A warm, hearty meal on a Saturday - who could complain?

A lucky 170 Ashburtonites had their weekend dinner sorted thanks to Te Wairua o Maata Waka, Ashburton College’s kapahaka (Māori​ performance art) group.

Students and parents alike were up at 7am to wrap parcels and dig a pit for their hangi fundraiser. 

Parent Nikki Tupaea said it had been a great success.

“It was brilliant, it actually went really well. The kids were amazing.”

The parcels were full of quality meat and vegetables, some provided by ANZCO Foods, Lovett Family Farms Ltd and Produce Pals Fruit 'n' Veges.

Around $1800 was made from the fundraiser, which goes towards the kapahaka group’s travel to Timaru for the annual Ka Toi Māori​ o Aoraki Flava​ Festival.

Flava fest, which was rebooted last year after a Covid-induced four year long hiatus, is a two-day event featuring kapahaka performances from student groups across Mid and South Canterbury.

The competition is on September 7 following a day of non-competitive performances.

“Our roopu (group) is participating in the Saturday competition, that’s where all the colleges are.”

Ashburton College cleaned up at last year’s Flava fest, winning six of the seven main awards, including best overall group.

They’re looking to bring the heat again and keep their crown, Tupaea said.

“They’re really keen to go back and defend those wins, and possibly take seven out of seven.”

“It’s amazing for the kids, just how they feel about themselves, and getting out there and representing Māori culture, and also Ashburton College.”

With under a month until D-day, the 29 students are getting into the nitty gritty of training.

“They’ll be practising pretty hard out between now and then to get ready.”

Ka Toi Māori​ o Aoraki Flava​ Festival runs on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 September, and takes place at Caroline Bay in Timaru.

What is a hangi?

A hangi, sometimes spelt “hāngī”, is a traditional Māori method of cooking which uses an “earth oven”. 

A pit in the ground is filled with hot rocks, before wrapped up parcels of food are placed on top and then covered with a damp cloth and a layer of dirt.

The heat from the rocks is trapped in the earth and leaves the food with a smoky flavour. 

The food is dug out of the pit after a few hours and can be eaten straight away. 

A traditional hangi would consist of pork, fish and kumara - whatever the first polynesians settlers could source from the environment - and would be parcelled in flax.

Today a hangi often consists of chicken, lamb and a variety of European vegetables, and parcels are wrapped in foil and placed in metal baskets. There are also ovens that emulate a hangi smokiness without the need to spend hours digging and refilling a pit. 

A hangi is a social experience: It takes a team to prepare the food, dig the pit and share the meal once the work is done. Similar techniques exist across the Islands - Samoa has their ‘umu’, and Fiji has a ‘lovo’

By Anisha Satya