A Canterbury kapa haka team performing at Te Matatini - the national Māori cultural festival in Christchurch - says it is under extra pressure to perform but at the same time are confident about having a "home town" advantage.
The competition starts today and runs for the next three days with 45 teams hitting the stage.
Ngā Manu ā Tāne is one of the three teams representing the Waitaha (Canterbury) region at Te Matatini.
Ngā Manu ā Tāne is the host team at the event. Photo: SUPPLIED / Ngā Manu ā Tāne
One of the leaders of the kapa, Hohepa Waitoa, said as a host team, they had a lot of mana at stake.
"Definitely under lots of pressure but also, in terms of being hosts of the event, just trying to uphold the mana that's here within Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe and Waitaha.
"So yeah, lots on our shoulders, but the team's pretty keen and the wairua (vibe) is real good at the moment.
"We're telling all our community to wear purple to our performance on Saturday and hopefully that will give us a bit of an advantage in terms of the 'wana' (excitement) that comes from the crowd, the audience participation."
Mr Waitoa added that there is a feeling of oneness among all of the South Island teams.
"Just last night, when we had a practice for the pōwhiri [opening ceremony] and all the groups together for Te Wai Pounamu, there was just an air of ambience around them and I think all the groups picked up on that and hopefully we can use that to our advantage."
The competition starts today with Te Kapa Haka o Kairanga from Manawatū the first team to take the stage.