Nō ngā rā whakatā i tū ai te kaupapa kapa haka roa rawa o te motu ki roto o Te Uawa nui a Ruamatua, te whenua taurīkura o te tāngata nānā te ingoa o te whakataetae, o Karaitiana Tamararo.
“Nō konei ia, nō Te Aitanga a Hauiti. Me te mea hoki, kei konei, kei Uawa a Tamararo e takoto ana, kei te urupā o Poutūtara,” te kī a Te Rauihia Ngata-Kutia, tētahi o ngā kaiwhakarite.
“He akoranga hou tērā mō ētahi o mātou o te kainga, nō te mea e hia kē nei ngā hipa i te urupā, arā ko ngā kaihakahaka nei heoi kāore i tino mōhio kei reira kē ia e takoto ana.”
I ōna rā, ko Karaitiana Tamararo tētahi kaihāpai, tētahi hēpara o te Atua i roto i ōna iwi o Hauiti me Ngāti Konohi. Ko ia tonu tētahi i kaha tautoko i ngā Hui Tōpū o te hāhi Mihinare. Nā whai anō pea i kaha tautoko te whakataetae e ngā rōpū haka o ngā pāriha o Te Tairāwhiti, otirā ngā momo hāhi Karaitiana hoki.
“Ahakoa te hāhi. Ko ētahi o ngā kapa o ao tāhito i tū ko ngā Later Day Saints. I reira hoki ko Whāngārā Pārihā, Hikurangi Pāriha, Tūranga Pārihā. Koinā tētahi o ngā tino āhuatanga ki a Tamararo, ko ngā pārihā.”
Ko tētahi o ngā ahuatanga i kitea i tēnei tau ko te whakaturehia o te wahanga ki te hīmene, e whai wāhi hoki ki te hiki i te taonga whakamahara ki a Ātipihopa Paraone Tūrei.
Nōna e minita tonu ana, ko Paraone Tūrei tētahi i noho ki ngā kōmiti whakahaere o ngā whakataetae, a tae noa ki tōna rironga i kaha tautoko tonu ia i te kaupapa.
I te tau 2019 i tuku ai e Te Whānau o Kauaetangohia, te hapū o Pīhopa Tūrei i tētahi taonga hei whakataetae mā ngā rōpū i te waiata hīmene.
“Kei te mōhio tātou ki te momo o te Māori me ōna whakataetae, he “off-year” tēnei. I tono atu a Hauiti kia haere mai te iwi ki te pāti noa tātou.
“Engari…i te mea ko te kaupapa o Tamararo, ko Tamararo whakataetae, ka whakaarohia mātou anei pea te wahanga hei tutuki i te taha ki te whakataetae nā te mea tonu kāore anō te taonga nei kia whakataetaehia.”
Ko ngā toa o tēnei tau ko Ngā Marae Kaenga o Matakaoa, me tā rātou waiata Hīmenetia, he mea tito e Rev. Ruawhaitiri Ngātai-Mahue, e whakanui ai ngā momo hīmene katoa i runga i te whakahau kia hāmama ki te Atua mō āna mahi pai e hāngai ki te Karaipiture.
Hei tā Te Rauhuia, me uaua ka kite i ngā rōpū e waiata hīmene ana – waiata tira, āe, e he rerekē tonu tērā ki te hīmene. Nā whai anō te whakaturetanga.
“Haeremai ngā kapa kia hīmene, koinā te wāhanga whakataetae mā ngā kapa katoa. Hei akiaki anō, kia kaua e moumou te tono a Te Whānau a Kauaetangohia e ono tau ki muri.
“Nō reira i tono mātou te kōmiti whakahaere ki ngā kapa kia hīmene mai koutou. Koinā tā koutou utu i tō rēhita. Kāore mātou i te hiahia ki te whaiwhai i ō koutou pūkoro, kia utu i tō rēhita me hīmene mai koe i tō tū.
