Kahungunu Festival
 

Kahungunu is our ancestor who with his wife Rongomaiwahine, forged a tribe who we are today 62,000 strong.

 
The Kahungunu Festival is to build on the myriad of networks and connections to every whanau, hapu, waka and iwi  in the country extending into our Pacific heritage through Rarotonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, Hawaii, Tuamotu and others in Austronesia, Micronesia and China.

We will bring together a kaleidescope of culture, commerce, craft and communities from throughout the world in a dynamic summer celebration where the principal event Te Matatini, the biggest kapa haka show on earth, will be hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu at this time.  

We will showcase the finest in tradition and technology.  

We will highlight Hawkes Bay houkunui, the bountiful harvest we receive from the land and the sea just as our tipuna Kahungunu practised as a reknowned cultivator of the land and harvester of the oceans.

All of this will be presented in front of a panoramic symphony of uplifting musical performance, kapa haka excellence, cultural diversity and vibrant colour, where there is a place for everyone to experience first-hand the generous bounty our lands offer to all.

Nau mai Haere mai

Ngahiwi Tomoana
Chairman, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc