Pātaka Whaka-waiata ! Maori Chants, etc.

Awhi mai ra e hine Cheryl Moana Marie E Ta Atua E Te Tau Haehae Haruru Ana He Kawakawa In a Canoe Ka Panapana Ko Kaupare Māhie Ko Maui tikitiki a taranga Kua ngaro koe Kua tipu ra hei oranga Maku Maringi noa Marama Pai Mo Maria Moe mai e Hine Nau Mai Nga Tama Maori Tatou E Pa Mai To Reo Aroha Porua Pinepine te kura (1st verse) Putiputi kaneihana e Tangihia Te Tai o Honipaka Te Tangi Ukulele Te Taniwha i te moana Tena Ra Koutou Katoa! Tena Koutou Tipu ra nga uri Tirama mai

NZ Folksong Pātaka Whaka-waiata http://folksong.org.nz/pataka.html My storehouse for making song pages This is where I'm gathering the ingredients to build up into proper webpages as more information comes to hand. These songs have no tunes or background detail yet, and not all of them have translations. And they have not yet been checked for accuracy. But rummage around and take whatever is useful. Have fun.  If you see any mistakes, or have any more information about any Maori song, please send it by e-mail to improve this pātaka. Arohanui John Archer E-mail me.

Haehae

This powhiri chant recalls the ancient custom of slashing the body with flakes of obsidian to mourn those who have died.

Hōmai he matā, kia haehae au Aue! kia kotia i te kiri I awhi ai tāua, i nawa Aue hi! Aue hi! Aue hā!

Give me a blade of obsidian, to slash myself To cut the skin You often embraced me. Alas (hiss)

This powhiri is used when a body is brought on to the marae.
In the 1970s this chant was rarely heard and was used mainly in Taranaki and Ngati Porou regions. (Salmond, 1976)

Ripiripia, hae! hae! Ripiripia, hae! hae! E ā, turakina! Paranikia te ūpoko Te ngārara kai-tangata, hue!

Cut, slash! slash! Cut, slash! slash! He is felled Head smashed By the man-eating reptile!

Here the head-smashing, man-eating reptile is a figurative description of the death of anybody. But the ancestors of Maori last encountered man-eating crocodiles when they were passing through the Solomon Islands 5000 years ago, so this chant is recalling a very old folk-memory indeed.

He Kawakawa!

As the pallbearers carry the coffin into the marae they may be greeted with this powhiri for the dead.

He aha te tohu o te ringaringa! He kawakawa! ā, e tuku ki raro kia hope rā E horo kia hō, te whakatau a te mate!

What is the sign in our hands? Kawakawa leaves Lower them to the waist Let them fall, death alights!

Kawakawa is the source of herbal medicines for kidney disorders, boils, bruises and toothache. In the Pacific Islands the root fibres of a related species is crushed and mixed with water as kava. Kava is drunk primarily as a relaxant and diuretic, but also as a symbol of wishing each other "Good Health." Thus kawakawa leaves in the Islands are a symbol of health and life.

This chant calls on you to drop them, as a symbol of dying. (Afterwards you should pick the leaves up and dispose of them, as they are now tapu.) Salmond notes that in the 1960s she saw any type of leaf used at tangi; even macrocarpa or lily leaves.

In powhiri in past days, leafy branches from any tree were waved to welcome approaching groups. But if people were seen waving kawakawa branchlets, then it was obvious that there had been a death, so with the decline of herbal medicine in NZ, kawakawa leaves have apparently become a symbol of death!

Kua Ngaro Koe

This lament was written in memory of the late Hoani Waititi, who died of cancer in 1965, at the age of 39. It is sometimes used at the tangihanga of other community leaders.

Kua ngaro koe ki te pō Ko te kauri nui takoto. Pīpīwharauroa, e tangi nei, Rere pōuri ki konei Rere pōuri ki konei Kaikino te manawa Kaikino te aroha Kaikino te wairua Aue, he aha rā, Aue, he aha rā. Tū tonu te mahara.

You are lost to the night Oh great kauri lying there. Shining cuckoo, crying now Fly sadly here Fly sadly here.pat How painful the heart How painful the love How painful the spirit. Alas, so be it Alas, so be it. The memory lingers on.