Nō te tau 1953 timata ai te whakataetae kapa haka nei hei whakanui, hei tautoko, hei kohi pūtea mā te hāhi Mihingare o te Tairāwhiti. Heoi, he tuatahitanga tēnei mā Te Aitanga a Hauiti kia pōhiritia te kaupapa a tō rātou tīpuna kua roa e tū ki roto o ngā iwi o waho.
“Ka whakaaro ētahi o mātou, he aha e hautū ana ēnei iwi i tō tātou tipuna? Ka tiro haere, ka whakaaro ake me oho ake pea mātou o te kainga kia whai wāhi mai ia ki te kainga.”
I timata ngā mahi whakanui i a Karaitiana Tamararo i te huranga o tētahi pou whakamahara ki a ia i Poutūtara, tōmua atu i ngā mahi haka, e mōhio anō ai te ao haka kei hea rā te tangata nānā te kaupapa nei.
The country’s longest running kapa haka competition took place this weekend in Uawa (Tolaga Bay), the birthplace of Karaitiana Tamararo, the person for whom the event is named.
‘He is of here, of from Te Aitanga a Hauiti. And this is where Tamararo is, in Tolaga Bay at Potūtara urupā,’ Te Rauhuia Ngata-Kutia, spokesperson for the event says.
‘That is something new for some of us here, because many times kaihaka have traveled past that urupā and never even knew that he is lying in there.”
Karaitiana Tamararo was a devout Anglican and was a prominent member of the church amongst his people of Hauiti and Ngāti Konohi. He was also strong supporter of the Hui Tōpū kaupapa in his time. It is no surprise then that the competition named in his honour have been intently supported by the parishes of the East Coast, as well as other faiths.
‘No matter the denomination. One of the regular groups in the early days were the Later Day Saints. Whāngārā Parish, Hikurangi Parish, and Tūranga Parish have also been around the competition. That was one of Tamararo’s great focal points were the parishes.’
A new element to this year’s event was the introduction of hīmene as a compulsory item. All groups who took to the stage were required to sing a hīmene, for a chance of winning a special trophy named in honour of the late Archbishop Brown Tūrei.
As a Priest in Uawa, and indeed right up until his death, Brown Tūrei was one of the early committee members of the Tamararo competition.
His hapū, Te Whānau a Kauaetangohia of Te Whānau a Apanui, presented the trophy in 2019 in his memory to be awarded for best hīmene.
‘We know how we are as Māori, when it comes to competition – this is an “off year” [n.b. this year is not a qualifier for Te Matatini]. Hauiti put the call out to the people to come and ha ve a party and have fun.
‘But… in essence the true purpose of Tamararo is competition so we also thought this is an opportunity to uphold that aspect but also knowing that Brown Tūrei’s trophy hasn’t really been competed for as yet.’
Ngā Marae Kaenga o Matakaoa took home the trophy this year, singing an original hīmene written by Rev. Ruawhaitiri Ngātai-Mahue acknowledging the regularly sung hīmene and encouraging people to keep singing the praises of God and the scriptures.
Te Rauhuia adds that hīmene aren’t widely sung on the haka stage these days – many groups sing choral items, but often they aren’t hīmene.
‘We invite all groups to sing a hīmene, so that we don’t waste the trophy given by Kauaetangohia 6 years ago.
‘The committee said to the groups: sing us a hīmene. That is your registration fee. We don’t really want to raid your pockets, so to pay your registration include a hīmene in your performance.’
The Tamararo competition started in 1953, following the death of Karaitiana, it was originally started as a way of supporting the Māori Anglican church, and the parishes of Te Tairāwhiti. Curiously, this is the first time Te Aitanga a Hauiti will be hosting the festival named for their tipuna. It has all but exclusively being held in Tūranga nui a Kiwa.
‘We asked ourselves why are the other iwi always hosting our tīpuna? Then we looked inward and thought maybe it’s time we got up, sorted ourselves out and brought his kaupapa home.’
The festivities started early on Saturday morning with the unveiling of a pou at Potūtara in honour of Karaitiana Tamararo before the kapa haka took to the stage at Tolaga Bay Area School and Kahukuranui.