Te Matatini
Whāngārā-mai-Tawhiti took top honours in the first session today with this outstanding bracket:
Te Haumi (pool B) starts soon
The second session today starts at 11am.
This is the most even pool with 10 of the kapa still in the hunt for the finals after Rā tahi, and even more who could get back into contention with a big bracket today.
First up will be Mawai Hakona, a kapa who won the second ever competition but stopped competing in the 1980s. Now they are back with a new generation of talent that whakapapas back to those early greats of the kapa haka scene.
Standings in Te Ihu after the session this morning:
Result: Te Waka Huia have scored 42 bringing their overall score to 90
That sees Whāngārā-mai-Tawhiti sneak past them into the top position in the pool.
Clever, the haka slams to a halt and Wiremu Hōhepa delivers a stirring kōrero focussed on fighting for Papatuanuku before the haka kicks in again and closes out the bracket.
A set of contrasts where the quiet moments complemented a passionate haka perfectly.
Interesting to see if the judges reward that or feel the passion got the better of them on some of the technical points they are looking for.
AUE! The tāne are bringing it with the haka! The contrast with that waiata give it even more power. They need to inject a bit of whai kōrero before the end of the bracket, we’ll see how they do that.
From the karakia we are straight into a haunting waiata. This is an original composition for Te Matatini, well have to check on who the composer is.
Socials are popping off through this session, whether you’re at home on in the park spines are tingling across the motu.
