Next week, from 4 – 8 March, 45 teams from Australia and New Zealand will be competing in Christchurch to see who will hold the title of national kapa haka champion. I’m going to head along with Manatū Taonga (The Ministry for Culture and Heritage), which sponsors Te Matatini. I can’t wait.

At first glance the cultural value of kapa haka seems pretty obvious, but last year the Ministry, along with the Te Matatini Society, asked Waikato University to do some scoping research on the benefits of kapa haka. The resulting report, Ngā Hua A Tāne Rore: the Benefits of Kapa Haka, confirmed that kapa haka was much undervalued. Kapa haka has greater cultural, economic, educational and social impacts on Māori and on New Zealand than it has ever been given credit for. More research needs to go into ascertaining the value. This will ensure kapa haka gets the recognition it deserves.
 
I reckon seeing the competitors perform will be even better if I know some more about kapa haka and its history, so I’ve been studying Te Ara. I wrote a quiz on what I found out – how well do you think you’ll do?