Taitokerau given the honour to welcome the British and Irish Lions

This year Taitokerau have been given the honour to provide the official Pōwhiri for the British and Irish Lions Rugby team at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds on Sunday 4 June.The team only travels once every 10 to 12 years and the last time they visited Aotearoa they were welcomed in Rotorua. Mori Rapana, Cultural Manager for the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, said he was asked to pull together the pōhiri, including coordinating the 500 warriors, taua, kaikaranga and kaihoe who will be involved in the event. “This kaupapa is huge for Ngāpuhi. The pōhiri items include Te Ngeri a Kawiti, Tutungarahu, Ngāpuhi e and haka pōhiri.” Practices started at the beginning of last month. “As well as being able to show our Taitokerautanga to the world, this kaupapa also gives us the opportunity to revive some of the old haka and ngeri. Thank you Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi O Ngāpuhi for providing sponsorship to support the kaupapa.

Ngā mihi

Mori Rapana, Cultural Manager, Waitangi Treaty Grounds

[Published in E Mara E Pānu 1 June 2017]