Te Matatini: The Growth of Kapa Haka
By: Harun Siddiqui
From February 25th to March 1st, 2025, over 67,500 New Zealanders flocked to Ngāmotu New Plymouth and over a million watched online as fifty-five dedicated teams competed in the Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga competition. Te Matatini—known as the Olympics of Kapa Haka—features a gathering of the sharpest and most skilled teams and performers of the art form from New Zealand and Australia, who battle over the course of a week to be crowned Toa Whakaihuwaka, Te Matatini champions. Kapa Haka, literally translated from Māori as “group dance,” is a dynamic form of artistic and creative expression in which the Māori people are able to express their cultural heritage and Polynesian identity through the mediums of song and dance.
With its origins in the Polynesian Festival at Whakarewarewa in the geothermal town of Rotorua in 1972, the competition has grown and developed over the last half century, changing the reach of the performance and cementing its place as an integral component of traditional Māori culture. In 2004, the festival was renamed as Te Matatini, meaning “the many faces”; the name change reflects the incredible diversity of both the Kapa Haka competitors and their audiences. The art form has a way of captivating the hearts of viewers, attracting many faces to this display of Māori culture.
During a kapa haka performance, the audience experiences a range of compositions, from chants and choral singing to graceful action songs and ferocious war dances. Many performances include skilled demonstrations of traditional weaponry. The essential competitions of a performance include six major disciplines. Firstly, there is whakaeke, in which groups make a statement about who they are and what their purpose is. Secondly, there is mōteatea, a centuries-old tradition of chanted song-poetry that does not adopt Western approaches to melody and harmony, but instead tends to be monophonic and very rhythmic. Third is waiata-ā-ringa, an action song that is embellished with the use of the wiri, a quivering of the hands that is an integral part of Māori movement. The fourth discipline is poi, an art style primarily performed by women that involves the manipulation of a small ball on the end of a string. Fifth is the namesake haka, a powerful chant that is accompanied by strong body movement; groups often use this section to talk about current topics of great importance. Finally is the memorable whakawātea, an exit song that aims to leave an impression on the audience.
The core of Te Matatini’s audience, however, lies with the whānau (families) from all around the nation who attend expectantly in their thousands, eager to watch their favourite groups for days on end, in sunshine, rain, and hail. These devotees share a real sense of passion for, and pride in, their Māori identity and language.
It is also a source of pride for a city to be selected to host Te Matatini, as well as a serious challenge. The festival is held biannually, each time in a different region of New Zealand and hosted by the local iwi (tribe), who are faced with the immense responsibility of catering to tens of thousands of visitors. As of March 2025, a decision has not yet been made by the organizing committee as to which venue will host the festival in 2027. According to Te Matatini chief executive Carl Ross, as the festival grows in size and status, the organization must do its “due diligence” in ensuring the next host region has its set up right.
Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga, translated as “the many faces of the mountain,” aptly describes the geography of Ngāmotu. The port city provided an idyllic setting for the performances, with views of both the ocean and the mountains punctuating the competition.
This year, thirteen regional Kapa Haka competitions saw a grand total of 201 skilled teams, resulting in the highest number of qualifying teams ever: fifty-five. All fifty-five teams competed in the preliminary competition in New Plymouth, with twelve finalists going through to the national championship. On March 1st, all of the finalists performed on stage, lasting from early morning till the evening. The judges ultimately ruled that Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue (Te Arawa) were the 1st place winners, with Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Ngā Tūmanako not far behind in 2nd and 3rd. Kapa Haka is a unique part of traditional Māori and New Zealander culture, and will continue to expand in popularity in the future as it reaches audiences across the world.
