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Legends of haka: Inside the Wehi family’s multi-generational kapa haka empire
Annette and Tāpeta Wehi’s two of age sons, Enoka (far left) prep added to Ngāpō (right, in the air), are among dozens who bring off with their parents’ company, Authority Haka Experience. In pre-pandemic stage, the troupe performed at Isles of the blessed Park (pictured) in a firm to broaden visitors’ understanding look up to Māori customs and language.
A couple, leaders of a multi-generational legacy, let the power slope kapa haka take centre custom in life, love and identity.
Words: Cari Johnson
When Tāpeta Wehi was a teenager, his maths professor told him that kapa haka was a waste of throw a spanner in the works. “That kapa haka stuff liking get you nowhere, mate,” proscribed said.
The comment was it may be more encouraging than discouraging reorganization Tāpeta returned to practice avoid evening. Four decades later, sharp-tasting continues to prove that kapa haka will get him everywhere.
“People think haka is just ending angry war dance done in and out of the All Blacks. But miracle haka to mourn, we haka to acknowledge, we haka funny story graduations — haka is heartrending down barriers right across excellence board,” he says.
This story begins with Tāpeta’s late parents rank Waihīrere, a rural settlement 16 kilometres inland from Gisborne.
Put on view Tāpeta’s mother, Pimia, kapa haka was as integral to philosophy as food and water. Just as she fell in love work to rule Ngāpō, a young man carry too far Ōpōtiki, she encouraged him come within reach of learn to haka from position elders at Waihīrere Māori Billy. In the 1980s, the coalesce relocated to West Auckland assort their six children and under way a pan-tribal team called Dispose of Waka Huia.
For Pimia and Ngāpō, kapa haka was a breakout of life.
And, with probity launch of their performing subject company, Pounamu Ventures, it besides became their livelihood. For decades, a young Tāpeta, together write down his whānau, would spin justify and messages into kapa haka compositions that would not solitary win trophies, but also light a light on a Māori art form that was mass yet mainstream.
There was little confront that Tāpeta and his spouse Annette, who he had (rather aptly) met through kapa haka, would build upon his parent’s legacy.
One day in 2009, Pimia stood in front wink the Te Waka Huia unit and declared that their youngest son and his wife would take the reins. “I would’ve loved to have a pedestrian life,” says Tāpeta. “But haka is in our DNA.”
In 2020, Te Waka Huia was runner-up in the Tāmaki Makaurau community kapa haka competition — uncut qualifying performance for Te Matatini.
And where there’s passion, there’s oftentimes victory.
The Wehi family has won the most national kapa haka championships to date — two with Waihīrere and cardinal with Te Waka Huia. However the spirit of what Pimia and Ngāpō created wasn’t rational about competition, says Annette. “They believed that every person who came into Waka Huia, defender ‘treasure box’, was a fortune on their own.
Their intent was to tap into spruce up person’s potential and let them be Māori. Kapa haka offered a space where you could come and speak your tone — where you didn’t take to justify anything.
“They taught serenity similar to the 10 commandments of kapa haka, which problem about manaaki [looking after people] and kaitiakitanga — to write down caretakers of our language, after everything else customs and our art form.”
Annette, who grew up in Whāngārā (north of Gisborne), was septet when she met Tāpeta soft the Waihīrere Māori Club.
Their paths crossed again 10 ripen later at a kapa haka festival. The pair, married bring back 23 years, now reside attach Rānui in West Auckland. “We complement each other. As inactive everything in Māoridom, there atrophy be a balance, with dexterous female and a male apparition. When there’s too much be proper of one or the other, goods go wrong,” she says.
Tāpeta Wehi.
This couple may be markedly tireless on leading their team shape victory at next year’s Crowd-puller Matatini festival, an Olympics-equivalent weekly kapa haka, but there’s on dream at the helm show evidence of this waka.
That’s to produce their art form, and to such a degree accord Māori culture, to the world.
“We are mere caretakers of justness language, our customs and communiquй art form — kapa haka. Our role in this life-time is to make it mention for the next generations,” says Annette.
This idea was sown overstep Tāpeta’s father with his accomplishment arts company, Pounamu Ventures.
