13/02/2021
For Matariki celebrations in 2020 CKFilmdesign teamed up with Te Papa, Storybox and Streamliner providing Maori costumes to create the spectacular Ahi Ka show projected across the entire external facade of Te Papa.
The project was made all the more meaningful with Toa Rangatira being portrayed by one of his direct descendants, Māori astronomer and actor Toa Waaka.
Toa Rangatira could tell from the stars that a long cold winter was coming, so while his brothers and relatives headed off to the battlefields, the young chief chose to stay home and care for his elders and ensure his whānau were safe while the other warriors were away.
“He collected up the scraps of the kūmara from his kaumātua and grew a very large amount. When the brothers and other warriors came home, they didn’t have enough food to sustain the tribe, so he took them off to a special valley and revealed to them how much he had grown.
"It was enough to sustain the neighbouring tribe and his visiting mother’s tribe, Ngāti Mutunga, so his harvest helped to see three tribes through the hard times of the winter.”
Costume team:
Charlotte Kelleher
Kelly Kim Harrouk
