Abstract

Kapa Haka is a form of Māori performing arts in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Kapa Haka has made significant contributions in sustaining and revitalizing Tikanga Māori (Māori cultural protocols), Te Reo Māori (Māori language), and Māori people’s confidence and cultural identity (Kaiwai & Zemke-White, 2004; Whitinui, 2008). In the last thirty years, Kapa Haka festivals and competitions have become major artistic and social events among Māori people. Today Kapa Haka is popular and is taught throughout the country. It exists in diverse social and educational contexts in New Zealand. While Te Reo Māori (Māori language) struggles to proliferate, Kapa Haka seems to be gaining more popularity, crossing cultural boundaries of Māoridom. After working as a producer/director/teacher in the performing arts industries in Tokyo and New York for more than two decades, I came to New Zealand and started studying Kapa Haka intensively under a respected Kapa Haka teacher. After a couple of years, I decided to pursue my research on “Kapa Haka teachers’ meanings of teaching Kapa Haka”. In this article, I discuss relevant perspectives based on my professional background and my desire to be an ethically decent researcher, and their links to the valued methodologies that have framed my research process.