After a five-year hiatus the biennial Tūhoe festival, Te Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe, is set to return over Easter weekend.
The Hui Ahurei is the longest running iwi festival in Aotearoa. It marked its 50th year in 2021 but those celebrations have been pushed back till now.
Martin Rakuraku is the chairman of the local organising committee in Waimana, which will host this year’s Ahurei.
He said most people of Tūhoe descent live outside of their rohe, and the Ahurei has always been about bringing those people back to their homeland.
More performers from the 2018 festival.
“Everything is being built from the ground, we have no arena…
Waimana was set to host the Ahurei back in 2020 before Covid-19 crashed down only three weeks out from the event.
This year 18 teams from around the country will gather over Easter weekend for a programme of kapa haka, sport and debate.
Credit: radionz.co.nz
