One of many supporters at the Taranaki Tu Mai Festival.

Reconnecting with whānau was the key theme as eight iwi descended on the South Taranaki town of Manaia this Labour Weekend.

The biennial Taranaki Tū Mai Festival, hosted by Ngā Ruahine, was an opportunity for the iwi to enjoy each others' company and celebrate whanaungatanga and whakapapa through sports, kapa haka and wānanga.

"We all function separately most of the time but this is a good chance for us all to come together," Wano said.

Glenn Jeffrey Ngāti Maru take on Ngā Ruahine at the Taranaki Tū Mai Festival 2017

"This is all about celebrating our genealogy and our whakapapa and bringing people back home."

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The event, which has been running for 10 years has become increasingly popular and steadily increasing numbers have seen the festival move from late November to Labour Weekend to take advantage of the long weekend.

Glenn Jeffrey Puna Wano-Bryant leads the Taranaki iwi performamce.

Some participants travel great distances to take part in the events, coming from as far away as Australia and even America.

"The mountain is a unifying source," Wano said.

About 2000 people had registered for the festival and many were keen to test their sporting prowess against one other.

Glenn Jeffrey Bowls was just one of the many sporting activities on offer.

Some of the events included rugby, netball, rugby league, and bowls as well as darts and also games for the younger people.

"Our tamariki are important so it was important we had something set up for them as well," he said.

However, Wano admitted to having to play and cheer for quite a few teams.

Glenn Jeffrey Sylvia Patu with baby Ohorere Te Manawanui Ngarongo Moka from Ngati Maru.

"Most of us will have more than one tribal affiliation, so there's a bit of sharing and waka jumping, but we wear our colours proudly," Wano said.

"On the field we're fierce rivals but after the game we all hongi and embrace and move and there's always no grudges held."

Wano thought there were possibly some stars to keep an eye out for in the future.

"The Te Ātiawa sevens team who took out the rugby final, a lot of them could go through to the next level," he said.

"And some of the netballers were really strong too, some of whom had whanau playing in the same team."

As yet the host of the next Taranaki Tū Mai Festival is unknown but Wano believes it is only going to grow bigger.

"A lot of people are becoming more active tribally and they want to reconnect with whānau."