Ko te rōpū haka i Hapani, ko Ngā Hau e Whā, he whānau tawhiti i te kāinga mā ngā mema, he ara tūhono, tuku hoki i te ahurea Māori ki te ao.
Nō tōna aranga ake i ngā tau 20 ki muri, he rōpū kua tino hiahiatia huri noa i Āhia, ā tatū atu ki te whakataetae Ipu Whutupaoro o te Ao 2019.
Ko Anne Dil tētahi kaitātaki o te kapa i hūnuku atu ki Tōkyō i ngā tau 12 ki muri.
“It’s the community. It’s the tight-knit group and that we have a common background. We’re all Kiwis living abroad in a Japanese setting amongst this Japanese culture, finding our own New Zealand niche amongst us.”
I hihiri ai ngā whakaaro o Dil kia hono atu ki te kapa i ngā tau e ono ki muri.
“We went to Waitangi Day dinner at the embassy and I saw the kapa haka group perform and I saw a Tongan girl represent our culture and I thought if she can do it I can do it. I had two little children at the time but used to do kapa haka when I was at school so I wanted to get back into it.”
Ko tāna i tūmanako ai, mā te whakawhanaunga atu ki te kapa, he ara hei whakaako i te ahurea Māori ki āna tamariki.
“It’s given me a chance to show them our culture. They were born in Japan. They’ve grown up here and this is all the culture they know. To introduce them to kapa haka Māori culture through kapa haka is an awesome experience.”
Nō ngā iwi maha ngā ngā kaihaka o te rōpū, nō Aotearoa, nō Tonga, nō Hāmoa, nō Ngā Kuki Airani, nō Hapani. Ia wiki, ia wiki ka whakangahau rātou i ngā hui ki Tōkyō, i ngā huihuinga ahurea ki waenga i a Aotearoa me Hapani huri noa i Āhia, tae atu ki ngā hui kohi pūtea, hui taiopenga o ngā kura anō hoki. I tērā wiki, i whakangahau rātou ki tētahi huihuinga kaiwhaiwhai o te Ipu Whutupaoro o te Ao.
“We call on our ancestors and we use that spirit and that mana to perform each time,” tā Dil.
“Each performance is actually very personal, very intimate to each of us, so each time we perform on stage it’s not just a performance. It’s ingrained in our heart and we hope to show that and express that in our dance.
Ā, e tūwhera ana te kuaha me ngā ringa ki te tangata ka hiahia hono atu ai i a rātou.
“We welcome any culture to who wants to learn about Māori culture and express it through dance and music. We’re happy for them to join us too.”
