Papa hōrua 2023. 

Aroora is a hauora kaupapa that sits within CLMs mission statement 'ka āwhina mai, ka āwhina atu, ngā mahi a te rēhia'. As such, we are passionate about traditional recreational practices that invigorate hauora and create a deeper relationship to our cultural identity and customs. 

One of the lesser-known recreational activities our tūpuna engaged in was papa hōrua, sometimes translated as ‘Māori tobogganing’ or, as the author prefers to refer to it as, 'mountain surfing'. Papa hōrua is an umbrella term used across the pacific that covers sliding down a mountain, a hill, or a sand dune on a wooden board of differing design. This was usually done, as far as we are currently aware, in Aotearoa on flat papa or boards. Whilst in Hawaii it was done on a papa made of two long pieces of wood lashed together with thwarts to form a hōrua. 

Participants would ride these boards down large, specially prepared slides that could range from 100m to some recorded in Hawaii of approximately 1000m long. See story below: 

(https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/holua-sledding-the-death-defying-sport-of-hawaiian-chiefs/ ) 

Working alongside local Ngāti Wai artist Te Kaurinui Parata the team now have two impressive prototype papa, one designed from historical accounts of papa used in Aotearoa, at the time of European contact, which we call a papa nuku, and the other designed more in line with the traditional Hawaii papa form whilst using local materials. 

In 2023 the Aroora team are busy developing and looking to implement a wānanga based around papa hōrua as part of their Tēnei Tōku Whare kaupapa. This will give 40 rangatahi Māori in Whangārei the opportunity to reconnect to this practice reinvigorating both a traditional practice and the hauora of its participants. 

Some historical reference to papa hōrua in Aotearoa and Hawaii can be found here: 

https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BesGame-t1-body-d6-d1-d7.html 

The Art of Heeholua - YouTube 

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