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National | Regionals 2018 - Te Arawa

Ohinemutu first time at Te Arawa Kapa Haka regionals

Ohinemutu is led by the son of the late Atareta Maxwell. Ashley Douglas-Kingi, female leader of the group says that it’s “always been a dream of Aunty Dina (Atareta Maxwell), Inia's mother, I'm happy that we have performed at a team the hope is that our group continues”.

The group began preparations for the regionals in September last year and have a mix of young and old performers. Male leader, Inia Maxwell says “the enthusiasm in the whānau togetherness was our number one priority as a new group that is what we focused on off stage, what we do off stage should reflect on stage”.

In their performance Ohinemutu covered a number of issues including cancer and an acknowledgement to the late Pihopa Kingi. “The haka was addressing cancer in general.  We have got quite a few people who have been affected by cancer- the 'smear your mea' campaign has been awesome but our haka focused on cancer in general,” says Maxwell.

The group was happy with their first performance and are now hoping for a top spot at Te Matatini next year.