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Napier home, famous for Christmas lights debuts Matariki display

Napier home, famous for Christmas lights debuts Matariki display

NZ Herald5 days ago

A Napier homeowner famous for lighting up his street at Christmas is debuting a star-themed Matariki display.
Mark Williams, who lives on Westminster Ave in Tamatea, said his house had become a Christmas tradition for many families in Napier and the surrounding areas, and hoped

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Community spirit shines
Community spirit shines

Otago Daily Times

time4 hours ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Community spirit shines

For the 16th year in a row, Kahu Youth will be igniting the community spirit on Matariki day with performances, traditional food and storytelling. The appearance of the Matariki cluster of stars is a significant event in the Maramataka, marking the Māori New Year. These stars, also called Pleiades, become visible in June. The Maramataka is deeply connected to the environment, particularly the ocean and its tides, as the moon influences them. In 2022 Matariki became an official public holiday in Aotearoa, but Kahu Youth had already taken the lead on the celebration with an event that began in 2010. The Wānaka Matariki celebration had humble beginnings with just a potluck meal and some storytelling. It has since flourished into a local highlight, complete with local kapa haka, Māori storytelling about Matariki from local kaumātua Darren Rewi and a traditional hangi feeding over 600 people. Kahu Youth operations director Anna Sutherland said despite the event growing over time, some things had not changed. "The thing that has stayed the same is that this event has been run by community spirit," she said. For her, the value of the celebration was its ability to bring the Upper Clutha community together and teach local rangatahi about Māori heritage. Ms Sutherland said around 30 young volunteers were involved this year in the making of the event, giving them the opportunity to learn more about Māori history. "It's really inclusive, and it allows everybody to be involved and learn. So, through that it brings diversity and respect for other cultures," Ms Sutherland said. Leading up to the big day, the event has strung together a network of groups eager to contribute such as the local primary and secondary schools, Te Kakano Trust and the Mana Tahuna Trust which provides support for migrant communities in the lakes district. The seven kapa haka groups performing are from across the region, including groups from Wānaka Primary School, Hāwea Kindergarten and Matariki Tupu Hou, an inclusive group of young and adult performers. Chairman of the Mana Tahuna Charitable Trust Darren Rewi will be doing Māori storytelling relevant to the Lakes region. "Because we're surrounded by the mountains, the arrival of Puanga, which is another star, is what the local tribe used to focus on rather than the Matariki constellation because it sits so low," Mr Rewi said. He highlighted the importance this knowledge has for all attendees, especially young people and the immigrant community. The Matariki or Pleiades constellation holds a special place in many indigenous cultures and Mr Rewi believed this presented a unique opportunity to bring together different ethnic groups across the whole region. "What we find is that a fair amount of people that listen to those stories are overseas visitors," he said. "It gives them an understanding of why New Zealand is celebrating Mātariki and why it's worthy of a holiday." As well as enjoying the new year, the event also aims to represent the values of this holiday, which includes honouring the past, celebrating the present and having hope for the future. Despite the growth of this celebration over the years, the event has managed to maintain respect for the environment and uphold the principles of Matariki. "We don't want this event to be commercialised or about stuff," Ms Sutherland said. "It's about people and place." Set to take place at the Dinosaur Park from 2pm, the celebration will also include a weaving workshop, a lakefront bonfire and a community waiata from 5:30pm.

Youth involvement increased in honour of Māori Queen
Youth involvement increased in honour of Māori Queen

Otago Daily Times

time4 hours ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Youth involvement increased in honour of Māori Queen

