Pa Ariki meets Aquaman

Pa Marie Ariki (middle) meets world famous actor Jason Momoa of Aquaman fame at Te Matatini Kapa Haka Festival this week at Auckland’s Ngā Ana Wai Eden Park.

Te Matatini is a significant cultural festival and the pinnacle event for Māori performing arts. Held every two years, it is one of the most highly anticipated events for performers, their whānau and the mass of passionate Kapa Haka fans throughout the world.

The festival brings together competing kapa haka groups from all over Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, in an unforgettable celebration of Māori culture. Momoa is in Auckland to film his new series Yenedakine (Chief of War), based on the true story of a warrior chief caught up in the colonisation of Hawaii in the late 1700s. MELINA ETCHES