'Tenei te tira hou te hara mai nei' - Fresh faces take regional haka to new level

A record 55 groups have qualified for Te Matatini in New Plymouth next year, bringing to an end a season that saw more than 6000 kaihaka (performers) from 202 groups perform across thirteen regional competitions.

The season began at Tōrere in the Bay of Plenty in late February and ended last weekend at Auckland's Spark Arena.

Chey Milne performs for Ngāti Rangiwewehi and is one of the presenters of kapa haka talk show Haka Yarns.

There were almost too many great moments to pick from across the regionals, he said.

One of those moments was an emotional performance in Auckland from Aroha Noa which is made up of former prisoners from the Grace Foundation, New Zealand's largest rehabilitation service.

"Another highlight for me was Mōtai Tangata Rau coming out and totally doing something very left field, something that no one really expected, that was awesome," Milne said.

Mōtai Tangata Rau returned from a hiatus to win the Tainui regionals, wowing the crowd with their Victorian-inspired kākāhu (clothing).

Another group which generated a lot of hype on social media was Te Taumata o Apanui from Mātaatua, who managed to qualify despite having only four weeks of practice, thanks in part to some of the high profile performers on their books.

"[Te Taumata o Apanui] are going to be one of those teams that everyone is looking forward to. They are stacked as a team, Rob Ruha, Rawiri Waititi, Troy Kingi, Kiri Waititi, Ria Hall and the list goes on. I mean you've got some kapa haka gangsters in there," Milne said.

The final competition in Tāmaki Makaurau ended with a three-way tie between Angitu, Ngā Tūmanako and Te Waka Huia.

Tāmaki Makaurau was one of the best showcases of kapa haka at an elite level and the result showed how tight the competition was, Milne said.

"Maybe there is a need to revisit and relook at some of our judging systems, and I don't want to throw shade on judges because I was a judge at the Waitaha regionals so I understand some of the pickles that judges may have.

"But in terms of an overall judging system, I think we do need revisit some of that so we can ultimately get one winner."

Milne said the main theme across all regional competitions this year has been 'Tēnei te tira hou te hara mai nei' - which could be translated as the new blood coming through.

"We've seen multiple new tutors, multiple new kaitātaki, new groups as well. So there is a change in terms of changing of guard but also a change in terms of what is the new excellence."

One rōpū Te Hekenga ā Rangi from Te Arawa had an almost literal handover during their whakawātea (exit song), with tutors Dan and Hiria Vaka passing the torch to the younger members of their whānau.

Milne said he was looking forward to seeing if the new people taking the reigns of their rōpū can bring out a style that fans might not be used to seeing.

All in all, he said there had been a new and refreshing vibe to kapa haka this year and the standard of performance across Aotearoa has increased exponentially.

When asked for his winning picks for Te Matatini next year, Milne said he would be saving that for the last episode of Haka Yarns on Whakaata Māori.

"I want to mihi to Tāmaki Makaurau but in saying that mihi to everyone [for] the standard, the energy and just the awesomeness. We had over 6000 thousand performers on stages huri i te ao, in Ahitereiria through to Te Waipounamu, Aotearoa whānui, so it's pretty mean."