Te Hui Ahurei

                                        

It was a cold chilly Monday morning. I woke up around 5:30am,  forgetting I was performing at Te Hui Ahurei o Te Tai o Poutini today. I slowly drifted back into my slumber, only to wake later  realising that Westland High School Kapa Haka team was performing at Te Hui Ahurei o te Tai o Poutini. I felt very nervous for the upcoming day and the role I would play in this event.

I rushed around the house fearful of the thought I was going to be late and consequently miss Westland High School van heading up to the Greymouth Regent Theatre, this was the venue for Te Hui Ahurei o Te Tai o Poutini. 

Thankfully I made it to school with time to spare. I arrived at 7:00am, right on time. We departed  school at 7:30am, stopping briefly on the way to pick branches to use in one of our items that day. 

We arrived at the Greymouth Regent Theatre just after 8:15am and my cousin Whakataerangi twisted my hair up into a bun. 

Representing  mana whenua, my family, I and members affiliated to Ngāti Waewae ascended the stage for the pōwhiri. This welcomes everyone to Te Hui Ahurei and is when all last years  trophies are returned back to the stage. 

After the pōwhiri,we sat down and watched the performances of the primary schools and area schools that morning. As each school performed the sense of pride could be felt in both the performers on stage and the audience in attendance. All day a constant stream of people entered and left the theatre, young and old, some were performers and some tutors. Many were volunteers, organisers and whānau, all supporting the event, taking in the atmosphere pertaining to Māori performing arts. 

My sister was the kaitātaki wahine for the Hokitika Primary school kapa haka group, I thought she performed and led the group well.         

Around 2pm it was time for the high schools to perform. Although we were not performing until 3:35pm we still had to prepare ourselves and warm up. Finally, this year we had kapa haka uniforms, thanks to whaea C and whaea Miriama Mason. Around 3:25pm it was time to line up backstage. I was a tad anxious, worrying that my branches and poi would fall out. Fortunately, they stayed in place until needed. Personally, the most nerve wracking part was being the first in line to lead the group out onto the stage. Once our performance started the nerves and worries diminished. I just concentrated on my role in this performance, ensuring my singing was on point and my movements and actions were in unison with the team. In the end, I thought we performed well-some might say it was more than decent. The other high schools were good as well. Westland High School was fortunate to win the secondary section of the competition this year. My younger sister also won junior kaitātaki wahine award in the Primary School section this year. 

I was proud of her and the Hokitika Primary School kapa haka group including our Westland High School kapa haka group. After a long day of watching all the performances, it was finally time to go home. Overall I thought the day was superb. I’m extremely grateful for all of the hard work that we all put in and also how hard the kaiako and tutors work to provide us with an amazing bracket. 

I am excited to see what the next year brings. 

Na Paige Waikura Hutana