There is more to St Paul’s Collegiate School’s Kapa Haka group than first meets the eye.
Like similar groups, they perform stunning waiata and spine-tingling haka at school assemblies, chapel services and other special events.
Although, at its core Kapa Haka is more than performance. At St Paul’s, Kapa Haka is about students from all backgrounds and ethnicities coming together to celebrate Māori culture and language.
St Paul’s Collegiate School’s Head of Te Reo Māori, Hamiera Tamihana, says Kapa Haka brings people together.
“Students get involved because they want to learn more about Māori culture and meet new people. They leave the group with lifelong friendships forged over their shared desire to know about our native New Zealand” he said.
St Paul’s Kapa Haka group recently joined 11 other Waikato schools to perform at the annual Te Ohinga Mārō Kapa Haka Festival in June.
Tamihana says the group’s public performance at festivals helps develop confidence.
The group meet on a weekly basis to learn cultural traditions and to practice Māori song and dance. They also enjoy five wānanga (educational meetings or excursions) throughout the year. This includes a Noho Marae (overnight stay at a marae) to Hēmi Tapu Marae in May. While there, students are immersed in marae life and protocol and focus on practicing haka in preparation for upcoming competitions and performances.
Other wānanga during the year include regular collaborations with Waikato Diocesan School for Girls and an end of year trip to Rainbows End as whakawhanaungatanga (relationship building).
Tamihana says there are no requirements to join and that the group is open to anyone interested in learning more about Māori culture and tradition.
