Hologa Niue ‘bringing everyone together’

A groundbreaking announcement from Three Star Nation, a global network of youth descendants from Hakupu village in Niue, has captured the attention of the Niue community.

Earlier this week, Three Star Nation was excited to announce Hologa Niue, New Zealand’s first Niue arts and culture festival, on their social media platforms.

Scheduled for 22 February at the Due Drop Events Centre in Manukau, Three Star Nation invites all 13 villages of Niue to participate and help bring to life an inspiring vision of uniting the people of Niue through performing arts.

Three Star Nation executives and leading stars of the event – Leki Jackson-Bourke, Eunique Cabrini Ikiua, and Sepa Havilitama – shared their excitement for the upcoming event with PMN Niue host Leitualaalemalietoa Lynn Lolokini Pavihi.

Watch the full interview here.

Cabrini Ikiua, a renowned music artist from the Niue community with roots in the villages of Hakupu and Avatele, says: “It’s going to be an exposure of Niue culture, a celebration of Niue language, and a time to celebrate our composers, the Niue classics, and also a time to make new compositions.

“It’s a day to celebrate being tagata Niue, it’s a day to celebrate being from your village,” she added.

A platform for unity and celebration

Hologa Niue aims to unite the community by providing a platform to reconnect, showcase talents, and preserve cultural treasures through traditional singing and dancing.

Bourke-Jackson, the creative lead who was born and raised in Māngere and hails from the village of Hakupu, emphasised the importance of bringing people together.

“The focus is bringing everyone together. Lagaki e motu ha tautolu [lift up our nation]. We want to lift Niue together.”

With less than six weeks until the event, the team is inviting all Niueans to join in.

“We humbly invite all descendants of Niue across Okalana [Auckland], across New Zealand, and across the world to come and join us,” Ikiua shared.

Hologa Niue festival will take place at the Due Drop Events Centre in Manukau. Photo/Three Star Nation.

Representing the villages of Avatele, Hakupu, and Hikutavake, Havilitama emphasised the importance of inclusivity, encouraging all villages to showcase their unique traditions.

“There’s a 15-minute time frame for you to do your performance. That roughly comes out to three items.

“Compulsory items are lologo tapu [hymns], ta me [traditional], and a third item of your choice,” Havilitama said.

Jackson-Bourke highlighted the diversity in Niuean expression.

“We are excited to showcase the different styles of each maaga [village] because we all sing and dance differently.

While the festival is not a competition, Jackson-Bourke stressed the importance of maintaining high standards.

“We want to challenge the Niue people to bring their best and put their best foot forward, even though it’s not a competition.”

Ikiua also emphasised the importance of celebrating the Niue language and culture.

“For this first one, no competition. It’s just a celebration.

“We’ve agreed as the Three Star Nation that the emphasis and focus should just be on paying homage to those village compositions. Encouraging those villages to connect.”

Preserving language and culture

With most Niueans living in New Zealand, Jackson-Bourke sees the festival as a critical step in preserving Vagahau Niue [Niue language].

He also expressed concern about the loss of cultural treasures.

“It’s our job to save our language and keep it alive. For us, since we come from a strong performing arts background, we want to utilise that platform, and we know it's attractive to the young people, to the fuata [youth] that live in NZ to those that are disconnected from their culture.

“We were able to do it ourselves in our village group and now we have our solid base.

“We want the same for all the other villages to do the same to keep their stuff alive because a lot of our elders are starting to pass on, and they haven’t taught the song to the people, and we’re just going to lose all of our treasures and our culture.”

While the target audience focuses on younger generations, the trio reassures that the event welcomes people of all ages, from the elderly to parents and children.

Three Star Nation Tokiofa Arts Academy performance night. Photo/Three Star Nation.

Looking to the future

For the continuation and preservation of language and culture, sustainability is key.

The team has shared their desire to keep Hologa Niue going in the future by collaborating with Niueans in the South Island, Niue, Australia, and beyond.

“We want to expand this for the next generation. We want to run this every two years. It’s important we set the foundations here,” Ikiua stressed.

The team acknowledged Creative NZ, the primary sponsor and partner for the event.

How to join and be part of the festival

Anyone can sign up through the registration link posted across Three Star Nation’s social media platforms.

The registration includes all 13 villages, and anyone is welcome to join more than one, recognising that many people may be connected to more than one village.

Ikiua reassured that anyone can participate in more than one village as long as their group leaders agree, while also considering their own individual capacity.