A review into the results of the Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington kapa haka regional competition has led to Te Ahi a Tahurangi — who were announced winners on Saturday night — handing over the first place taonga to Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti in a ceremony last night.
A scoring discrepancy was noticed, where Te Ahi a Tahurangi were deducted points for going over time, but Te Matatini’s regional delegate Te Teira Davis said a technical fault meant the deduction was not taken into account in the final aggregate tally.
“Ka mutu tō mātou kaupapa i te Rāhoroi, o te pō Rātapu kātahi ka puta ake tērā āhuatanga ki waenganui i te kōmiti (The event ended on Saturday, by Sunday night the committee was made aware of what had taken place).”
National rules state that the public announcement is only provisional, and after a period of 24 hours they are considered final.
In terms of specific regional rules, Te Karere has sought clarification from Te Matatini.
Regardless of the oversight, both kapa retain their qualification status for next year’s national competition.
Taonga hand over
Te Ahi a Tahurangi kaihaka Tama Ale Samoa said once they were notified of the situation, they invited Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti to Te Kōhanga Reo o Paparākau Tuarua in Naenae to join them for a kai tahi, and to formally hand over the mauri of first place.
“Kia kaua tētahi nawe, kia kaua tētahi riri, tētahi tohe e ora mō ngā tau e haere ake nei, engari kia pūmau te kotahitanga i waenga i a mātou ko Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti, kā tahi, mātou ngā kapa katoa o Te Upoko o Te Ika (To ensure there are no issues, there isn’t any anger, there aren’t any arguments in the coming years … we want to make sure there is unity between ourselves and Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti, as well as all our other groups in [the region of] Te Upoko o Te Ika).”
Last night the two groups met, where taonga were formally handed over as per tikanga Māori in an amicable ceremony.
“He Māori te kawe, kāore mātou mō te whakaiti i te mauri, ahakoa ko te mauri noa o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, me pērā tonu te kawe, me rangatira te kawe, hei mihi ki ngā mātua tūpuna katoa o te ao Māori (The handover was done using Māori customs. We are not wanting to disrespect the title, although it’s only for Te Whanganui-a-Tara, the traditions still apply. We must do it with dignity, to honour all ancestors of Māoridom),” Samoa said.
Lendl Maxwell of Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti said that even though the situation is by no fault of either kapa, “kua tutuki pai te kaupapa nei (the matter has been settled well)”.
“Ko te mea nui ki a mātou Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti, kia haere ngātahi a Te Ahi a Tahurangi me Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti (What’s important for us of Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti is that we move forward with Te Ahi a Tahurangi).”
Glossary:
kaihaka – performer
kai tahi – eating as one, shared lunch
mauri – life principle, life force
taonga – property, goods, possesion
tikanga – correct procedure, custom