Rawiri Waititi performs at Te Matatini, says haka is form of 'political expression'

Haka and Parliamentary politics came to a head last year when Te Pāti Māori's Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke led Ka Mate during the vote for the Treaty Principles Bill's first reading, but haka and politics are no strangers, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi says.

"Māori are very political people," Waititi who performed at Te Matatini with new group Te Taumata o Apanui on Thursday, said.

During the performance, Waititi called on Māori to unite, and to ensure they do not let anyone make them second-class citizens in their own country.

"Haka is one of the ancient and probably the most purest forms that Māori have held onto in terms of our - not only our cultural expression, but our political expression," Waititi told RNZ before the performance.

He was not the first MP to perform at Te Matatini, with former Te Pāti Māori co-leader Sir Pita Sharples before him, but Waititi pointed out there was no differentiating "who they are as Māori" when it came to being a politician.

"You can take the boy out of the kapa haka, but you can't take the kapa haka out of the boy. So [performing] for me personally brings a whole lot of oranga (wellbeing). It allows me to find another space to express who I am as well as we do in Parliament."

Maipi-Clarke's haka in Parliament was referred to the Privileges Committee - the Parliamentary group that keeps a check on MPs' behaviour - and could result in those MPs who received complaints being censured. That included Labour's Peeni Henare who was an MC at Te Matatini this week.

The Speaker called it "disorderly and disruptive".

But Waititi said that expression was no different.

"Yes, we will use haka for that type of expression, and the country just has to accept that this is a unique cultural expression that they should be proud of.

"They're proud when the All Blacks do it, but when Māori do it by its natural form and natural voice it becomes an issue."

It was the expression of that culture that makes Te Matatini so important, Waititi said, and the ability for Māori to come together and celebrate "our voice."

"Whether that voice is maintaining and retaining our language, our stories, our own pūrākau, and our ability to be able to comfortably express it, without fear of favour, or judgment by the rest of the country."

Waititi said Te Matatini was also a time to talk about the "many issues facing us at this particular time" - including political issues.

Ngā Tumanako kaitātaki tāne, or male leader, Kawariki Morgan echoed this sentiment, calling Te Matatini "te marae o te motu, the meeting place of the nation."

He said it was the place where iwi bring "their kaupapa to the fore."

Many references were made by different groups to mana motuhake, tino rangatiratanga and kotahitanga - the call for unity from the late Māori king.

Tributes also flowed for Kiingi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero te tuawhitu, and the new Māori monarch, kuini Ngā Wai Hono i te Po was acknowledged through song, haka and mihimihi.

Other groups called out government policies, or made political statements.

Morgan pointed to Angitū, where one of their leaders, Pere Wihongi, joked with the judges about being Kaitātaki tāne.

Wihongi took a dig at Destiny Church on stage, and said she was not performing to respond to ignorant people from a church she would not name, but to model to the younger generation the benefits of being true to your own identity.

Morgan said Wihongi challenged "what it is to be a kaitātaki tāne and the gender roles within kapa haka and within te ao Māori and our traditional customs".

He said that could be quite polarising for some people, but it was a place to "challenge".

Morgan explained his group's haka, written by Sir Tīmoti Karetu, was about the "Pākehā world".

Kāretu used a proverb from a Tūhoe rangatira that outlined how Pākehā "are not afraid to tell us how we should be, and how we should act to be successful in our own country".

Morgan explained it was as though Pākehā forgot the "atrocities, the confiscation of land, and what they did to our tikanga" and despite that, say "this is how you need to be."

"We feel this is how the government is treating us.

"They forget the oppression and the things the government and governments of the past have done to Māori, but they still think they know better than us how we should be in Aotearoa and how we should be Māori, even how we should look after our language and our customs."

Morgan said haka was about challenging things "we don't like" but also talking about "things we love as well".

"As much as it is a place to challenge the status quo, it is also an amazing place to celebrate the things we love and the people we love and the kaupapa that are close to our hearts," Morgan said.

There have been compositions celebrating government successes too, he said.

"We all feel at the moment, the political environment we are in - we can see history repeating itself, and the thing about Māori, when we do feel oppressed, we do come together."

Coalition criticised

The coalition was referenced directly in some instances, with one group saying they were fed up with Winston Peters, and calling him a "sooky-bubba" before going on to reference Maipi-Clarke's challenge to him in the House last year - "moumou tō toto Māori blood" (waste of Māori blood).

But most government MPs were not there to hear it, with both the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister overseas, and the Acting Prime Minister David Seymour not in attendance.

National party Ministers Nicola Willis, Tama Potaka and Paul Goldsmith were there, and the Finance Minister acknowledged haka as an avenue for critique.

"I accept that art is a form of expression, and our debate and discussion as a community will continue, that's normal and that's right in a democracy.

"That doesnt mean we can't also come together and celebrate what we share and have moments of unity where I think any New Zealander would feel proud to be here today and see our cultural traditions on display, and see communities coming together. We can celebrate that while also having debate and discussion."

The Treaty Principles Bill was referenced multiple times, with one group saying 'waiho Te Tiriti' - leave Te Tiriti alone.

A spokesperson for the ACT party said it wished participants all the best, and that its MPs were hard at work around the country listening to New Zealanders, tackling the big issues they cared about.

When asked for a response about the criticisms of the Bill specifically, the party said they did not have a response, and that the debate was being well-traversed at select committee.

Many submitters had been acknowledging Te Matatini this week during the submission process. Reo Māori expert Dr Tātere Macleod pointed out what he deemed as irony.

"It seems somewhat bizarre that whilst tens of thousands have converged on Taranaki and the world is tuned in, we're here today to defend that very culture, the greatest display of our culture, at Te Matatini that gives this country its identity."

He said this country "readily prostitutes our language and culture" to boost its global image, "because the world embraces our uniqueness."

"Yet, while Māori culture is celebrated internationally, just as Te Matatini is this week, as the essence of our country - the rights guaranteed us under Te Tiriti have been systematically dismantled."

Future

Waititi hoped more resources would go toward things like Te Matatini, because it brings "huge economic benefits" to the country and "huge health benefits" for those who are part of it.

"People are running the roads, they're eating well, they look awesome, they feel awesome."

Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka called the event the "Olympics of haka."

"Tens of thousands are expected here this week and will bring tens of millions into the local economy. This means a boost for a range of businesses including accommodation providers and restaurants."

In 2023, 70,000 people attended the Te Matatini event in Auckland, and the conomic contribution to the city was at least $22 million.

The coalition supported Te Matatini last Budget with $48.7 million over three years, and want to continue that.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith said the funding helped enable Te Matatini to embed a regional kapa haka model, "allowing communities to decide how they want to grow kapa haka."

"It also supports Te Matatini to create this great biennial national festival."

"The government needs to start looking at what annual baseline funding looks like for Matatini, and not have us hanging on a whim," said Waititi.

He acknowledged there was more funding than there had been in the past, but said it needed to go hand in hand in terms of expectations, "which we exceed," as well as the "health outcomes, the social outcomes and impacts it has on our people, which are all positive."

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