Motukairangi Kapa Haka Festival 2021

The Kapa Haka festival was really fun. Wellington East Girl's College and Rongotai College (Ngā Taiohi o Te Rāwhiti) started it with an opening ceremony, then after the presenter's speech they shared their item. After that, Kahurangi school came up and shared an awesome item, and since they were the only other full school, there were so many of them! We were on third, and it felt really good to get it done so soon. It felt like just one minute, but our item was supposed to be five! There were a ton of other schools after that, including Miramar North School, Miramar Central School, Lyall Bay School, Evans Bay Intermediate School and Hataitai School. Once all the schools had shared, Everyone sung Matariki and Toia Mai on the seats they were on, and the thudding of feet on the floor and 1800 voices all across the room all singing was awesome. It felt so good to hear and see everyone singing and doing one song altogether in unison. I especially liked when we did the haka part, because different people were doing different parts of the song, and the fact that everyone knew their part in the song was great. It felt so good about doing something with different people who we might never have met, without clarifying that everyone knew what to do, but everyone did know what to do.
- Will J

We have worked so hard on our performance over the past few months. The mana and ihi in Te Whānau o Whetūkairangi's performance was palpable! Here's an explanation of the meaning behind each part of our item:

• 'Noho ake au' (Mōteatea/Chant) - This chant speaks of tangata whenua, the tribes of Ngāi Tara and Ngāti Ira. The founding ancestors of these tribes and our treasured Pā site, Whatonga and his son, Taranihoniho are acknowledged. Tara's mother, Hotuwaipara is also mentioned.
• 'Utaina' (Waita-a-ringa/Action song) - This song is about paddling a waka in unison. We uplift the canoe, the canoe uplifts us. I a, ha, ha!
• 'Ko Te Upoko o Te Ika' - (Haka) - Our school haka, speaking of Whetūkairangi's position atop Motukairangi (Miramar) at the "head of the fish of Māui" (Wellington). Kupe's pursuit of the wheke (octopus) and our maunga, Tangi Te Keo (Mt Vic) are mentioned too. We look to the stars, Autahi, Tautoru, Māhutonga, Mataraiki, the family of Worser Bay School.
• 'Hutia te Rito' - (Waiata) - Our finale is a metaphor, it speaks of how pulling the centre shoot from the harakeke (flax plant) will stunt the growth of the species. He aha te mea nui o te ao? What is the most important thing in the world? Māku e ki atu ki a koe, He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. I say to you, it is people, it is people, it is people.

Pōwhiri 2021

Weeks of practice and dedication came together on Friday as we carried out our pōwhiri for 2021. Though the weather forced us inside at the last minute, we were so proud of the 'mana' and 'ihi' (essential force) shown by all students while performing haka and waiata. A special mention to our 'kaea' or kapa haka leaders who led from the front and really brought the house down! From the staff perspective, we were also thrilled to have been able to carry out more of the ceremony in Te Reo Māori, while following the 'kawa' or protocol of mana whenua, Te Āti Awa/Taranaki Whānui. If you haven't already, please check out the Week 4 Newsletter for translation and explanation of our pōwhiri.

Here are some of our students' thoughts on pōwhiri:

Pōwhiri was good. I liked the singing and sang with lots of power - Fabian S

I liked doing Taku Manu pōwhiri because you get to do lots of actions - Zen S

I had so much fun at the pōwhiri with all the people we were welcoming to the school - Zoe C

It was great, I felt really good about it because I was quite loud and I am very proud of myself - Aila B

I thought pōwhiri was really good, I enjoyed singing the songs and listening to the speeches - Lucy N

I was a leader for the pōwhiri and I think we gave it our all and gave it lots of power - Eddie B

Well, where to next? As well as mihi whakatau (smaller welcoming ceremonies for later arrivals) throughout the year, our attention now turns to the first kahui ako (group of Eastern Suburbs schools) Kapa Haka festival in Term 2. We are developing some old, new and different haka and waiata for this occasion, so watch this space!

Tuia, tuia tuia anō

Tuia i runga, Tuia i raro
Tuia ki roto, tuia ki waho,
Tuia te Whānau o Whetūkairangi.
Ko te whānau o Whetūkairangi e
Nō reira, e tau nei ki runga i a tātou katoa, te wairua aroha. Kia ora koutou katoa!

Above and below are woven together, as is what is inside us and that which is outside of us. And, we are woven together as a whānau, the Whānau of Whetūkairangi.

Puanga Whānau Day - Carl, Nik + Teuila

We had a great time connecting with our Whānau Group this week to learn about and celebrate Puanga. You may have heard of Matariki as being the Māori New Year. Read on to find out what we learnt about the Puanga, lesser known among pākehā but highly significant to us here at Whetūkairangi.

We started off the day learning a new waiata, which was gifted to us as a taonga from Te Āti Awa, the mana whenua of this rohe (region). We hope to sing this for you some time soon!


Then we spent a bit of time getting to know our new whānau members (and reconnecting with old ones). Then it was in to the art!

Yesterday we had a day of learning about Māori New Year. We learnt about Puanga and we did art. We had to cut out a mountain from card and with the scraps make texture on the mountain. We used tinfoil to make the star, Puanga, and we used pastel to colour the sky and other stars. Puanga is a star that you can see at the end of the Māori year. Matariki is what you see at the start.

- Chris G

We learnt a song from the Taranaki tribe which they sing at Puanga. Wellington mainly celebrates Puanga as we can't see Matariki because of the mountains. So, we made some mountain art with pastels and paper. We layered the mountain with cut out paper. Last but not least we added a tinfoil star - Puanga! 

- Sabine M

I learnt that Matariki isn't the only stars we celebrate. Puanga is higher in the sky than Matariki. I also learnt that Tautoru is three stars and they point at Matariki. The mountains block our view of Matariki.

- Tigerlily V

Part way through the day Matua Henare came to do a Kapa Haka workshop with us. A great opportunity to practice our skills with a mixed group from across the school. This gave our seniors a chance to show some leadership. Sometimes we perform together, but we hardly ever practice together so this was really special. Tau kē!

Learning about Puanga doesn't mean we forget about Matariki! Matua Henare taught us new lines for the song 'Te Iwa o Matariki' which add in the extra two stars:

Ko Pohutukawa e

Ko Hiwaiterangi e

Matariki, e arā e...

Kapa haka: Tōia mai

Tōia mai te waka nei
Kūmea mai te waka nei
Ki te takotoranga i takoto ai
Tiriti te mana motuhake

Te tangi a te manu e
Pīpī-wha-rau-roa
Kūi! Kūi! Kūi!
Whitiwhiti ora!
Hui e, tāiki e.

Haul this canoe
drag the canoe up here
to its resting place;
the Treaty gives us our autonomy.

May the cry of the bird,
the shining cuckoo
- Quee! Quee! Quee! -
signal a change for the better.
Draw together, become intertwined!