Kāi Tahu To Host Nationally Broadcasted Matariki Hautapu Ceremony

The peaks of Treble Cone will provide the scenic setting to the third, nationally broadcasted Matariki hautapu ceremony. Kāi Tahu will host over 200 people on Friday the 28th of June and bring in the dawn that will signal the beginning of Te Rā Aro ki Matariki – the Matariki public holiday.

Kāi Tahu has been preparing alongside Chief Adviser Mātauranga Matariki, Professor Rangi Mātāmua for the past three months, and is excited to host the ceremony.

“The opportunity to showcase our whenua, our people and our culture in a ceremony celebrating Mātauraka Māori is a privilege. This year’s theme, Matariki Heri Kai also provides us with a platform to share some of our local kai and to celebrate the bountiful environment we have here in Kāi Tahu”, said Kāi Tahu kaumatua, Edward Ellison.

“As we join the rest of the country in celebrating the third Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki, it is my honour to welcome everyone to our mauka, on behalf of Kāi Tahu, our hapū, our marae, and all our people.

Hosting this traditional hautapu ceremony for Matariki is part of our commitment as mana whenua to Mātauraka Māori, and we hope that the nation will continue to see this as a time to collectively celebrate our uniqueness as Aotearoa.”

For Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu manager Paulette Tamati-Elliffe, hosting the hautapu will be an incredible honour and a tribute to all those tīpuna who fought relentlessly over many generations, for this generation to now stand as proud, Kāi Tahu speakers of te reo.

“Over the last twenty-five years, our iwi has supported whānau in their dedication to revitalising te reo o Kāi Tahu. Today, we have a growing number of confident, young Kāi Tahu reo speakers who are supporting their Papakāika and communities to restore not only language but traditional Kāi Tahu knowledge systems and practice. We are very grateful to have had this opportunity to work alongside Ahorangi Rangi Mātāmua and are extremely excited to share this year’s hautapu with our nation.”

Professor Mātāmua said working with the different kaikarakia on location in Wānaka has been a highlight for him. ““It’s so exciting to have this year’s event in Te Waipounamu…The team doing the karakia have put in hours of practice to ensure they are ready for the ceremony and the majority of that has had to be done online. So being here, with the stunning backdrop of Kā Tiritiri-o-te Moana, the Southern Alps and the crisp mountain air…this hautapu ceremony is going to be something spectacular.”

The ceremony will be broadcast live by all national TV stations and Radio New Zealand, and livestreamed on www.matariki.com from 5am, Friday 28th June.

© Scoop Media