Ko Tawhito Kī, Ko Tawhito Wānanga, Ko Tawhito Kōrero

Walking from my home to the Meteor Theatre on a still, chilly evening on the moon of Takirau o Pipiri, I was buzzing with anticipation at the thought of a theatre performance of karetao (the art of traditional Māori puppetry).

I first became aware of karetao back in 2010, as a tauira of Te Pua Wananga ki te Ao at Waikato University. I assisted with ‘Te Karanga a te Kararī, a te Karetao,’ the inaugural wānanga to bring karetao practitioners and experts together to discuss the history and future of an artform and practice that had for too long been languishing in obscurity. Among other questions, the wānanga invited discussion about whether the art/ practice of karetao should be revived.

Fifteen years on, I believe the audience at Kare Tao’s sold-out, one-off ‘development performance’ would respond that not only should karetao be revived, but that we had witnessed a major step in the progression of that revival last night.

Passing through the Nancy Caiger gallery space of the Meteor Theatre, a joint exhibition of exquisitely-carved karetao by artists James Webster and Charlotte Graham sets the scene. Entering into the womb-like intimacy of the performance space, a predominantly black set contains half a dozen plinths of various sizes, a table holding a selection of taonga puoro and, centre-stage, a doorway, a tomokanga that later reveals itself as a portal between worlds.

The show, Kare Tao, is itself a metaphor for the revitalisation and recovery of karetao. From a contemporary museum – where our tour guide warns we MUST NOT touch the karetao, we may only love bomb them from a distance – we are transported on a luscious taonga pūoro soundscape to the pūrākau of Rangi and Papa, played out masterfully by Hinemoa Jones and James Webster as the mātanga pūkaretao (master practitioners).

Here the intimate connection between karetao and human agent brings the karetao to life – or is it the other way round? From a scene of the day-to-day interactions and conflicts between siblings – played by Whetu Silver, Ati Jensen-Whakataka, Michael Moore and Kauri Williams with a good deal of humour, vulnerability and some MJ dance moves – to the children of Rangi and Papa, clashing over the plot to separate their parents.

A cleverly choreographed scene portrays the karetao Tāne Mahuta. In the pūkaretao’s hands, the heru from Tāne’s hair transforms into a taonga puoro – a nguru, which is then placed in the pūkaretao’s own topknot while he plays the karetao as a kōauau, before returning the heru to its rightful place on Tāne’s head. Te mīharo hoki!  

The scenes are punctuated at strategic intervals by a character called ‘the keynote speaker’, who drops decolonising truths about how our traditional performative arts were denigrated and suppressed; how our karetao were ‘traded, stolen and silenced’. This is mātauranga that needs to be heard, to be shared.

I’m not prepared for the level of emotion I feel during the performance, generated by the karetao themselves and no doubt heightened by the rich, fluid sounds, played live by puoro exponents. Viewed at close proximity, and in the hands of such skilled performers, each small gesture of the karetao seem to convey so much. On that note, it is encouraging to see the next generation of mātanga pūkaretao in development. Surely a good sign for our toi Māori, our taonga tuku iho.

This viewing of Kare Tao is a whānau affair; some parents have brought their children. The show is also accessible for people who are not speakers or learners of te reo Maōri. My neighbours, a Japanese couple with intermediate-level English, thoroughly enjoy the experience and are still reflecting on it the next day.

My understanding is that this showcase production of Kare Tao was made possible with the help of a seeding grant. There is so much to love about it, from the quality of the performances to the staging, lighting and that sublime wash of puoro.

Mā te huruhuru te manu e rere! I’d like to see Kare Tao get the funding it needs to mount a full-length production and a tour. Right now, we all need this healing.

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