Te Hui Ahurei ā Tūhoe. Photo: Supplied / Te Hui Ahurei ā Tūhoe
A dawn pōwhiri kicked off the country's longest running iwi festival in the Bay of Plenty with at least 20,000 expected to attend over Easter weekend.
Te Hui Ahurei ā Tūhoe is underway in Waimana where descendants of the iwi from across the country will converge to celebrate their unique identity through haka and sport.
34 senior and junior kapa haka teams are set to compete over the weekend, with tamariki launching performances on Friday.
The deputy chair of the organising committee Rangiriri Rangihau said Te Hui Ahurei provided a space for Tūhoe to cultivate traditional values as a people.
She said the popularity of the event had grown steadily over the years, and this year a Tūhoe contingent had returned from Australia to participate.
"Te Aho Taitua is the junior group, they are led by Te Teira Davis, he's been in Australia for over 20 years, and he's seen the population of Tūhoe grow massively. He was also wanting to come back home, for the tamariki especially he wanted to bring them back here to instill some tikanga in tamariki o Tūhoe being raised over there."
Te Aho Taitua. Photo: Supplied / Te Hui Ahurei ā Tūhoe
Te Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe was first established in 1971 to address the impact of urbanisation and assimilation policies of the government on Tūhoe.
Te Aho Taitua. Photo: Supplied / Te Hui Ahurei ā Tūhoe
Tūhoe elders established the festival as part of an intergenerational strategy that would support the ability of Tūhoe to revitalise and reconnect future generations with their homeland reo and tikanga.
Tawera. Photo: Supplied / Te Hui Ahurei ā Tūhoe
Rangihau said the Tūhoe festival had always incorporated compulsory competition items unique to the iwi.
There is always one specific Tūhoe mōteatea that every group must perform every two years. This year it is 'Moe Hurihuri', composed by the prophet Rua Kenana while imprisoned in Mount Eden jail.
Ngā Kōawa o Ōhinemataroa. Photo: Supplied / Te Hui Ahurei ā Tūhoe
"Kind of appropriate at this time when we are a state of continuing to fight oppression with movements like Toitū Te Tiriti. Rua Kenana led our people in standing against oppression he instilled that spirt in all of us."
The festival will run throughout Easter weekend with senior groups performing tomorrow.
Rangihau said the forecast for wild weather had been considered carefully in planning and preparing the venue, but it had not hampered plans
The full programme and further information can be found [here https://www.facebook.com/tuhoeahurei2022].
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