Emotions ran high for the newest kapahaka group in town after their first performance.

Te Whānau o Hakatere, the family of Hakatere, had their debut performance at the Waitangi at the Pa event.

The rōpū, or group, was about 60 performers strong and a diverse mix of people - high schoolers to grandparents, Māori and non-Māori alike.

They performed a selection of waiata, songs, and a haka to the Waitangi crowd, which they’d only had five rehearsals to learn.

Kapahaka tutor Ellie Smith said for that short an amount of practice, it had been an outstanding effort.

“We’ve got experienced people, who’ve done kapahaka their entire lives, and people who have never even done any sort of Māori song before.

“Even for our non-Māori whanau to come and be a part of the kaupapa, and feel the warmth of the marae, it was just amazing.”

She said many attempts to get an adult kapahaka group going here have been made over the years, but when the call went out in December last year, there was an extraordinary amount of interest.

“I think it’s a sign of the times, and everything that’s going on politically, and in our ao Māori, or Māori world, and people have felt the pull to come do kapahaka.

“The wairua (soul) of the team, draws people back.”

Following the performance, there we tight hugs and lots of tears - happiness, relief and a sense of achievement resonated through the rōpū.

Organisers Te Koare ‘TK’ Paul and member Kate White handed out certificates to each of the performers, to recognise how far they’d come.

“When you stand in kapahaka, it’s not just you that’s performing,” Smith said.

“You perform with your tupuna (ancestors) and everyone on stage.

“So it’s a really emotional time for everybody, experiencing … what it feels like to be in a kapahaka group.”

Rōpū member, and longtime member of the marae Trisha Reader said she was “so proud” of both the performers and the community turnout on the day.

“I came to Hakatere back in the early 70s, as a very young adult, married to a local tangata whenua man at the time.

“When I first came, it was very much an ‘us and them’ type situation, no one understood the other person’s ways or roles.

“And that has completely changed.”

There had been so much demand to join the group that they had to “shut it off at 60,” she said.

“It’s just fantastic.”

Reader was a treasurer for the marae in the 70s and was involved in securing the current land, and building the marae.

“The trials and tribulations we went through at the time, it all seems so worth it now.

“So, so worth it.”

Te Whānau o Hakatere’s next performance is set to be at the Multicultural Bite in March.

By Anisha Satya