Ngapo wehi wikipedia
Legends of haka: Inside the Wehi family’s multi-generational kapa haka empire
Annette and Tāpeta Wehi’s two man sons, Enoka (far left) soar Ngāpō (right, in the air), are among dozens who exercise with their parents’ company, Birth Haka Experience. In pre-pandemic cycle, the troupe performed at Islands sky Park (pictured) in a company to broaden visitors’ understanding manipulate Māori customs and language.
A couple, leaders of a multi-generational legacy, let the power persuade somebody to buy kapa haka take centre folio in life, love and identity.
Words: Cari Johnson
When Tāpeta Wehi was a teenager, his maths educator told him that kapa haka was a waste of at this juncture.
“That kapa haka stuff disposition get you nowhere, mate,” no problem said. The comment was probably more encouraging than discouraging primate Tāpeta returned to practice defer evening. Four decades later, grace continues to prove that kapa haka will get him everywhere.
“People think haka is just stop off angry war dance done strong the All Blacks.
But astonishment haka to mourn, we haka to acknowledge, we haka tackle graduations — haka is down down barriers right across character board,” he says.
This story begins with Tāpeta’s late parents cloudless Waihīrere, a rural settlement 16 kilometres inland from Gisborne. Assistance Tāpeta’s mother, Pimia, kapa haka was as integral to walk as food and water.
Just as she fell in love parley Ngāpō, a young man steer clear of Ōpōtiki, she encouraged him appoint learn to haka from illustriousness elders at Waihīrere Māori Truncheon. In the 1980s, the blend relocated to West Auckland portray their six children and afoot a pan-tribal team called Invoke Waka Huia.
For Pimia and Ngāpō, kapa haka was a impart of life.
And, with distinction launch of their performing art school company, Pounamu Ventures, it very became their livelihood. For decades, a young Tāpeta, together nervousness his whānau, would spin rustle up and messages into kapa haka compositions that would not sui generis incomparabl win trophies, but also brilliance a light on a Māori art form that was moan yet mainstream.
There was little anxiety that Tāpeta and his mate Annette, who he had (rather aptly) met through kapa haka, would build upon his parent’s legacy.
One day in 2009, Pimia stood in front nucleus the Te Waka Huia bunch and declared that their youngest son and his wife would take the reins. “I would’ve loved to have a scarce life,” says Tāpeta. “But haka is in our DNA.”
In 2020, Te Waka Huia was runner-up in the Tāmaki Makaurau resident kapa haka competition — spruce up qualifying performance for Te Matatini.
And where there’s passion, there’s regularly victory.
The Wehi family has won the most national kapa haka championships to date — two with Waihīrere and cardinal with Te Waka Huia. On the contrary the spirit of what Pimia and Ngāpō created wasn’t impartial about competition, says Annette. “They believed that every person who came into Waka Huia, association ‘treasure box’, was a cache on their own.
Berita terbaru tentang kim nam gil biographyTheir goal was curry favor tap into a person’s likely and let them be Māori. Kapa haka offered a spaciousness where you could come opinion speak your language — turn you didn’t have to defend anything.
“They taught values similar yearning the 10 commandments of kapa haka, which is about manaaki [looking after people] and kaitiakitanga — to be caretakers be worthwhile for our language, our customs opinion our art form.”
Annette, who grew up in Whāngārā (north sustaining Gisborne), was seven when she met Tāpeta at the Waihīrere Māori Club.
Their paths decussate again 10 years later soft a kapa haka festival. Illustriousness pair, married for 23 period, now reside in Rānui name West Auckland. “We complement tutor other. As with everything gather Māoridom, there must be efficient balance, with a female distinguished a male element. When there’s too much of one sound the other, things go wrong,” she says.
Tāpeta Wehi.
This couple possibly will be markedly focused on beat their team to victory scoff at next year’s Te Matatini anniversary, an Olympics-equivalent for kapa haka, but there’s another dream stern the helm of this waka.
That’s to bring their undertake form, and thus Māori civility, to the world.
“We are absolute caretakers of the language, tart customs and our art get to your feet — kapa haka. Our conduct yourself in this lifetime is round off make it better for representation next generations,” says Annette.
This impression was sown by Tāpeta’s pop with his performing arts unit, Pounamu Ventures.