Te tai o Honipaka

In the early 1820s the Ngati Toa people were pushed out of the edenic Kawhia Harbour by other Waikato tribes. They had lived there for 500 years. As they were departing south to the Kapit coast, their leader Te Rauparaha farewelled the land of their ancestors with this chant.

More details are HERE

Tera ia te tai o Honipaka Ka wehe koe i, aue! He whakamaunga atu nahaku To ao ka rere mai Ra runga mai o te motu e tu Noa mai ra koe ki au-e. Kia mihi mamao au ki te Iwi ra ia E paria e te tai Piki tu, piki rere Piki-takina mai. Te kawai muriwhenua, Te kawai tutere. Tena taku manu, He manu ka onga noa, Huna ki te whare, Te hau o Matariki Ma Te Whareporutu Ma te rahi Ati Awa E kau tere mai ra. Ka urupa taku aroha na—i.

There far away is the coast of Honipaka, a hill at Kawhia You, Honipaka, are separated from me, alas! The only tie that connects us is the fleecy cloud that drifts hither over the summit of the island standing clearly in sight. Let me send a sigh afar to the tribe, where the tide is now flowing. the leaping, racing, skipping tide. Oh! for the breeze, the land-breeze, the stiff breeze, for my bird, a bird that hearkens to the call though concealed in the cage, the wind of Matariki. then will Te Whareporutu and the great Ati Awa sail swiftly hitherward. My love is buried there.

In a Canoe

Lyrics, PC Cole: Tune, Henry Rivers

Published in "Children's Songs of Maoriland" (1920) 1. Two Maori boys went in their wooden canoe Out where the river was strong - - Their paddles they plied 'twas an art that they knew Singing this quaint little song. Chorus:   Hey ho, onward we go –   Straight as the flight of the tui   Only we two, in our canoe   Down on the broad Wanganui. 2. They drew to the rapids all swirling with foam Dashing still faster along But both were so skillful They felt quite at home Still they were singing this song 3. They came to a pah where the rata trees grew Maoris were there in a throng Their journey was o'er  And they stopped their canoe Just as they finished their song

Haruru Ana

Haruru ana te rongopai nei, e tiahotia nei e te reo Ki runga i nga iwi o te motu nei. E kore e whakawai mai, e whakararu i te tikanga Kei iri-iritia te ture wairua ki te ture tangata Whakatiahotia ra, e te roopu rangatahi e. Ko te kaupapa o te maramatanga Kia rite ki nga ihi o te ra No reira e nga iwi, kia tika te hoe mai i te waka nei. Kei pariparingia e te tai, ka mōnenehu te kura.

Resounds this the gospel embellished through discussions upon all people of the land. Let it not be blamed for changing the customs It is the baptism of spiritual law over man-made laws Let it be proclaimed by the youth of today. The purpose of the enlightenment is that it be clear as the rays of the sun. Therefore everybody let the paddling be correctly done in the canoe. Though steep are the waves merely misted are the red feathers.

"Kei pariparingia e te tai, ka mōnenehu te kura."

This is an old Maori proverb. A sea-going canoe had plumes of feathers on its prow, to indicate wind changes for the helmsman. If the waka was navigated properly, the prow stayed up above the waves, so that the plumes were not drenched with seawater, and the boat flooded. This is a picturesque way of saying that a co-operative task may be difficult, but if everbody works together, they can succeed.

Nau mai taku manu

This is not a song; it is a speech of welcome to delegates from overseas.
But the imagery is wonderful.

Nau mai taku manu; Piki mai taku manu, He manu aha tenei ka tau? Kuaka marangaranga ki te tahuna, Korimako pae ki te kotaratara Piwaiwaka i kutia ai te mate Kotuku rerenga tahi. Nau mai i runga i te komuri aroha, I te ata hapara, i te korehutanga O te tai-awatea, I te kakarawiritanga o te maruahiahi I te pokerekerekeretangi i Parangia ai te ao-tu-roa I ahu mai koe e taku manu I te rapunga, i te kimihanga, I te hahautanga, ki manu o uta Ki manu o tai, Turia te marae e tamara ma, Whaikorero kae i te pa-uauatanga, I puta ai to ihu ki Rangiatea, I mau ai te puni wahine, Te tira taitama, Te kahui tara, Te teretere pumahara, E mara mako nga haere kia haeretia, Ko nga korero hoki te kai a te rangatira Heoi ano ra!

