Hororātā Highland Games 2015
An estimated 10,000 people attended the fifth Highland Games in Hororātā on Saturday 7 November.
Proudly dressed in kilts or sporting tartans, people turned out to celebrate their Scottish heritage, to hurl haggis, toss poles, lift stones, dance, play the bagpipes and to run the kilted mile.
Our whānau of Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki ki Taumutu were there to help welcome the chief and to add to the vibrancy of the day.
Dressed in full kapa haka uniform our tamariki performed a rousing haka pōwhiri and Savanah and Justice cleansed the ceremony with fire poi and a fire stick. No one would have known that 10 minutes earlier it was just about all off because one of the littlest of the crew didn’t have a piupiu and a tantrum was brewing.
Once we had sorted a piupiu trade with one of the other kids and wrapped the smallest piupiu around his tiny waist about four or five times, Master Pura conceded to standing in the row and did his haka – crisis averted – helped of course by a last minute bribe of ice creams all round they went out and were ‘O’ for awesome.
We thoroughly enjoyed the day and the connections some of us Māori-Scots made with our Scottish roots. Looking forward to next year’s festivities.