Youth involvement increased in honour of Māori Queen

Young rangatahi were the stars of this year’s annual Wānaka Matariki celebration, as hundreds of locals gathered to enjoy the festivities.

For the 16th year in a row, Kahu Youth delivered a successful Matariki celebration across Wānaka’s lakefront, complete with seven kapa haka groups, a hangi and a beachfront bonfire.

The day started at 2pm with performances, while a team from the Mt Aspiring College (MAC) cultural committee helped prepare the hangi at the Wānaka Dinosaur Playground.

Local Paul Tamati, who was heavily involved with the organising the hangi, said that year they had involved more young people to honour the Māori Queen, Kuini Nga Wai Hono i te Po.

"These are our young people of today coming forward to learn hangi," Mr Tamati said.

" ... We see it as a representation of who their new Māori queen represents."

He added that the Māori Queen had made it clear in her maiden speech that she would represent rangatahi, and Matariki was a perfect opportunity for the Wānaka community to contribute to that sentiment.

The hangi was certainly a crowd favourite, as dozens of people lined up to purchase a plate after the group of MAC students helped to prepare the food.

The day was also filled with performances from locals of all ages, including the Hāwea Kindergarten, Wānaka Primary School and the community waiata group, Matariki Tupu Hou.

Weaving workshops, face painting and a beachfront bonfire also brought people together and were made possible by rangatahi volunteers from Kahu Youth, further involving the town’s young people.

Kahu Youth youth worker Imogen Smith spoke passionately about the importance of being able to have a big event that showcased Māori heritage for the local community.

Having grown up in Christchurch, she felt Māori culture in a city could often be more accessible to young people as there were larger populations and therefore more Māori communities, in comparison to small towns where the same heritage could be more sparse.

"This event is really important to bring te ao Māori to a small community and creating that accessibility for rangatahi and the community in general," she said.

Local kamatua and chairman of the Mana Tahuna Charitable Trust Darren Rewi had come from Queenstown to celebrate with the community and expressed how the performances by young kapa haka groups made the event more special.

"The children doing kapa haka always brings people in and it’s a relaxing way to celebrate the Māori new year," he said.

As the sun set and the star constellations began to appear in the sky, the event’s busy activities ended with the community coming together to sing a group waiata.