Welcome to our migrating birds! Wing your way hither, our guests! How may we fittingly portray you? As godwits alighting on a sandspit As bell birds assembled to sing As the fantail who unwittingly awoke death Or, a white heron of solitary flight? Welcome to those borne hither on the breeze of love, Winging your way in the pearly dawnlight, At the zenith of the noonday sun; In the descending gloom of the eventide; In the dark night Of a slumbering world. Already, you have searched, Explored, debated, With birds from inland And from the shore. Now take your stand on the marae. Share your concerns about the state of affairs, Let your wisdom lead us into the light, Let it be as a mantle over the assembly of women, the band of young people; Over the conclave of chiefs, The council of seers, To you who have elected to come, speak your minds, Wise speech is the food of chiefs, And so I rest my case!

Ko Kaupare Māhie

Ko Maungapōhatu te maunga Ko Whakatāne te awa Ko Ngaituhoe te iwi Ko Te Kooti te tipuna Ko Tama Iti te kaiārahi Ko Irāki te whenua e haerea Ko kaupare māhie te mahi Ka tika, ka tika! Ko te pū mīhini te ihiihi Ko te pahū kohinu te wanawana Ka tū te ihiihi Ka tū te wanawana Ki runga i te rangi e E tū iho nei! E tū iho nei! Hi!

Maungapohatu is our mountain Whakatane is our river Tuhoe is our tribe Te Kooti is our ancestor Tama Iti is our mentor Iraq is the place we'll be going To work as security guards True, true! We will instill fear with the machine gun and create terror with the petrol bomb Confront them with fear Fight them with terror As high as the sky Fight up there, high up there. Yeah!

Pūrua

Brannigan Kaa, Hone Kaa & Jo Paku, 2008 - Purua MP3

Hori noa te rā E oho ai koe E kore rerekē tō kanohi te kakā Hai tīmata te rā E te tau, Ko te aroha ki a au ki ā tāua uri e Ko tō aroha e kore mutu Kei konei au i ngā wā katoa Ka taea e tāua tokorua Te hanga te ara ora Ko koe, ko au Me ā tāua uri e Ko koe, ko au Ko ā tāua uri e Ake tonu e Ko koe, ko au Kia mura mai tō kanohi Ko te kōrero ki a au ki ā tāua uri e Ka taea e tāua tokorua Te momo tū, te here Mā te aroha, i ngā rā katoa Ko te aroha, i te pō, i te ao Ko koe, ko au Me ā tāua uri e Ko koe, ko au Ko ā tāua uri e Ake tonu e Ko koe, ko au Ko koe, ko au; ko koe, ko au Ko koe, ko au; ake tonu e Ko koe, ko au

Each morning you wake up always the same with a smile on your face You always start the day my love, by saying "I love you" to me and to our kids, My love is never-ending I'm here for you forever we can achieve anything as a pair Creating our path in life You and me and our kids too You and me For our kids Forever You and me The smile on your face When you talk to me and to our kids. Together we can do anything Break the cycle and love, for all days just love, night and day You and I and our kids too You and I and our kids Forever. You and I You and me, you and me You and me forever You and me!

Te Taniwha i te Moana

I found this in Rikihana's book. It is certainly is different from the usual waiata about desire for an absent loved one!

Te taniwha i te moana Maranga mai ki runga Hei hoa whawai e Mo nga ta-ika e Taku hiahia e hoa ma Me huihuimai tatou e Mo te po o te tau hou e Kia kori kia ngahau e.

The sea monster rises to the surface to take up battle for the fish under attack What I want, guys is that we gather here on New Years Eve to dance and have a good time

Awhi mai ra

Awhi mai ra e hine kia piri taua kei te wehenga, ka mamae ano. To kino ra e hine whakarere i ahau me pehea hoki ra e aroha

Embrace me beloved. Let us cling together until our separation brings more pain. You are upset darling at being separated from me. But whatever happens we will love one another

From the theme of this song, it may have been composed for a soldier going to World War 2. Iranui Sterling says this was composed by her great aunt Hariata Nihoniho Baker in the 1930s or 1940s. She says it may have been recorded by groups in Christchurch including Te Waipounamu Girls College and is still sung by them when they gather.

