Mataora - The Living Face is a mini doco that join Ariki Huata on his journey receiving his Mataora.

Join Te Rangi Huata a Ngāti Kahungunu extraordinaire who has many years of experience bringing joy to our communities Aotearoa wide with his extravagant light displays, firework shows and knack for event planning as he shares with us Matariki!

It is said weapons including the taiaha and patu were handed down by Tāne, god of the forest and Tūmātauenga, god of war, the two sons of Ranginui and Papatuanuku. The Whare-tū-taua (House of war) is a term which covers the basics of educating young toa (warriors) in the arts of war.

The Poi were used by both the men and the women for many Māori cultural purposes. It is more commonly used today for song and dance and entertainment.

Waiata-a-Ringa is a traditional form of action song that allows you to bring a song alive by adding actions that represent the words that you are singing.

In former days our tīpuna used to play hand games. We refer to this as Māori Kēmu which simply translates to Māori Games.

In Māori Mythology, as in other Polynesian Traditions, Māui is a Cultural hero and a trickster, famous for his exploits and cleverness. He possessed superhuman strength, and was capable of shapeshifting into animals such as birds and worms. Te Whai Wawewawe a Māui is similar to Cats and Cradles, where you have a piece of string that is tied off at both ends. In each of these videos you will be learning different patterns that can be formed by carefully manipulating the string using your fingers to move through, around and over different parts of the string using your fingers. Patterns generally start in Position A, so if you have forgotten what this looks like please refer to the video titled Position A. Once you have mastered each pattern you can then go on and be clever like Māui and use these patterns to create your own stories or make your own magic happen.

Paraire Henare Tomoana is a world-renowned composer from Ngāti Kahungunu. In these videos, his mokopuna Ngatai Huata gives us insight into his life and helps us break down some of his compositions.

Canon Wi Te Tau Huata is a world-renowned composer from Ngāti Kahungunu. In these videos, his daughter Ngatai Huata gives us insight into his life and helps us break down some of his compositions.