Te Hui Ahurei o Te Tai o Poutini 2019
On Monday, 23 September I woke up feeling scared and afraid knowing that the Westland
Kapa Haka group that I was apart of would perform at Te Hui Ahurei o Te Tai o Poutini Kapa Haka
Festival today.
I showered, brushed my teeth and made myself breakfast. I then got ready to leave for
Te Hui Ahurei being held at the Greymouth Regent Theatre this year.
My heart was racing as I was picked up by my cousin Tiare and his mother aunty Nelly.
Not long after we arrived at the Greymouth Regent Theatre most of us went on to the stage
to prepare for the pōwhiri. Following the pōwhiri, the festival began. It was nice to see the elderly
people watch the next generation perform. I did notice that there were not many Māori children
performing in the teams.
I was happy to see non-Māori kids were embracing our culture. First to perform on the day was
Grey main 1. Westland High School was one of the last teams to perform that day so we were
able to watch most of the primary schools and area schools perform.
That afternoon our kapa haka team went to the changing room to change and run through our
bracket. The time went extremely fast, as it was our turn to perform. I was excited, but anxious
at the same time. Our performance seemed to drag on forever. I was slightly scared at first but
then started to feel comfortable under the bright shiny lights. It was a knee nibbling time as Natal
would usually say.
Finally, it ended. All that practice and never-ending run-throughs had all been worth it. We exited
the stage, I was pleased with our performance. We entered the seating area of the theatre and sat
down to watch the final group of the day Greymouth High School. Following their performance, we
returned to the changing room to change back into our school uniform.
A free sausage sizzle was set up outside the theatre and Whaea C helped to run the waffle and
snow cone stand. Zion bought me a waffle with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
At the prize-giving, Westland High School were announced as the overall winners for the
secondary section of the festival for 2019. Following the prize-giving, we went to McDonald’s
before traveling home to Hokitika. I arrived home exhausted but happy and proud.
-Jett
- edited by Anika
Te Hui Ahurei o Te Tai o Poutini 2019
On Monday, 23 September I woke up feeling scared and afraid knowing that the Westland Kapa Haka group that I was apart of would perform at Te Hui Ahurei o Te Tai o Poutini Kapa Haka Festival today. I showered, brushed my teeth and made myself breakfast. I then got ready to leave for Te Hui Ahurei being held at the Greymouth Regent Theatre this year. My heart was racing as I was picked up by my cousin Tiare and his mother aunty Nelly.
Not long after we arrived at the Greymouth Regent Theatre most of us went on to the stage to prepare for the pōwhiri. Following the pōwhiri, the festival began. It was nice to see the elderly people watch the next generation perform. I did notice that there were not many Māori children performing in the teams. I was happy to see non-Māori kids were embracing our culture. First to perform on the day was Grey main 1. Westland High School was one of the last teams to perform that day so we were able to watch most of the primary schools and area schools perform.
That afternoon our kapa haka team went to the changing room to change and run through our bracket. The time went extremely fast, as it was our turn to perform. I was excited, but anxious at the same time. Our performance seemed to drag on forever. I was slightly scared at first but then started to feel comfortable under the bright shiny lights. It was a knee nibbling time as Natal would usually say.
Finally, it ended. All that practice and never-ending run-throughs had all been worth it. We exited the stage, I was pleased with our performance. We entered the seating area of the theatre and sat down to watch the final group of the day Greymouth High School. Following their performance, we returned to the changing room to change back into our school uniform.
A free sausage sizzle was set up outside the theatre and Whaea C helped to run the waffle and snow cone stand. Zion bought me a waffle with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. At the prize-giving, Westland High School were announced as the overall winners for the secondary section of the festival for 2019. Following the prize-giving, we went to McDonald’s before traveling home to Hokitika. I arrived home exhausted but happy and proud.
-Jett
- edited by Anika