Kua Tipu ra hei Oranga

Kua tipu ra hei oranga Mo te iwi maori Ma te Matua i te rangi e He arahi te kohanga No reira mauria mai Nga tamariki Ki te Kohanga Reo

May there be growth in health for all Maori people For Our Father in heaven And as an example for the Kohanga Indeed, to show the children of the Language Nest

Putiputi Kaneihana

Tuini Ngawai

Putiputi kaneihana e Māku koe e kato e Mē hemea ko koe taku tau pūmau Piri rawa ki tēnei hūnga/uma e

You are like a carnation flower And I'm going to pluck you If you were my sweetheart I would hold you to my breast/bosom here.

This is sung to the tune of I'm Gonna Lock My heart (and throw away the key) words Jimmy Eaton / tune Terry Shand 1938

This is sung to the tune of the 1960 Jim Reeves' song "He'll have to go" and is well known on the East Coast

E Te Tau

E te tau, e te tau Tahuri mai, tahuri mai Karanga, karanga Mai ake ki ahau Ko koe, hoatu Hei whakatutuki Huakina mai to Manawa ki ahau Homai to reo aroha Mo ake tonu, ki ahau A .. hi aue, aue Ko koe, hoatu Hei whakatutuki Huakina mai to Manawa ki ahau	My dear one, my dear one Turn this way, towards me Call out, call out to me You have been given to me to consummate this Open up your Heart to me .. Give forth your voice of love forever, to me A .. hi aue, aue You have been given to me to consummate this Open up your Heart to me ..
Sung to the tune of	"Steal your love"

He mihi ki te Kuaka

I think I'm way off the mark with my translation here. This chant has about three layers of meaning and I think I may have missed all three. Note that this is in my Pataka of unfinished work.

Ruia, ruia! Opea, opea! Tahia, tahia, Kia hemo atu te kakoa Kia herea mai ki te kawau koroki E tataki mai ana I roto I tana pukoru whaikoro He kuaka marangaranga Kotahi te manu i tau atu ki te tahuna Tau atu, tau atu, Kua tau mai.

Spread way out! Move together! Zoom on in! Past the the scrubland and guided by the chattering shag leading you on into his enveloping bay. The godwits are bobbing up and down The first bird is coming in to land on the sandbank They are landing, all landing, They have landed.

This northern tauparapara (welcoming call) invokes the image of the kuaka (godwit), a migratory bird whose visits to other lands, and regular return to the north signifies the importance of food resources in providing hospitality to visitors. The kuaka has been adopted as a symbol of the unity of the five tribes joined in the Muriwhenua claim. "When one comes (to the feeding grounds), all come."

Marama Pai

Sung by Daphne Walker and backed by Bill Sevesi (c. 1956?)
And recorded by the Howard Morrison Quartet in 1958.
Hawaiian music was glamorous in the 1950s, so Daphne and Bill introduced several Maori songs to the New Zealand public by using a steel guitar/ukulele Island-style backing. As a bonus, the records could also be sold in Samoa, Rarotonga, Tahiti and Hawaii.

Sung in English	Sung in Maori	Translation
The moon is shining and forever I'm pining for those big wonderful eyes blue as the blue in the sky. Come along and walk with me beneath the twinkling stars in heaven and let me tell you all about blue heaven yonder under the moon	Marama pai Kei te hotu te manawa Ki ō kanohi papai purū pai te rangi. Haere mai ra ka haere taua Ki raro o ngā whēto Kōrero reo atu ai e hine Aue Marama pai	Beautiful woman I'm panting for your lovely eyes a beautiful sky blue. Come with me and we'll walk together under the stars talking together darling Ohhh! Beautiful woman

 

Purea nei e te hau

Now has its own webpage Purea Nei

E te Atua

Formerly sung to the hymn tune "Majesty," but now usually sung to tune of 'Amazing Grace.'

