New Zealand go head-to-head with Great Britain The defending America's Cup Kiwis have a secret weapon, a Maori waka (canoe) that will see them through to the tournament.
The race started on October 12 and ends a week later. On each race day, the waka will lead the New Zealand team from Barcelona harbor as a “Māori guard of honour”, made up almost entirely of members of the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei iwi (tribes), says Waka's co-ordinator Graham Dibene.
A haka will be performed in the water and some of the crew will accompany the group to perform karakia (prayers and chants) before heading out to race.
“What sets us apart from other teams… is our deep connection to the sea and the land, and our preservation of it,” says Tibben.
He is Grant Dalton, doyen of New Zealand sailing and chief executive of Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ), who invited the Maori team to join Barcelona.
“We are very proud to have Nati Vatua Oragay and their Waka in Barcelona,” says Dalton. “We are a New Zealand team that represents our country, our culture and our innovation with great pride on the world stage, and for us the stage is no bigger than the America's Cup.
“Including the Waka in this year's America's Cup is a testament to our deep respect for Aotearoa's roots.”
Wakka is carved from the trunk of the cowrie tree. It was named Te Kawau after a species of cormorant known for its tenacity and was created by a master carver in Whangarei, New Zealand's North Island.
It's the first time the tribe has had a waka in 25 years and, as Tibben says, “Having a waka means being at sea, which means we can maintain the value systems we've always talked about. You can't just paddle a waka and do everything that comes with it.
It comes amid growing tensions within New Zealand over a push to roll back Maori rights, experts say.
Various New Zealand governments have introduced policies and programs designed to redress the imbalance that sees Māori people over-represented in negative social metrics. However, the conservative coalition led by Christopher Lacson, elected last year, has taken off. Change and review policies that provide for Māori, arguing that services should be provided based on need, not race.
It also abolished the Māori Health Commission and changed the use of the Māori language in government departments. There is a review of the country's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed by Maori chiefs and the Crown in 1840 and establishes Maori rights.
“Some people feel marginalized as Māori people receive equal – not preferential – treatment,” Tibben says.
Yet the culture and language are flourishing and the number of people identifying as Maori continues to rise “quite the opposite of what was happening in the seventies and eighties,” Tibben says.
“What we're doing here in Barcelona is part of preventing what the New Zealand government is trying to do, and part of what we as a nation are trying to do,” Dibben says.
“We are here to celebrate Maori culture, to show the people of Spain and the world who we are and who we are.”
Meanwhile, there's a race to win. In a race between Italian and British boats, Debene says he was rooting for the British for the chance to face the old colonial power.
“I really wanted them to win, so now it's about our team giving their best and reminding them that we are a powerhouse too,” he says.
“That would be beautiful.”
