Tama Huata Explained

Tama Huata
Birth Name:Tama Tūranga Huata
Birth Date:15 April 1950
Death Place:Napier, New Zealand
Spouse:Pukepuke Tangiora Huata
Children:Three
Relatives:Wiremu Te Tau Huata (father)
Hemi Pititi Huata (grandfather)
Paraire Tomoana (grandfather)

Tama Tūranga Huata (15 April 1950 – 11 February 2015) was a Māori performing arts leader in New Zealand.

Biography

Born in 1950 of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou descent,[1] [2] Huata was the third son of Wiremu Te Tau Huata—a chaplain to the Māori Battalion during World War II—and Ringahora Hēni Ngākai Ybel Tomoana.[3] His maternal grandfather was Paraire Tomoana, the composer of "Pokarekare Ana".

Huata was a central figure in the renaissance of the Māori performing arts.[3] In 1983 he founded the Kahurangi Dance Theatre and Te Wānanga Whare Tapere o Takitimu (the Takitimu Performing Arts School), and was responsible for the establishment there of the first degree programme in Māori performing arts. In 1985 he was a group leader at the Te Maori exhibition in San Francisco.[3] Awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 1995, Huata travelled to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee to study African history and dance.[3]

Huata was the inaugural chair of Te Matatini Society,[4] and founder of the Waiata Māori Music Awards in 2007.[3]

In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Huata was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori performing arts.[5] In 2012, he received Te Tohu Toi Kē (the "Making a Difference" award) from Creative New Zealand at Te Waka Toi Awards, for his significant contribution to the development and retention of Māori arts and culture.[2]

Huata died at his home in Napier in 2015.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Whakaaria mai: the biography of Wi Huata. Richard. Spence. 9 March 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100915/http://www.tekauri.com/wi/combined.html. 2 April 2015. dmy-all.
  2. Web site: Te Waka Toi awards . Creative NZ . 9 March 2015.
  3. News: Maori performing arts leader Tama Turanga Huata dies . 12 February 2015 . Dominion Post . 9 March 2015 . Lawrence . Gullery.
  4. News: Performing arts stalwart Tama Huata passes away . 11 February 2015 . Māori Television News . 9 March 2015 . Heeni . Brown.
  5. Web site: Queen's Birthday honours list 2006 . 5 June 2006 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 4 May 2020.