Summer Learning Journey | Week 1

In the beginning (1800 - 1870)

Day 4 - Hitting a High Note...

Activity 1 | The Waiata: A song in your Heart

In the past, Māori would often use song as a way of sharing information or communicating emotions.  A waiata is the name given to a traditional Māori song. One of my all-time favourite waiata is Kia Paimarie. What about you?

Use Google to research traditional Māori Waiata. Listen to a number of Waiata and read the lyrics. On your blog tell us which one of the waiata you found you like the most. Why do you like it?

My Favourite Waiata | He Honore

I really like this song because of the lyrics (In the description of the video). It is very heart touching and the people in the video have great voices which makes the song even better!

Acticity 2 | Playing Games

Hundreds of years ago, young Māori children were taught to play a number of games, including Poi Rakau, Ki O Rahi, Koruru Taonga and Poi Toa. Read about each of these four games on the Rangatahi tu Rangatira website. Have you played any of them before? Isn’t it cool how the games have been passed down for generations?

Choose one game, and on your blog, tell us the (i) name of the game, (ii) the goal or purpose of the game, and (iii) two rules.

You could try playing some of the games with a friend.

Playing Games | Poi Toa

Name of the Game:

Poi Toa

The goal of the Game:
To pass, throw or kick the Poi. (This Poi is different to "performance" Pois).
Two Rules:
- No throwing the spinning Poi to deliberately hit your opponent above the waist.
- The Poi must stay in motion when throwing it to another person.

Bonus Activity: Musical Festivals | Matatini

In New Zealand, a huge festival is held every two years, called Te Matatini. This performing arts festival celebrates the tikanga (culture or customs) of Māori. Kapa Haka groups from around New Zealand are invited to attend the festival and each group gives a 25-minute performance. The performances are judged and the best teams win prizes.

The gold medal winning team from this year (2017) was Te Kapa Haka o Whāngārā Mai Tawhiti.

Watch these three clips from previous Te Matatini festivals.

Tamatea Arikinui

Te Iti Kahurangi

Te Puku o Te Ika

On your blog, rank the performances from your favourite (#1) to least favourite (#3) and tell us why you gave them the ranking that you did.

My Rankings | Te Matatini Festival

#1 Te Puku O Te Ika - What I really liked about this performance was that it sounded very emotional and soulful. It could be in remembrance of the elderly man they were holding a picture of. I also really enjoyed the harmonies.

#2 Tamatea Arikinui - I really found this performance entertaining because of the Pois, also their singing was well in sync which I felt was very pleasing.

#3 Te Te Iti Kahurangi - What I didn't really like about this performance of the instrument that the man used while the lady was singing. It was pretty distracting.