebrate Mäori achievement - Te Puni Kokiri
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WHAKANGAHAU<br />
Parihaka Peace Festival 2009<br />
PARIHAKA PEACE FESTIVAL 2009<br />
More than 12,000 people gathered to <strong>celebrate</strong><br />
the fourth Parihaka Peace Festival, held in<br />
Taranaki.<br />
The festival is more than just music – it<br />
<strong>celebrate</strong>s the actions of Parihaka spiritual<br />
leaders, <strong>Te</strong> Whiti O Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi,<br />
who employed non-violent resistance to defend<br />
their land in 1881.<br />
Headline acts that entertained the crowds<br />
included the House of Shem, Katchafire, Unity<br />
Pacific, Hope Road, Kora, Little Bushmen and<br />
many more.<br />
There were workshops, kai stalls and plenty of<br />
fun for the entire whänau.<br />
A highlight of this year’s festival was the<br />
formation of a Parihaka Choir assembled from<br />
festival-goers. The choir sang freedom songs<br />
from South Africa, Latin America, Afro-America<br />
and Aotearoa.<br />
“Singing has been a powerful agent for change<br />
in many of these places, and we aim to<br />
<strong>celebrate</strong> that power and find liberation in the<br />
joining of many voices to a greater cause,” says<br />
choir leader Stephen Taberner.<br />
“Singing has been a powerful agent<br />
for change in many of these places…”<br />
42<br />
TE PUNI KÖKIRI | KÖKIRI | POUTÜ TE RANGI – PAENGA WHÄWHÄ 2009
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