Waiata and haka drown out complaints about winning school hockey team’s use of te reo Māori

Complaints made in a Christchurch hockey tournament crowd about a Māori secondary school’s use of te reo on the turf were drowned out with waiata and haka when supporters arrived en masse.

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori (TKKM) o Ruamata’s boys team’s haka to start the Johnson Cup final at Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub in Ōtautahi last week was described as a “refreshing” and rare event for the sport by commentators.

But a local kura kaupapa caught wind of disapproval among the crowd during the tournament, so the wharekura rallied to support the Rotorua kura from the sideline with singing, haka, and whakatauākī (Māori proverbs).

Hockey NZ has rebuked the prejudiced crowd comments and thrown its support behind the team, which went on to win the final 5-2 against Ashburton College, saying it encourages the use of te reo Māori – and all languages – in the sport.

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Ruamata coach Tenga Rangitauira said he only found out after that negative comments were made, but was unsurprised, given only five years ago, their players were being sent off by “ignorant umpires” for speaking Māori.

“I have no doubt that there would’ve been a few ‘Karens’ around during the tournament, but Ruamata are used to that.”

The team heard local kura, TKKM o Te Whānau Tahi, singing the kura kaupapa Maori anthem – Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Māori – and performing the Te Aho Matua haka when the team won.

Māori proverbs chanted throughout the game, he believed, “inspired the boys because hearing te reo Māori around the fenceline is usually something we only hear in Rotorua and is something we didn’t expect in Ōtautahi”.

The Ruamata Boys XI Hockey team is made up from a pool of just 30 secondary boys within the 180-pupil, year 1-13 Rotorua kura kaupapa.

It had laid complaints about prejudice from umpires in other competitions before, Rangitauira said.

“But in most cases, when we came across such ignorance, intolerance and prejudice, which are all aspects of racism, we would let it go.”

He felt the Aotearoa hockey community had come a long way since the Māori immersion kura “entered the scene over 30 years ago”.

Usually Hockey NZ would not be involved when it was happening at a local level, he said, but “I am not sure what Hockey NZ have done in the past 30 years to make hockey spaces more bicultural and bilingual”.

This year, the Bay of Plenty Hockey Association had to put out a notice to the hockey community explaining that te reo Maori was allowed on the pitch, which “says we still have a long way to go yet”.

Commentators of the Christchurch game, livestreamed on You Tube, can be heard saying “it’s not very often to see a haka on the hockey field”.

“It’s refreshing to see a school of such culture.”

Rangitauira commended TKKM o Te Whānau Tahi for the honourable way in which they dealt with the sideline comments.

“But, this is what kura kaupapa Māori do. Although we are spread across Aotearoa, we are one whānau.

“Within a moment’s notice, we will show up for each other.”

They had great feedback from others at the tournament, including a player from Macleans College who approached Rangitauira after the game to state his appreciation of their use of te reo.

The team was “ecstatic” to win and advance to the top-tier tournament for the first time next year.

TKKM o Te Whānau Tahi tumuaki/acting principal Sharlene Teirney said its wharekura supported from the sideline to see the North Island team’s “great win” after they heard that complaints and comments were made about speaking Māori, and “that the tamariki should not speak it while on the field playing”.

“We wanted to support Ruamata not only with their game but also to continue to uphold te reo Māori and the principles of Te Aho Matua (Māori-medium education philosophy).”

A Hockey NZ spokesperson said the organisation fully supported and encouraged the use of te reo Māori, and other languages, on the turf and in all settings.

It had no rules against speaking te reo Māori and was not aware of any local association that did.

“We are committed to being an open and inclusive game.”

It was also working closely with New Zealand Māori Hockey to further its understanding and use of Māori culture in hockey.

Neither it nor the Canterbury Hockey Association were made aware of the complaints about the use of te reo Māori during the Johnson Cup.

The only feedback was “how awesome TKKM Ruamata were, not only with their play, but their use of te reo and that the way they carried themselves was an inspiration”.