9 Noob to Noob Highlights from Te Matatini/Kapa Haka Nationals 2025

This one’s for my fellow kapa haka noobs (or novices) e te whānau.

If you,

• love kapa haka but (like me) still have a long way to go until fully (or maybe even half) understanding what’s going on,

• are feeling whaumau/FOMO 😆 that you missed some massive moments but also slightly overwhelmed by all the kapa haka content on socials,

Just like Katchafire, I’ve got your back.

After a Saturday glued to my laptop screen with Te Matatini translations blaring in my ear while I literally single-handedly marmited my tōhi/toast and half-effort put dishes away, here is a list of my favourite moments, so you can be in on them too:

*Keep in mind, on a continuum of noob to kapa haka expert that is 100m long, I’m sitting about 4m from the noob end. Annoyingly, the more I learn the more I realise I don’t know—so actually I also seem to be slipping ki muri/backwards… A lot went over my upoko/head but that doesn’t mean I (and you) can’t still enjoy the heck out of the bits I got, so here goes:

How to spot a Te Whānau a Apanui descendent at any event

1. The (simple but memorable) action of the whakataetae/competition👆🏽

   “Newcomers” Te Taumata o Apanui (the quotations because they’re a new entrant but have a bunch of stars including Ria Hall, Troy Kingi, Rawiri Waititi, and Rob Ruha) wowed crowds with their whole bracket. Maybe it’s my whakapapa calling me, but of all the movements I saw, I can’t get this action from their haka (a tūrehu/fairy folk haka about fishing that translators struggled to explain because it was so ancient) out of my head. It’s definitely now a thing👆🏽.
   

2. Angitu haka about A.I, no not ai/sex, A-dot-I as in artificial intelligence

   Known for challenging norms they deem unnecessary, particularly those around gender roles, Angitu are one of my all-time fav teams/kapa. I expect them to make me think and this number, which asks the pātai/question - is A.I a threat or opportunity to Māoridom? - written with the help of Chat GPT, certainly did.

3. Ngāti Whakaue love letter waiata-a-ringa/action song

   This chorus repeats real tohutohu/instructions used to teach Māori how to write so they could pen love letters to their whaiaipō/darlings away in WWII. It speaks of cutting the circle (O) to make a(s) and e(s), putting the pōtae/hat on to make your i(s), and suggests a few new symbols for dealing with modern politics today. So kerēwa/clever and so fitting with their theme of aroha in tribute to Tā Bom Gillies and the Māori Battalion.

4. Māori-fit Whakaeke/Entrance item by Te Pikikōtuku o Ngāti Rongomai

   From their entrance to the jumping press-ups toward the end, the tāne and wāhine of this group showed some major athletic prowess. They also called Winston Peters a tangiweto/cry baby in their haka.

5. Interview bite all reconnecting Māori should hear from Te Pikikōtuku o Ngāti Rongomai tutor and kaitātaki tane, Tuterangi Curtis

   “Every hapū and iwi are waiting for you with huge, wide arms.” 

6. Te Whenua Moemoeā/The Australia factor

   There were three teams competing from Australia this year; Te Atawhai Puumanawa, Te Kapa Haka o Te Hau Tawhiti, and Manawa Mai Tawhiti and witnessing their jubilation to be taking part (and owning that stage), as well as the crowds’ special tautoko/support for them, gave me extra goosebumps each time they performed.

7. Messaging about getting on top of our health

   At least three haka I saw this year were about oranga/health - and particularly that of our tāne - which I thought was a really cool use of attention. On finals day, Whangārā Mai Tawhiti gave me some hope in the whawhai/fight against methamphetamine and this haka by Te Waka Huia which tells us there are no excuses; we must wake up and start looking after ourselves, should probably be a new national health campaign.

8. Paraone Gloyne in action with Mōtai Tangata Rau

   For our Taringa podcast fans, and anyone who follows that link and is soon to be a Taringa podcast fan—here’s your chance to see host and Māori culture expert, Paraone Gloyne, in action with his hugely talented kapa/team. The outfits reflecting the portraits of kuia so many of us treasure, the special poi (apparently used for hauora/wellbeing practise according to Scotty Morrison), the insight to the Pai Mārire movement, and this waiata in particular, were stand outs for me. 

9. The cheek

   One of the coolest parts of marathoning Te Matatini was picking up on the cheeky banter continuing throughout the day; moments like Te Whānau ā Apanui lead, Tamati Waka, ribbing other teams for their ‘new school’ mōteatea/traditional laments, multiple leaders making a show of telling their teams to ‘get their wiri/quivering hand movements on’ after judges’ comments on finals day, Pere Wihongi taking the opportuntity to send a mid-bracket live cross to composer Sir Tīmoti Kāretu, and a few suggestions that judges should probably just award teams 100 points to round off mihi. It seems small, but it’s such a core part of Māori culture and definitely he taonga/a treasure!

Argh, I’m forcing myself to stop here because I keep rewriting these as I remember more things!

Overall it was a momentous occasion. I loved different parts of every single bracket. You could feel the wairua through the screen, see it on the faces of the kaihaka/performers and the crowd, and hear it in every waiata, mihi, and quick gasp, laugh, or passionate tempo change from the translators.

I can’t think of another event that could have both 6-year-olds and 99-year-olds running to get a place up front (of course we make room for our kaumātua!). How unique. How Te Matatini.

See ya at the next one.

*noob disclaimer 547: most of what is here was learned from commentators on the TVNZ livestream and the AMAZING event translators. I couldn’t be more grateful for their help to understand the event. TVNZ team including Stacey & Scotty Morrison, Manukura Māori, and Mātai Smith and Haka Translate team including Maria Te Aukaha Huata, Dr. Te Rita Papesch, and David Jones—e mihi ana ki a koutou, tēnā koutou!