Te Matatini 2015
Some of our whānau were lucky enough to make the journey to Te Waipounamu for Te Matatini. Here Tāua Amiria shares some of her thoughts from the event:
“It was a wonderful opportunity for Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe and Waitaha to return the manaakitanga that was received post-quake. He Ngākau Aroha was felt throughout the festival.
Manaakitanga and whanaungatanga were everywhere we went. The kapa haka performances were amazing. My kaumātua felt very well looked after, as I’m sure all kaumātua did.
The kai was amazing. My sister, Maia, made us lovely salads and meats each day to take with us, but we still found room in our puku to eat all the beautiful kai that was being sold.
Even when the rain came down, the kaiāwhina were there to help make everyone feel as comfortable as possible, ensuring they didn’t get too wet.
Fortunately for me, and, my sisters we were in the fan zone which had seating. With a little bit of Māori ingenuity, and everyone around us helping each other, we made shelters from the wind and rain. We used tarpaulins, sarongs, blankets and our plastic ponchos – a koha from the iwi. I believe 9000 plastic ponchos were made especially for this event, in case of rain.
I was especially amazed at the tamariki area, where they had every activity available for children – bikes, mini bungie jumps, zorbs in a pool, heaps of crafts and activities, and large barrels of fruit.
Over the four-days, we met people from North Cape to Bluff and had lots of laughs. There was even a reporter in the fan zone broadcasting to a Māori programme in Sydney – mīharo.
It was wonderful to catch up with my whānau, especially my beautiful new great niece Tini Tirikatene and my great nephew Kyro Tirikatene.”
Amiria with her sisters and cousin, from left, Maia Le Cheminant, Amiria Whiterod, Lynda Goodrick and Gael Nash.
The rain didn’t bother Amiria.