E te Atua kua ruia nei O purapura pai. Homai e koe he ngākau hou Kia tupu ake ai E Ihu kaua a tukua Kia whakangaromia. Me whakatupu ake ia Kia kitia ai ngā hua A mā te Wairua Tapu rā Mātou e tiaki. Kei hoki ki te mahi hē O mātou ngākau hōu

O God there has been sown Your good seeds. You give a new heart to grow forth. O Jesus do not let them be lost. Let them be allowed to grow So that Thy fruits may be seen Through the Holy Spirit will we be protected So that we don't return to evil ways from our new hearts

Mō Maria

Written by Bishop Pompallier, first Catholic bishop, in Northland. He belonged to a French religious Order, the Society of Mary, which had special devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, naming her as Queen of Heaven. He seems to have borrowed the tune from the famous Baptist hymn written in 1864, "Shall we gather at the river?"

The 19th century Catholic theology was that the angels in heaven honoured Mary as their Queen.

Note that waiata is sung with 4 syllables as wa-i-a-ta, not wy-a-ta, and nui is sung as one sylllable, nwi, not nu-i.

Mō Maria aianei o tatou wa-i-a-ta. Kia kaha rā tātou, kia "nwi" te aroha Tēnā hoki ngā ahere e whakahonore ana ki te ratou rehina ki a Maria anō rā Aroha ki te Atua aroha ki a Maria i te rangi te whenua āke tonu, āke tonu

For Mary now our songs. Let us be strong, let there be great love There also the angels giving honour to their queen to Mary Love God, love Mary in heaven and on earth for ever and ever.

Ngoi Ngoi

This now has its own web page Ngoi Ngoi

Tirama mai

[By Tommy Taurima]

Tirama mai to ataahua Kia rite tonu ki te pounamu e He wahine o whiti Ko koe ko Rongomaiwahine-e-e E noho mai ra, e hine Ki te rohe o Te Mahia e Tuupato ra, e hine Ko koe! - Ko Rongomai' e-e-e Minamina mai ra, e tama e Ki te toa nei o Kahungunu E mate ana koe mai i a wai? Aue, taukuri ko Rongomai' e-e-e Tihei winiwini, tihei wanawana Tihei oriori ana e Na te paua raru ana Tihei ko Rongomaiwahine-e-e

Radiant is your beauty just like greenstone. A woman of the sunrise That's you, Rongomaiwahine You live, my darling In the Mahia district. You be careful there You hear now - Rongomai! Does he want you so much - that lad with such courage, Kahungunu - that he would risk being drowned? Oh dear, alas, Rongomai! Carrying terror on his back Carrying a story of tribal origins also with the troublesome paua he carried to Rongomaiwahine

Tirama = candle-flame. So I guess "Tirama mai" would mean "to draw in
like a moth to a candle flame," but that is a bit too long for the translation.

Kahungunu was already married when he met the beautiful, intelligent and radiant Rongomaiwahine at Mahia. And she was married too. But he wanted her so badly that he dived off the rocks into the sea and went down deeper than anyone else dared to, to where the really big succulent paua (abalone) shellfish were. He brought them up by clamping them to his back and emerged from the depths with a couple of dozen shellfish all over him. Aagh! The monster from the deep!

But after Rongomaiwahine's husband had eaten that feed of paua, he slept so soundly, snoring and making such smelly farts, that Rongomai was forced to leave his side and go outside - where Kahungunu was waiting for her! And so a started a dynasty.

This information was put here in Dec 2008 for Lee Ataria, a Wairoa boy now living in the USA.

Tena ra koutou katoa

Tena ra koutou katoa! Haere mai e nga, haere mai e nga iwi; Tena ra koutou katoa! E te iwi, hui tonu ra; Tena ra koutou katoa!

Greetings to you all! We bid all people welcome; Greetings to you all! Oh ye people gathered here; Greetings to you all!

Tena koutou

 

Tena koutou! Tena koutou! Nga iwi e, Nga iwi e, Kua tae mai nei Kua tae mai nei I tenei ra; I tenei ra; Haere mai, Haere mai, Nga iwi e, Nga iwi e, Kia ora ra! Kia ora ra! Nga whanau e. Nga whanau e. Kua rongo hoki ahau, Kua rongo hoki ahau, Kua rongo hoki ahau, Kua tae mai koutou. Haere mai, Haere mai, Nga iwi e, Nga iwi e, Kia ora ra! Kin ora ra! Nga whanau e! Nga whanau e!

