Kupe: A Waka Odyssey

A few weeks ago, J and I joined over 20,000 others on the Wellington waterfront to watch Kupe: A Waka Odyssey, the launch of the New Zealand festival. It was an amazing endeavour, involving thousands of people and journeys on traditional boats from as far away as Samoa and the Cook Islands, as well as many parts of NZ. Unfortunately, it was hard to see and we couldn't hear much, so as a spectator sport, it was a bit difficult, but you can't have everything.

I took some pictures, which I'll share here, but if you'd like to get a much better idea of the event (and be able to see things I couldn't in real life), you can click here for the official video of the event. It is too long to watch the whole thing (and there are rather long periods of inactivity), but I'll suggest specific parts to watch throughout the post. 

The man in blue and gold who talks first is Kupe the first Polynesian explorer to come to NZ. There is some blurring of legend and history in the accounts of Kupe, as well as in the dates when he might have arrived, but he is a strong and inspiring figure when it comes to seafaring, bravery, overcoming the odds, and exploration. The lady in red and gold is his wife, Hine-te-aparangi. You can watch Kupe's kōrero (speech) and Hine-te-aparangi's waiata (song), by skipping to 27 minutes.

I got to the harbour very early to save a spot for J, who joined me later, and saw one of the waka in the little lagoon off the harbour that I love so much.

I also saw hundreds of school children from around the country practicing their haka (traditional war or challenge display), which they performed during the event. It was really cool to see how empowered they all felt to be part of this.

 There were varying degrees of traditional dress, including these beautiful outfits with piupiu (traditional skirts made of harakeke flax).
If you'd like to watch their haka (which we didn't get to see at all in person, as we were too far away), skip to 1:28:30 in the video.

I saw these waka getting into place, and then proceeding regally back during the show, but they actually looked more beautiful at this time of day, with more sun on them. Also, I could hear their chants better then, before there were so very many people.

The harbour is so stunning, and it was inspiring to see these traditional waka in it.

This one really reminded me of Moana's little waka in the movie (although her sail wasn't red).

It's hard to see, but there are kayaks flanking a bigger boat, which is trailing dry ice. The effect was pretty amazing.

We could barely see Kupe from where we were, and we couldn't hear him at all, which was a pity. But I think if we'd been closer to him and the speakers, we wouldn't have been able to see the waka as well, which would have been unfortunate as well.

The next several pictures are of real, traditional seafaring vessels, and some had really just completed voyages from Samoa and the Cook Islands, and some have sailed from other places around NZ. Unfortunately, I don't know which ones are which, but they're all very beautiful, and it's incredible to think of them coming thousands of miles across the ocean!

You can see waka coming in in the video between about minutes 45 and 56.

 At the end, I did wish we had chosen a spot closer to Kupe and Hine-te-aparangi, because all the waka clustered over there, and we couldn't tell what was happening at all. I watched the video later, and learned that that crazy, angular golden waka, with a lady in white on it, is representing a being from across the galaxy who comes to give us a star to guide voyagers to Aotearoa (NZ). Maybe the waka is the star? It's unclear. If you'd like to watch this part, skip to 1:16 in the video.
 As you may know, the traditional Polynesian wayfinders used the stars to guide them as they discovered new islands.  (I know I've mentioned it in other posts, but you should all really watch Moana.) 

For me, this event celebrated many things that I love about the legends and history of the Polynesian peoples around the Pacific, and of NZ Māori in particular. However, it didn't resonate with me the way I was expecting it to. I'm not sure why, but it just didn't quite work for me. If you think you're noticing a lack of enthusiasm in this post... you're right. It's exactly up my alley, but it just missed the mark for me. But others seemed to really like it, and it's wonderful that over 20,000 people came to celebrate Māori and Polynesian history and culture! That I do find wonderful!