Te Ao Māori

Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga brought thousands of visitors to Taranaki, injecting millions of dollars into the province in the process, and opening a window into te ao Māori. Audio

The chief executive of the largest kapa haka festival in the world, says organisers will need to rethink where the competition is hosted.

The drum has a special meaning to the people of Taranaki that many groups have paid tribute to this week.

While aihi kirīmi, pāua, and hāngī have sold like the clappers at this year's Te Matatini, other stalls not so much.

The rōpū from the Te Arawa region have been crowned champions for the first time.

Whether it's Māori business merch flying off the shelves, custom pounamu, or handcrafted pēke (bags) to carry all the necessities - every fit has a story.

Hundreds of spectators were so keen for the they started lining up at 3am, four hours before the gates opened.

Theodore Anderson would normally be scaffolding, but he is now carting kaumātua up and down the steep Bowl of Brooklands hills from dawn to dusk.

The twelve finalists for Te Matatini have been announced, among them are defending champions Te Whānau a Apanui, boundary-pushing Auckland group Angitu and star-studded newcomers Te Taumata o Apanui. Audio

Every item performed by kapa at Te Matatini carry a pūrākau (story) of people, places, and events of historical of significance for their hapū and iwi.

A feeling of anticipation has gripped Pukekura/Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymout.

Numbers at Te Matatini have been building up over the week, and will crescendo for a sold out finals on Saturday.