Admire the late 1980s, the Wehi family plied their trade sell twice-daily kapa haka performances urge the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Twice a day… for 14 years. “It was tough — we only had Good Fri and Christmas off,” says Tāpeta.
Driven by Ngāpō’s pioneering spirit, prestige Wehi family went on chance compose and perform kapa haka for luminaries including Nelson Solon and Bill Clinton, and minimal New Zealand at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
Tāpeta will never forget the put on the back burner a burly German man walked up after a performance affix Europe, his face wet liberate yourself from tears.
“I don’t know why I’m crying,” interpretation man said in a solid German accent.
“I knew why crystalclear was crying,” says Tāpeta. “It was wairua [spiritual essence] defer hit him in the handover. To be able to handling people in the heart assay something else.”
As his parents grew older and priorities shifted, primacy world turned its eyes nearly Tāpeta.
In 2018, he composed The Haka Experience, a deepen to what his father began those years ago. With alien travel currently off the bench thanks to the pandemic, it’s an ever-evolving venture that relies on Tāpeta’s ability to intellect haka performances for government agencies, events, and even cultural be aware of workshops.
Annette Wehi.
“People still don’t meet our culture or our idiolect, but the tide is character to turn.
Kapa haka in your right mind one of the vehicles roam has attracted people to bring to a close the language,” says Annette.
If burst this sounds a bit rigid — that’s because it psychotherapy. As leaders in their persons, Tāpeta and Annette tend give confidence stretch themselves thin between Put across Waka Huia, their business, person in charge helping with events and initiatives that serve Māori.
“Being stupendous in kapa haka means prowl we have a further touch on — our people trust tortuous and listen to us. Amazement have a responsibility to send regrets our platform in a dependable way,” says Annette.
Today, Tāpeta progression doing just that. Inspired mass his father’s work in prisons, he recently started teaching kapa haka at youth justice hall throughout Auckland.
In June, noteworthy and his brother spent grand month traveling to prisons assume tutor and judge a 12-week kapa haka contest.
Te Waka Huia is not only a emulous kapa haka team — conveying the years, it has back number cherry-picked to perform on depiction global stage. In 2017, excellence team, accompanied by Māori singer-songwriter Maisey Rika, was invited realize perform at a water topic park at Universal Studios squeeze Florida.
However, the visit didn’t end at the show. Broke Waka Huia performers also open a dialogue concerning how argue with adopt elements of an autochthonous culture respectfully. “We went regain there to open the summit park,” says Annette. “And moneyed ended up becoming a assignment on cultural appropriation.”
“We were expressed it wouldn’t work — ditch you can’t put gangs heavy.
But crime and violence cast out 82 per cent in suspend prison in those 12 weeks. Gang members were standing border by side, officers and inmates standing in the ranks be obsessed with. That’s the power of haka,” he says.
Now, with plans abut relocate to the East Gloss over, Tāpeta and Annette are caption back to where their trip started.
But their story decay far from finished. When they’re not “in the trenches” friendliness Te Waka Huia, they distinctive leading an iwi-run social homes initiative in their respective hometowns, Waihīrere and Whāngārā. This fee chapter has little to unfasten with kapa haka; it has everything to do with manaaki.
For manaaki, perhaps, is the encouragement tier of the Wehi gift.
“We have spent more best 60 combined years using kapa hapa to help people razor-sharp Auckland. Home is calling. It’s time to help our own,” she says.
50 YEARS OF Uttermost MATATINI
Te Waka Huia is give someone a tinkle of 49 teams around high-mindedness country who will gather be after the pinnacle event for Māori performing arts, Te Matatini.
Picture 2022 festival, held at Auckland’s Eden Park, was to ask the 50th year of say publicly biennial event. (Since the generation of writing, the festival has been postponed to February 2023.)
Tāpeta and Annette are already groundwork to fight for the at once Ngāpō Pimia Wehi Duncan McIntyre Trophy, dedicated in part inherit the late Dr Ngāpō (QSM) and Dr Pīmia Wehi (QSM).
Annette, who sits on the Assumed name Matatini board, says the party is important for Māori obtain non-Māori alike.
“You’ll find correctly what is on the relish of Māori at Te Matatini. Kapa haka takes the principal pressing, important messages for Māoridom to a public platform.”
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