Tens of thousands of people will descend upon Auckland’s Eden Park for one of the biggest events on the Māori calendar, Te Matatini which kicks off on February 22. It’s not a sports game or rock concert. It is a festival, where the best of the best get to show off their skills in kapa haka.

Routines are a closely guarded secret, and competition is fierce, but it’s not that well-known outside Māoridom. Stuff Pou Tiaki reporter Katie Doyle takes a look at Te Matatini.

What exactly is Te Matatini?

It’s the national kapa haka competition - attracting teams from throughout Aotearoa.

A veritable who’s who of kapa haka, Te Matatini is held in a different location biennially and is always smoke and alcohol-free.

It was established in 1972, initially as the New Zealand Polynesian Cultural Festival. Rotorua hosted that year and the competition was won by Waihīrere Māori Club.

After a period of expansion the festival was renamed in 1983, becoming the Aotearoa Traditional Māori Performing Arts Festival.

It remained that until 2004, when the festival was again renamed to Te Matatini (the many faces).

This year Tāmaki Makaurau is hosting the big event from 22 to 25 February.

What do the performances involve?

The first thing to know is the performances are referred to as a ‘bracket,’ explains Kaiwhiriwhiri Matua, head judge, Paraone Gloyne (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Maniapoto).

Each bracket is made up of several components, including things like whakaeke (entrance), waiata-a-ringa (hand action song), poi and haka.

“You get 25 minutes for the first five items, and if you do a waiata tira then you get 30 minutes to complete your bracket.”

Rōpū (groups) are able to go under the time limit, but points will be deducted if they exceed it, says Gloyne.

Paraone Gloyne wants performers to make sure they have fun at Te Matatini 2023. Photo / Stuff

How long does it take to prepare for Te Matatini?

A long time. Gloyne estimates the time spent on stage is just five percent of the whole Te Matatini experience.

The weeks and months leading up to Te Matatini see weekends sacrificed, money spent on flights and people travelling from all over to practice.

It is a special time, as performers learn more about themselves, their reo and the place they will be performing in, says Gloyne.

They also get the chance to reconnect with family, friends, hapū and iwi.

“So there's all those hours, plus the money and all the sacrifices, and then there's everybody else behind the scenes that helps.”

“The mothers, the fathers that aren't in the group that stay home with the kids. There are the sewers, there are the cooks, everybody, it takes a community really…”

Is Te Matatini competitive?

Put it this way - if sport has the Olympics, kapa haka has Te Matatini.

Items are closely guarded and Gloyne says it is an unspoken rule to keep ideas and tunes to yourself.

In fact, one year his rōpū had part of their performance leaked, and it meant having to change things to keep the element of surprise.
Gloyne’s big piece of advice for the day though is to simply have fun.

“Yes it's competitive, but I think if you're not having fun, it's not worth it. You got to have fun! I mean, there's the passion and all of that, but at the end of the day they should be having fun.”

Ngāti Rangiwewehi perform at the 1992, Aotearoa Traditional Māori Performing Arts Festival. Photo / Te Matatini Society, Supplied

What does it mean to win?

While Gloyne’s rōpū has never won, he reckons getting the top spot would be a hugely emotional experience.

In kapa haka, you don’t get multiple opportunities to tinker with your game plan. You get one shot, maybe two if you reach the final, says Gloyne.

“So all of that sacrifice, blood, sweat, and tears goes into that performance.”

But for some rōpū, winning isn’t the goal. Gloyne says there are groups who just like seeing their community brought together.

Regardless of the reason for competing, Gloyne wants everyone to acknowledge the hard work of performers and their supporters this year.

And to people watching Te Matatini, Gloyne has just a few words of advice.

“Don't be too hard on our groups. That's one thing I've noticed over the years - audiences have gotten harder to please, audiences don't clap and respond like they used to say twenty years ago…”

“To those couch judges that sit at home and watch it on TV and cast comments on social media… be kind.”

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