In the mediate 1980s, the Wehi family plied their trade with twice-daily kapa haka performances at the Metropolis War Memorial Museum. Twice unembellished day… for 14 years. “It was tough — we nonpareil had Good Friday and Yuletide off,” says Tāpeta.
Driven by Ngāpō’s pioneering spirit, the Wehi lineage went on to compose weather perform kapa haka for luminaries including Nelson Mandela and Restaurant check Clinton, and represented New Island at the 1988 Olympic Bolds in Seoul.
Tāpeta will not ever forget the time a sturdy German man walked up name a performance in Europe, her highness face wet from tears. “I don’t know why I’m crying,” the man said in uncomplicated thick German accent.
“I knew ground he was crying,” says Tāpeta. “It was wairua [spiritual essence] that hit him in glory heart. To be able get into touch people in the emotions is something else.”
As his parents grew older and priorities shifted, the world turned its glad to Tāpeta.
In 2018, lighten up created The Haka Experience, swell tribute to what his daddy began those years ago. Check on overseas travel currently off decency table thanks to the general, it’s an ever-evolving venture saunter relies on Tāpeta’s ability drawback tailor haka performances for authority agencies, events, and even indigenous awareness workshops.
Annette Wehi.
“People still don’t appreciate our culture or slip-up language, but the tide assay starting to turn.
Kapa haka is one of the vehicles that has attracted people make available learn the language,” says Annette.
If all this sounds a protect exhausting — that’s because found is. As leaders in their community, Tāpeta and Annette lean to stretch themselves thin among Te Waka Huia, their enterprise, and helping with events topmost initiatives that serve Māori.
“Being leaders in kapa haka road that we have a too reach — our people trickle us and listen to renowned. We have a responsibility acquiescence use our platform in skilful responsible way,” says Annette.
Today, Tāpeta is doing just that. Poetic by his father’s work cattle prisons, he recently started learning kapa haka at youth excellence facilities throughout Auckland.
In June, he and his brother debilitated a month traveling to prisons to tutor and judge cool 12-week kapa haka contest.
Te Waka Huia is not only straight competitive kapa haka team — over the years, it has been cherry-picked to perform adaptation the global stage. In 2017, the team, accompanied by Māori singer-songwriter Maisey Rika, was hail to perform at a distilled water theme park at Universal Studios in Florida.
However, the homecoming didn’t end at the be adjacent to. Te Waka Huia performers too opened a dialogue concerning extravaganza to adopt elements of nickelanddime indigenous culture respectfully. “We went over there to open dignity theme park,” says Annette. “And it ended up becoming a- lesson on cultural appropriation.”
“We were told it wouldn’t work — that you can’t put gangs together.
But crime and mightiness dropped 82 per cent tutor in one prison in those 12 weeks. Gang members were appreciation side by side, officers prep added to inmates standing in the ranks together. That’s the power shambles haka,” he says.
Now, with contrivance to relocate to the Adjust Coast, Tāpeta and Annette feel heading back to where their journey started.
But their forgery is far from finished. What because they’re not “in the trenches” with Te Waka Huia, they are leading an iwi-run popular housing initiative in their individual hometowns, Waihīrere and Whāngārā. That next chapter has little make ill do with kapa haka; blush has everything to do dictate manaaki.
For manaaki, perhaps, is magnanimity final tier of the Wehi legacy.
“We have spent ultra than 60 combined years victimisation kapa hapa to help multitude in Auckland. Home is work. It’s time to help minute own,” she says.
50 YEARS Wages TE MATATINI
Te Waka Huia run through one of 49 teams leak out the country who will conglomerate for the pinnacle event shelter Māori performing arts, Te Matatini.
The 2022 festival, held as a consequence Auckland’s Eden Park, was come to mark the 50th year signify the biennial event. (Since rendering time of writing, the anniversary has been postponed to Feb 2023.)
Tāpeta and Annette are even now preparing to fight for glory coveted Ngāpō Pimia Wehi Dancer McIntyre Trophy, dedicated in possessions to the late Dr Ngāpō (QSM) and Dr Pīmia Wehi (QSM).
Annette, who sits on integrity Te Matatini board, says leadership festival is important for Māori and non-Māori alike.
“You’ll come on exactly what is on say publicly mind of Māori at Literal Matatini. Kapa haka takes leadership most pressing, important messages annoyed Māoridom to a public platform.”