Greetings to you! The Maori people, Assembled here On this day; Welcome to all, Ye mighty tribes, Greetings to all! Family groups and all! Your arrival I have known, Your arrival I have known, Your arrival I have known, To this our gathering; Welcome again, Assembled tribes, Good health to all! To one and all!

 

Another version of this (Thanks Mereana)

Tena koutou (greetings)
E hoa ma (friends)
Kua tae mai nei (having arrived here)
I tenei ra (today) - can be replaced with I tenei po (this evening)

No reira ra (and so)
E hoa ma (friends)
Kia ora ra (greetings)
Koutou katoa (to you all)

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Haere mai e hoa ma!

A modernised version of a very old chant.

 

Haere mai e hoa ma! Nga iwi o te motu Ki runga Wharepunga e: Tenei te powhiri atu, A Wharepunga e, haere mai! A Wharepunga e, haere mai! Tahi, rua, toru, wha, Haere mai te manuhiri, haere mai, Haere mai! Haere mai te manuhiri, No runga te manuhiri, No raro te manuhiri, No te ti, no te ta, Hei ha! E haere mai!

Welcome ye many friends! And tribes throughout the land To Wharepunga, our marae; Hearken to the welcome, Of Wharepunga Welcome! Of Wharepunga Welcome! One, two, three, four, Welcome to our guests, thrice welcome! Welcome to our many guests, From the South ye have come, From the North ye have come, From hither! From thither! Hei! Ha! Welcome!

 

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Nga Tama Maori Tatou E

The music of this song is the popular "Happy Wanderer" which was originally a German folk tune. A glance at the accompanying words will reveal that this is a good example of using a European tune as a vehicle for words which bear no resemblance to the original.

This action song has been included because the actions are few and simple, the tune so well-known that it requires hardly any learning, and it has a good swinging rhythm. It can be quickly taught to a club, school or similar group and is ideal as an introductory piece to a bracket of numbers or to begin a concert, break-up ceremony, etc.

The first line can be easily altered to make the words appropriate to any specific group and a place name of local significance sub-stituted for "Wharepunga".

 

[Nga tama Maori*] tatou e O [Wharepunga] e. Kei te mihi atu nei Ki a koutou ra. E tama ma,(e tama ma …) E hine ma, (e hine ma …) E hoa ma, (e hoa ma …) Anei te aroha nui e tu atu nei. Kia kaha ra! Kia mau to aroha

We are [the Maori boys] Of [Wharepunga] This is our greeting To you all. To all the boys, To all the girls, To all our friends, This is an expression of our affection. Be strong! Abide in charity

• The words in square brackets may be replaced by "Te kura Maori ..." (the Maori school), or "Nga iwi Maori ..." (the Maori people).

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PA MAI TO REO AROHA

This song originated from the Hastings area and was composed during the early part of World War II, as a song of encouragement to all tribes to enlist the services of their sons for war.

Pa mai to reo aroha, Ki te pa o [Hikurangi]; E nga iwi o Aotearoa, Haere mai, haere mai. Tiro ki nga hoia kua wehe nei, Aue! Te aroha me te mamae: Female Voices E nga iwi o Aotearoa, Male Voices Tahi miti toru e tai te marumaru Whare tapu teitei i te an korowhiti Both Kia kaha! Kia manawa nui!

Hearken! Your words of love are heard, At the pa of Hikurangi; (or any local place-name) O ye people of New Zealand, Welcome, thrice welcome. Behold the soldiers who have been parted from us, Alas! The pain and sorrow of it all: O ye people of Aotearoa, Be brave and of good courage!

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Waiata Poi

This now has it's own web page Waiata Poi

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Tangihia Key of D

by Mrs P Whatarau

Tangihia -weep,
Tangihia o tätou aitua - weep for our dead
Kua wehea atu rä - who have been separated
Ki te pö - to the night

Nö reira äwhinatia mai - Therefore give support to
Te kaupapa rä - the belief
Whakamaharatanga - Remember
Ki a rätou mä - them

Kia mau ki ö tikanga - Hold firm to your traditions
Me to reo Mäori - and the Maori language
Hei tauira mauri - as a living example
Ki te iwi aue - to the people, alas.

