Poneke Set to Get a Real Taste of Traditional Maori Sport

Poneke Set to Get a Real Taste of Traditional Maori Sport And Culture

On Saturday 1 October the Ki -o-Rahi Poneke Festival will kick off at Wakefield Park, Island Bay, to the sound of Maori flutes and waiata. Soon after the peaceful sound of waiata and flutes will give way to the crunching sound of full contact tackles as competitors battle it out in Ki-o-Rahi; an ancient and exhilarating Maori game. This traditional game is taking off around the country due to its fast paced, physical nature, and ‘Poneke’ (Wellington City) is excited to be hosting this fantastic festival, which is free for spectators.

Ki-o-Rahi is a ball game which has skills which are transferable to Rugby, Netball and Handball. Traditionally played with a flax ‘ki’, but more usually now with a soft soccer ball, players have to score points by touching the ball onto outlying posts and then returning it in hand, rugby style, over a central try line. Each area in the circular arena relates to a part of the legend of Ki-o-Rahi. It can be played full contact or non contact ‘flag’ style. It is great to play and watch, with a small playing area meaning lots of action.

Ki-o-Rahi was taken to France and Italy by the Maori Battalion in World War Two and is still played in those countries today. It is undergoing a resurgence in New Zealand. In 2010 a New Zealand representative team including ex –All Black legend Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford toured France and played a French representative team winning 57-10. The Ki-o-Rahi Poneke Festival will have a non-contact social grade as well as full contact ‘test’ matches between some of the best exponents of Ki-o-Rahi in New Zealand, played on a state of the art artificial turf. There will be a ‘grudge’ match between Wellington and Whanganui, a hangi, Maori Push Play games including poi and spinning tops, as well as guided walks around the adjacent Town Belt. Spectators will also have plenty of opportunity to try Ki-o-Rahi out for themselves. Those who want to brush up on their skills before taking part on the day can also come along to free Ki-o-Rahi ‘have a go’ sessions at South Wellington Intermediate School, Newtown, every Friday during September.

The festival is part of the REAL New Zealand Festival, which runs concurrent to the Rugby World Cup 2011, allowing locals and tourists to experience the vibrant culture of New Zealand. It also coincides with France versus Tonga match at the Wellington Regional Stadium.

Because of the French connection, event organiser Craig Ireson says he expects to hear some Gallic accents in the crowd come festival day:

“It’s a short hop down Adelaide road for the French supporters, and although they may find the cultural aspect such as waiata, hangi and speeches a novelty some of them may have played Ki-o-Rahi at school- it’s actually quite popular in France and Italy and in the U.S. 31,000 schools play it as part of their P.E. curriculum! We are hoping that after this festival we hope it’s popular in Poneke too!”

The Ki-o-Rahi Poneke Festival is open to all who want to experience traditional Maori sport and culture, and is free for spectators.

ENDS

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