A cosy bonfire set up by the Kahu Youth Team for Matariki. PHOTOS: RAWAN SAADI Young rangatahi were the stars of this year's annual Wānaka Matariki celebration, as hundreds of locals gathered to enjoy the festivities. For the 16th year in a row, Kahu Youth delivered a successful Matariki celebration across Wānaka's lakefront, complete with seven kapa haka groups, a hangi and a beachfront bonfire. The day started at 2pm with performances, while a team from the Mt Aspiring College (MAC) cultural committee helped prepare the hangi at the Wānaka Dinosaur Playground. Local Paul Tamati, who was heavily involved with the organising the hangi, said that year they had involved more young people to honour the Māori Queen, Kuini Nga Wai Hono i te Po. "These are our young people of today coming forward to learn hangi," Mr Tamati said. " ... We see it as a representation of who their new Māori queen represents." The Mt Aspiring College cultural committee (from left) Jacob Fielding, Joseph Combe, Ethan Prince, Isaiah Chin-Nyika, Lucas Parry and Eli McArthur. Joe Miller and Axel MacDougall help prepare the hangi. He added that the Māori Queen had made it clear in her maiden speech that she would represent rangatahi, and Matariki was a perfect opportunity for the Wānaka community to contribute to that sentiment. The hangi was certainly a crowd favourite, as dozens of people lined up to purchase a plate after the group of MAC students helped to prepare the food. The day was also filled with performances from locals of all ages, including the Hāwea Kindergarten, Wānaka Primary School and the community waiata group, Matariki Tupu Hou. Weaving workshops, face painting and a beachfront bonfire also brought people together and were made possible by rangatahi volunteers from Kahu Youth, further involving the town's young people. Kahu Youth youth worker Imogen Smith spoke passionately about the importance of being able to have a big event that showcased Māori heritage for the local community. Community group Matariki Tupu Hou performs a haka. Having grown up in Christchurch, she felt Māori culture in a city could often be more accessible to young people as there were larger populations and therefore more Māori communities, in comparison to small towns where the same heritage could be more sparse. "This event is really important to bring te ao Māori to a small community and creating that accessibility for rangatahi and the community in general," she said. Local kamatua and chairman of the Mana Tahuna Charitable Trust Darren Rewi had come from Queenstown to celebrate with the community and expressed how the performances by young kapa haka groups made the event more special. "The children doing kapa haka always brings people in and it's a relaxing way to celebrate the Māori new year," he said. As the sun set and the star constellations began to appear in the sky, the event's busy activities ended with the community coming together to sing a group waiata.

Kōkā Puts Māori Storytelling, Healing, And Matariki At The Heart Of Its Journey
Kōkā Puts Māori Storytelling, Healing, And Matariki At The Heart Of Its Journey