From WT Rikihana's Waiata Maori, song 181, (the first of three stanzas)

Maori Songs of New Zealand, CD 1999
Inia Te Wiata CD
Nga Reo O Mokoia - LP.
New Zealand's Maoris Unknown Earth CD
Warmth of the Maori, CD 1986
Maori Love Songs CD

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Maringi noa

Maringi noa ngä roimata - The tears flow unchecked
Mohou kua wehea nei - for you separated (from me)
Ka tangi tonu matou hia koe - we weep always for you
Kia hoki mai ano - to return again.
Maringi noa ngä roimata - The tears flow unchecked
Mohou kua wehea nei - for you separated (from me)

From WT Rikihana's Waiata Maori, song 41,

Maori Songs of New Zealand, CD 1999
Inia Te Wiata CD
Nga Reo O Mokoia LP
the Heritage of Maori Song CD 1985.

Thank you to Marge for the above three sets of lyrics.

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Tipu ra nga uri

Mereana sent this. She was looking for one line. A big thanks to Sam at Puukenga-Unitec for sending that last line.
Mereana's daughter sung this at school about 1986, to the tune of the Australian soap "Prisoner" (You used to bring me flowers)

1. Tipu ra nga uri
I roto i tenei ao
Te ao huri huri
Kia tupato ra

CHORUS
Kei te hotu te manawa
Nga roimata maringi
Mo te tamahine
Ko puawai i a koe

2. Kimihia te ora,
He mana mohau e
Kia kaha tonu
Ki to haerenga

CHORUS again

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Hangi tonight This now has its own webpage HERE

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Cheryl Moana Marie

In 1969, when John was still only 21, he accepted an invitation to represent New Zealand in the Rio De Janiero song festival. John wrote a song for this special occasion, "CHERYL MOANA MARIE" inspired by his younger sister with the same name. He later remarked of the event; "To be alone on stage singing to 80,000 excited Latin fans all waving their handkerchiefs, is the kind of experience I'll never forget".

Out of the songs entered in the festival from 42 countries, CHERYL MOANA MARIE was voted No.5. Later it became a top 50 hit in the U.S.A. No. 1 in New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii and was chosen by the UNESCO CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE for the World Book of Song. It sold over 1 million copies world-wide and was followed up with the release of another album titled "JOHN ROWLES SINGS CHERYL MOANA MARIE"

As a result of his success with this song, he was offered a contract to appear at "THE FLAMINGO HOTEL" in Las Vegas. With reports like "HE HAS A STRONG AND MEMORABLE VOICE, SEX APPEAL LIKE PRESLEY AND PLENTY OF SUPERSTAR POTENTIAL", word soon spread and the invitations and contracts poured in.

Bob Hope invited John to guest on his show and sing at at Houston with an audience of 68,000 people and performing with Bob Hope, Cary Grant and Gregory Peck. He also appeared on the "DAVID FROST SHOW" in New York, and was subsequently signed up by "DUKE KAHANAMOKU'S" in Waikiki, Hawaii.

Cheryl is John's sister, and after a 30 year break from University to raise a family, and fulfil work commitments assisting John's career, at the end of 2005 she completed a commerce degree. John is 59.

"Cheryl Moana Marie
Back home she's waiting for me
Cheryl Moana Marie
There on the shore
she waits so patiently
Cheryl Moana Marie

In a sleepy little town,
Where soft breezes blow,
There's a lovely little Maori miss
I used to know
Someday I will find my way
And I'll return from over the sea
To where my island sweetheart
waits for me.

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Pinepine te kura

I got an e-mail request. "My four year old daughter is learning Pene pene te kura at Kohanga reo."

This made me think it was a pre-schoolers' song about using a pen at school! But I have found "Pinepine te kura" is the very last song in McLean and Orbell's "Traditional Songs of the Maori." (published 1990 -a brilliant book) It is a long 59 line chant. McLean and Orbell include a translation, musical notation and explanatory paragraphs.

