Why So Many Groups Used The Drum At This Year's Te Matatini

Sunday, 2 March 2025, 8:53 pm
Article: RNZ

Pokere Paewai, Māori issues reporter

The drum is not an instrument that is typically seen on the kapa haka stage, especially when compared to the ubiquity of the guitar.

But at Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga, many of the groups integrated the drum into their performance.

This was done in part in tribute to the hosts of Taranaki and Whanganui where the drum holds a special significance.

Part of a great kapa haka performance is being able to weave your connections to land and people into your performance.

Taranaki iwi leader Ruakere Hond said the use of the drum in Taranaki originates during the four year period where Parihaka was under occupation by Government troops after the pāhua, or invasion, of the pacifist settlement in 1881.

"E ai ki te kōrero ia ata ka hīkoi, ka hōkai hoia nei i roto i te pā, etahi rā ka haria hoki he taramu, e tukituki ana, e patupatu ana i te pahu he whakawehiwehi nei i te Māori kia mataku nei ki te kaitā o ngā hoia me te mea hoki he wahine, he kaumātua, he tamariki anahe i Parihaka i aua wā."

"It's said that every morning the soldiers would walk around the pā and some days they would bring a drum, beating and hitting it to frighten the Māori who were living there. At the time it was only women, children and the elderly living in Parihaka."

Hond believed the soldiers did it to display their power and the power of the Queen of England.

"Engari i te hokinga mai o Te Whiti o Rongomai a Tohu Kākahi ka kite rāua i te taramu ka tikina ka tahuri te aro o te taramu mai i te mea whakamataku i te iwi Māori ki te mea whakapiki i te wairua o te iwi Māori. Ka tapiri te taramu ki te poi."

"But when Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi returned they saw the drum and turned it from something that scared Māori to something that could lift the spirits of Māori. So they put the drum and poi together."

The poi was used to hold on to the stories of Parihaka and each iwi that came to the settlement had their own poi group, he said.

"Nō reira ka tāpiri te taramu ki te poi ana kia whakaatu ki te Kawanatanga otirā ki te Karauna ki te Pākehā kare mātau i te mataku ki ō koutou taonga. Anei tō koutou taonga whakaweriweri nei, whakamataku nei, whakaiti nei, whakaparahako nei i ā mātau tēnei rangi e whakapiki nei i tō tātau mauri."

"So by adding the drum to the poi they were showing the Government, the Crown, the Pākehā that they weren't scared of this thing. Here's your symbol that was used to intimidate, to scare, to insult, to demean us now we are using it to lift our spirits."

"Kare au e mohio mō Te Matatini whai muri nei... mehemea he taramu anō te ahua o te tū o ngā kapa, engari ki au nei e kōrero ana ērā taramu mo Tohu, mo Te Whiti, mo Titokowaru, mo Hiroki, ana arā anō te tini o ngā tūpuna i mau i ērā taonga i tō rātau nā wā."

"I don't know about the next Matatini whether we will see the drum in the performances, but to me this time those drums are talking about Tohu, Te Whiti, Titokowaru, Hiroki and the many tūpuna who held onto those treasures in their time."

Kingi Kiriona is the leader of Tainui group Te Iti Kahurangi, but among his whakapapa connections is to South Taranaki iwi Ngāti Ruanui.

He said it was beautiful to see groups bring the drum to the stage because that was part of them showing the stories of Taranaki.

"He kōrero kei roto i ērā āhuatanga. Ehara i te mea he taonga puoro anake, he whakapapa tō te taonga rā, he kōrero o aua taonga rā, nō reira ki au nei ataahua katoa te haria mai o ērā hei whakatairanga i ngā kōrero o te kainga nei."

"There are stories in these things. It's not like the drums are just a musical instrument, they have a geneology, they have stories associated with them, so to me it was beautiful to see them bring them to elevate the stories of Te Kāhui Maunga."

© Scoop Media

RNZ

New Zealand's public broadcaster, providing comprehensive NZ news and current affairs, specialist audio features and documentaries.

Radio New Zealand is a Crown entity established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. Radio New Zealand News are vital elements in our programming, providing impartial news and information to New Zealanders every day. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) provides listeners with exciting and independent radio programmes in accordance with the Radio New Zealand Charter.

Contact RNZ

• Website - www.radionz.co.nz
• Twitter - @rnz_news
• Facebook
• Link - Contact RNZ