Scoop

time12 hours ago

  • Scoop

Kōkā Puts Māori Storytelling, Healing, And Matariki At The Heart Of Its Journey

A new feature film weaving together Māori storytelling, intergenerational healing, and the significance of Matariki has hit the big screens today, offering Aotearoa a moving experience grounded in te ao Māori. Kōkā, directed by Kath Akuhata-Brown (Ngāti Porou), follows the journey of two wāhine - a kuia named Hamo and a troubled young woman, Jo - who form an unlikely bond on a road trip across Aotearoa. Described by Akuhata-Brown as "a road movie, but a journey that is both physical and metaphysical", the film platforms both mātauranga Māori and the Ngāti Porou dialect. "I genuinely wanted to create something that showed the world how beautiful being Māori is to me," Akuhata-Brown said. Akuhata-Brown first wrote Kōkā nearly 20 years ago but said now was the perfect time to share it. "I wanted the world to understand that our existence is so deeply connected to our land and our tīpuna. This doesn't make us a people who live in the past, but a vibrant, connected nation." The film's release coincides with Matariki, a season of remembrance, renewal, and wānanga. It's also a time that brought Akuhata-Brown closer to mātauranga Māori, she said. "It wasn't until making the film that I started understanding Matariki's significance to me personally. "My dad lived by Matariki principles... it was just his way of life. It was all he knew. Everything was alive: pounamu, the stars, the whenua, the awa - all of it was a living entity. "That's why it became important to me. I started understanding that more during the process of making Kōkā." Māori voices at the forefront Kōkā stood in deliberate contrast to earlier portrayals of Māori in films like Once Were Warriors, Akuhata-Brown said. Released in 1994 and directed by Lee Tamahori, Once Were Warriors follows an urban Māori whānau living in South Auckland and their problems with poverty, domestic violence, and alcoholism, caused by intergenerational trauma, racism, and systemic land loss. "The intention was to bring elements of healing into the work, to ensure that when people come away from it, they're not traumatised. Because I am so sick of traumatising films," Akuhata-Brown said. She said the current political climate made it more important than ever to share Māori stories. "I think if you look through history, the greatest storytellers emerge in the darkest periods. Not just in te ao Māori, but across the world. "Artists are the soul of the nation. And our souls need some help right now." A spiritual journey of healing and whakapapa Hinetu Dell (Ngāti Porou), who plays the character Hamo, said it was "humbling" to be part of a kaupapa that uplifted her people. "It's really important for those who live in isolated areas or isolated spaces to see their kind on the screen. It's something they can aspire to and achieve." She said stepping into the role of Hamo, a kuia deeply rooted in tikanga and whakapapa, felt natural. "A lot of the experiences that Hamo was going through, I had already experienced in my own life. I was very comfortable with the Māori protocols." Kōkā also explored intergenerational trauma and how the restoration of mauri begins through service, connection, and care. "Hamo serves this girl by doing all the work, catching the kai that's important to young women. Hamo does karakia, and during that whole process, Jo, who has come into this place bruised and battered, is healed," Dell said. A tribute to a life lived and lost Jo's character was inspired by a real person Akuhata-Brown once met, a young Māori man who had been institutionalised, released into the community, and left to "survive on his own". "He lived under the Grafton Bridge and used to read the newspaper to see who had passed away, then turn up to their tangi," she said. "He had no filters, it was quite full on. People were nervous around him. I thought to myself, he's not long for this world. Three years later, his body was found in a ditch." Akuhata-Brown said she couldn't stop thinking about him. "My Jo in the film is that Joe. It's to honour him and his life when no one else did." She said the character served as a reminder of the realities some Māori still face. "All I know is that someone's life has been given that's the truth." Connection through te reo and identity Darneen Christian (Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Pitcairn Island), who plays Jo, said the production was both challenging and rewarding. "I love that it's touching people who don't know their whakapapa and their culture. It's touching a lot of things people are starting to finally be passionate about and trying to work on." Like her character, Christian said she had been distant from her Māori whakapapa. But being on set helped her reconnect. "I teared up at one of our rehearsals and said I can't communicate with you in the language. Everyone was so supportive, I realised I wasn't going to be looked down on." The film's alignment with Matariki made the experience more meaningful. "It's a time to release and start again... to leave what has happened behind and welcome what's new." Dell said the journey of understanding Matariki had also evolved for her. "Matariki is a word that's very familiar to me in terms of haka and waiata," Dell said. "Prior to that, we didn't really understand what Matariki really meant until today. The research in terms of Matariki has been instrumental in developing us as a people to go forward." Te reo Māori, whenua, and a nod to Ngāti Porou Kōkā was the first feature film to be shot predominantly in the Ngāti Porou dialect. The dialogue was developed with local kaumātua, language experts, and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou. Akuhata-Brown said the language spanned generations, from modern-day reo to expressions once used by Māori Battalion soldiers. "The language of women is different to the language of men and there's even a Ngāti Porou language of love," she said. "It's a full range of te reo and it was incredibly important to the filmmaking team that the language create a tapestry of beauty and gorgeousness. I haven't dared touch it." Actor Te Kohe Tuhaka (Ngāti Porou, Tūhoe), known widely in Aotearoa for his role in The Dead Lands, plays Marcus in the film, a police officer who acts as a protector to Hamo. He said Kōkā' s use of reo is empowering but "normal." "I grew up in a period where I just thought everybody spoke te reo Māori, and English was second, everybody's second language. Which is not the case. Case in point to the current government. "Everything about te ao Māori is a very normalised thing in my life. That is not to say that I am an expert in any of it. I just know what I know, and I've grown how I've grown." Tuhaka said an important part of the film is exploring the universal challenges Māori still face today. "We touch on poverty, we touch on low socio-economic spaces, we touch on the role of the police in the community, we look at the journey of Māori returning back to their maunga, their awa, our versions of manaakitanga. "The landscape is another massive character and touchstone for us in Kōkā." He said all of these practices and kaupapa exist now. "To be able to shine a bit of Matariki light, me Puanga, ki runga i ēnei tū āhuatanga, it feels fitting as we head towards our release in Matariki weekend." A tribute to the whenua and wāhine Filming took place across Te Wai Pounamu, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, and the East Cape - but it was Akuhata-Brown's awa and maunga that anchored the story. "It couldn't be told anywhere else," she said. The title Kōkā is specific to Ngāti Porou and is a shortened form of Waiapu Kōkā Huhua, referring to the ancestral Waiapu River. It can be translated to "matriarch" or "mother of us all". "It reflects all those female aspects - not just one," Akuhata-Brown said. "Along the Waiapu riverbanks are marae often led by chiefly women, nurturing all the people who live there." "The river's flow mirrors the story structure, with all rivers joining the central character Hamo on her journey out to sea," she said. Making space for future storytellers All of the film's actors offered words of encouragement to rangatahi, wāhine, and Māori wanting to enter the film industry. Tuhaka said it was important for aspiring creatives to understand their purpose. "You have to really know why. Why this industry? Why this craft?" he said. "We're lucky here in Aotearoa that it's not foreign to dabble in a whole raft of things, in front of the camera, behind the camera. But it's about understanding the 'why' because you'll get more noes than yeses, and the why is what gets you through the no's and lets you really celebrate the yeses," Tuhaka said. "Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui. "If this is something you want, go for it. Make mistakes, stand up, and carry on," Dell said. Christian said the time was right for more Māori voices in film. "This is the time. The pot's boiling for the right time to start jumping in." Kōkā premieres across Aotearoa this Matariki, Friday, 20 June.

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