Pinepine te kura, hau te kura The treasure is small, the treasure is famous Whanake te kura i raro i Ararua The treasure comes up from below Ararua Ko te kura nui, ko te kura roa The great treasure, the long treasure Ko te kura o tawhiti, nä Tuhaepo! The treasure from afar, of Tuhaepo Tënei te tira hau, Here comes the traveller, tënei haramai nei who has just arrived Ko Te Umurangi, It is Te Umurangi, Nä Te Whatuiapiti! descended from Te Whatuiapiti! Nau mai e tama ki te taiao nei! Welcome, son, to this world

. . . and 50 more lines. There is now more about it on Te Ao Hou HERE

Play this MP3.

Footnote:- Awarua is associated with Hawaiki, where Tane, or Tiki, shaped the first man, and thus the land which men came from at birth, and returned to after their death.

"Kura" - treasure - was often used to describe cultural customs from Hawaiki, but here it refers to the new-born child.

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Moe Mai e Hine

Moe mai e hine Sleep girl i te moenga roa the long sleep Raro i te rata         beneath the rata tree mokemoke a. alone. Ma te Atua         May God koe e tiaki mai e keep you. Moe mai e hine Sleep girl i te moenga roa. the long sleep.

Listen to this MIDI or listen to Kiri's 30 sec MP3 sample

Austrian tenor Richard Tauber recorded this tune with the original words from an 1827 German folk-song.

Ach, wie ist's moglich dann, dass ich dich lassen kann; hab dich von Herzen lieb, das glaube mir! Du hast die Seele mein so ganz genommen ein, dass ich kein' Andre lieb, als dich allein.

Alas, how can it happen, that I let you go; I love you from my heart, do believe me! You have won my soul completely, so that I don't love anyone else but you.

Our thanks to Bertram Kottmann for the translation of this song. All three verses are HERE

Tauber started making gramophone records in 1922, so this was probably on sale here in NZ by 1925. MP3 of Tauber singing Moglich Dann

Tauber was very popular, and this was a very singable tune, but German songs were not popular here just after WW1, with 10% of all young NZ males killed by the war with Germany, and another 10% shell-shocked, so that 20% of young NZ women were deprived of male partners.

So I guess the Pakeha and Maori communities both devised their own words to this tune.

Thus these "Fairy Glade" lyrics were used with the Moglich Dann tune and published in the Dominion School Song Book (1930). It was a great song for kids; I remember singing it at school in about 1947.

"Deep in the forest, I know a fairy glade There in the cooling shade, sweet 'tis to lie Softly a streamlet sings, peace to the heart it brings Clouds drift on silver wings, far o'er the sky. But in the moonlight, seek not that fairy dell None may escape the spell, who thither stray By music's magic sound, lulled into dreams profound, 'Neath that enchanted ground, sleep they for aye.

And also in 1930, the Rotorua Maori Male Quartette (sic) recorded Moe Mai e Hine in Sydney at the Columbia Recording Studio to the same Moglich Dann tune.

Te Tangi Ukulele

Kua rongo hoki ahau i te tangi ukulele Tangi mai o tangi i roto i aku kupu e nahau i timata nga mahi kinikini Kua roa au e hine, i raruraru ai e Kore au e pai ki te awhi koroheke Engari taitama ka awhi atu au e.

I was listening once again to the ukulele music And the tunes being played to my words by you were starting to be unfinished performances. I am now far from being a girl, and troubled. I am not happy with the embrace of an old codger I’d rather have a young man taking care of me.

Nau mai

Nau mai e ngaa iwi (Welcome everybody)
Haere mai raa (come, gather here)
Mauria mai to aroha (bring your love here)
Me te aawhina (and your support.)
No reira e ngaa iwi (Therefore everyone)
Haapainga raa (bestir yourselves)
a koutou tamariki e (and your children.)

Tukituki rawhitia to ari (Get rid of every excuse)
Aawhina to taiahia (grasp your fighting staff)
(This is a metaphor meaning "give your total support")
Kia kaha ra ( be strong.)
No reira e ngaa iwi (Therefore everyone)
Haapainga raa (bestir yourselves)
a koutou tamariki e (and your children.)

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Ka Panapana

This is a classic women's haka of welcome.

A ra ra! Ka panapana, A ha ha Ka rekareka tonu taku ngakau Ki nga mana ririki i pohatu