“Iwi Off” back on at Ara

_{Reimana Tutengaehe, a former Ara kaiako now Kairuruku (co-ordinator) with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, lead the Mātaatua group}

Te Puna Wānaka on Ara Institute of Canterbury’s City campus has always been a place open for all to gather.  That spirit was alive and well last week for the return of Iwi Off – a performance challenge pitting rohe (regions) against each other in waiata (song) and haka.

A popular community event at Ara up until around a decade ago, Iwi Off 2025 brought ākonga of all ages together – in full voice. The event was led by Te Puna Wānaka kaiako (teacher) Te Manuiti Whata, supported by the Māori Success, Student Events, and Pacific Success teams.

Whata said it was time to bring the kaupapa back and said Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori seemed the perfect time.

“I remember the very first one and it was huge,” he said. “For me, as a child, I never got to experience such a beautiful community feeling. It felt like the right time to bring it back.”

The regions represented this year included Te Tairāwhiti (East Coast) rohe, Mātaatua waka (canoe) - covering a vast group of central Aotearoa tribes – and Te Waipounamu covering the south.

Leading the Tairāwhiti group were former Ara kaiako (teacher) Hōhepa Waitoa (now leading Mahi Mahi Productions), his sister Sheree Jahnke-Waitoa and her wife Kihere Jahnke-Waitoa (a graduate of the Bachelor of Māori Language and Indigenous Studies – Te Ohoka from Ara.  Reimana Tutengaehe, another former Ara kaiako now Kairuruku (co-ordinator) with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, lead the Mātaatua group and Hineamaru Paraone, Ara Community and Outreach Partner – Māori, guided Te Waipounamu in song.

“All of our leaders today had strong connections to their rohe and brought passion and leadership to their groups.  You could see that for sure in the performances,” Whata said.

One hundred and twenty tamariki and rangatahi from three local kura joined the event. A wide range of ages were involved from Te Waka Unua, Te Aratai College and Te Kura Whakapūmau i te Reo Tūturu ki Waitaha.

“What is truly special bringing these young ones into our whare is that they may not know waiata and pūrākau (stories) from their ancestral home,” said Whata. “They may not have had a chance to connect as yet so this a way to have that experience and the learnings.”

Te Aratai College kaiako Piripi Edwards said it was a welcome step back in time.

“I was part Iwi Off when I was a student here at Ara 11 years ago,” he said. “I wanted to bring my own students back. For some, it’s been more than learning a song from their iwi (tribe) or waka. It was their first kaupapa Māori event. It’s been great.”

Edwards’ return with his students echoed the deeper purpose of Iwi Off - rekindling ties not just to culture, but to place.

That sense of reconnection, Whata said, is woven into the very foundations of Te Puna Wānaka.

“Many of the koroua (male elders) and kuia (female elders) who came down to Ōtautahi for trades training decades ago were from all iwi - and didn’t have a marae to call home. This whare was established as a whare manaaki (a sanctuary of care and belonging) to cater for all. That’s the energy behind this kaupapa - bringing people together.”

Te Puna Wānaka and the Māori Success team has a strong focus on building connections with hapori (community) and sharing the learning spaces at Ara.

“The ultimate would be to re-establish the bachelor's degree here in te reo Māori at Ara,” Whata said. “To achieve that we need to ensure we’re having those conversations and building those connections and understandings with our hapori.”

Connecting with the past and striving for the future - Iwi Off certainly brought ihi (excitement) to Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori at Ara.

See the event as covered by Tahu News here and also here.