Kapa haka: changing a borrowed waiata and coaching pronunciation
A kapa haka group based in Gisborne identifies as Ngāti Porou. It has 40 members; 25 are not Ngāti Porou and learned most of their Māori at secondary school. For a regional competition, the tutor has chosen a Tainui waiata tira and a Ngāti Porou haka. The waiata contains dialect features that are not Ngāti Porou. The tutor proposes to change two lines so the group sounds 'more local', and to coach the 25 non-Ngāti Porou members to use Ngāti Porou pronunciation for the haka. One judge is a Tainui elder; another is Ngāti Porou. The group has six weeks. A senior member warns that changing a composer's words is a matter of mana. The tutor says the audience will not know the difference. You are asked to advise the group.
1. Should the group change the two lines of the Tainui waiata? Justify your answer with reference to mana, the composer, and the competition context.
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No-not without the composer's permission. A waiata is not a neutral text; it has whakapapa, and changing its words can be read as taking mana from the composer and the iwi who own it. The fact that the group identifies as Ngāti Porou does not make a Tainui waiata Ngāti Porou. The right move is to learn the Tainui item accurately, attribute it, and perform it with respect for its own dialect. If the group wants a Ngāti Porou item, compose a new waiata or haka rather than remodelling someone else's. The Tainui judge is likely to notice changes, and the Ngāti Porou judge may see the alteration as a lack of discipline. Six weeks is enough to coach pronunciation; it is not enough to compose a replacement, so plan for the next competition.
2. How should the tutor prepare the 25 non-Ngāti Porou members for the Ngāti Porou haka and the Tainui waiata without forcing them to fake an identity?
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Separate respect from mimicry. The 25 non-Ngāti Porou members are not being asked to become Ngāti Porou; they are being asked to perform two items clearly and respectfully. Use recordings by Tainui and Ngāti Porou speakers, break the lines into short phrases, and pair confident speakers with learners. Explain the whakapapa of each item: who composed it, what dialect it belongs to, and why the group is performing it. Coach the 'wh' pronunciation for the haka as a technical skill, not as a claim to identity. For the Tainui waiata, coach the Tainui features as they are, without 'smoothing' them. The standard is intelligibility and consistency, not a fake accent. That also protects the group from the charge of appropriation.
3. The tutor says 'the audience will not know the difference.' Evaluate this claim as a reason for the change.
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The claim is weak as a justification. Audience ignorance is not an ethical reason to change a composer's work; it is at best a reason to explain the work better. In a competition, judges are selected for their knowledge, and a Tainui elder is exactly the person who may know the waiata. Even if no one noticed, the group would know, and the senior member's warning about mana is a signal about internal culture. If the tutor's real concern is that the group cannot pronounce the Tainui features, the answer is coaching, not alteration. If the concern is that the item does not fit the group's identity, the answer is to choose a different item. 'They won't know' is not a principle; it is a risk assessment that gets the risk wrong.