FOUR large ocean-going waka hourua attended from Kāwhia (two), Gisbourne and Tauranga. PHOTO SUPPLIED
NEW ZEALAND’S Second Annual Waka Hourua Festival drew four large voyaging craft to Kāwhia this week, with many additional smaller waka attending in support. A spokesperson for the festival, Noenoe Barclay-Kerr, said about 250 people attended the opening of the event as craft and crews were welcomed to Maketu Marae on Saturday. Two of the large ocean-going waka hourua were from Kāwhia itself, though one of these had sailed last week to the festival from Auckland. The other two originated from Gisborne and Tauranga respectively, the latter city having hosted last year’s inaugural festival, Noenoe said. “We have school groups of about 30 a day attending workshops at the marae, and these are drawn from Tauranga and right across the Waikato,” she said. “Many of the students know very little about how their ancestors voyaged across the Pacific in waka hourua centuries ago. They are blown away to learn about the Polynesian migrations, especially the ability of our ancestors to navigate by the stars.” Noenoe said celestial or astral navigation taught by the kaumoana (sailors) was one of the most popular subjects at the workshops. The students were given an easy introduction to the subject, which included use of a star compass to understand how the great navigations unfolded. The event, being hosted by Te Hau Kōmaru in partnership with Te Toki Voyaging Trust, will run through till Sunday.
