Parekura Rangitauira performed alongside her partner and children at her first Te Matatini this week. Source / File
Ngāti Whakaue was the second group to perform on the second day of Te Matatini.
While this is not the first performance at Te Matatini for the group, this will be the first time for māmā Parekura Rangitauira and pāpā Tamahau Palmer to perform alongside their children on a senior competition stage.
Parekura, who is a mother of three and partner to Tamahau, says it is her first time performing at Te Matatini and that she is happy she stood alongside her whānau.
“This is my first time performing on a competing stage, otherwise I have always stood with my hapū on ahurei or haka ngāhau (haka festival).
“It’s exciting, I finally am able to be with my whānau on stage. My partner has been a long-time performer in Te Arawa rōpū and my daughter has performed on competing stages throughout high school. So I've always been the supporter instead of the performer and now I am very glad to do this with them, even though it is very nerve-wracking.”
Kurapounamu Palmer says she is excited to perform with her māmā and feels honoured to also share the stage with her pāpā and two brothers.
“My māmā and brothers worked so hard this year to be on that stage and for that I am so proud we all made the team to perform with each other.
“It's an amazing feeling, especially when we found out we all made the kapa. We couldn’t stop talking about it and now that we’ve performed together, we can’t stop talking about that too.”
Photo / File
Tamahau is hopeful that he and his whānau will continue to perform together.
“My future of haka will be forever and although I am hoping to stop performing in five years, I know, now that I've had that experience with my whānau, they will continue to do the mahi on my behalf.”
He says with his children being of age and having now experienced haka on a competing stage, he is excited to see whether or not they will want to keep performing.
“For us, it’s always just been about being with each other as a whānau and that is what we have done this year.
“Just to be able to be there with our kids is an accomplishment. It’s the tick in my bucket list for me.”