NZ FOLK SONG * He Kakano Ahau

NEW ZEALAND *FOLKSONG**	He Kakano Ahau Born of Greatness Hohepa Tamehana, 2001

This recently-written song uses an old proverb to remind us
of the rich ancestry of the Maori language.

He kakano ahau I ruia mai i Rangiateaⁱ And I can never be lost I am a seed, born of greatness Descended from a line of chiefs, He kakano ahau	I am a seed Scattered from Rangiatea And I can never be lost I am a seed, born of greatness Descended from a line of chiefs, I am a seed.
Ki hea ra au e hitekiteki² ana Ka mau tonu i ahau oku tikanga Toku reo, toku oho-oho, Toku reo, toku mapihi maurea³ Toku whakakai marihi My language is my strength, An ornament of grace	Wherever I may roam I will hold fast to my traditions. My language is my cherished possession My language is the object of my affection My precious adornment My language is my strength, An ornament of grace
Ka tu ana ahau, Ka uhia au e oku tipuna⁴ My pride I will show That you may know who I am I am a warrior, a survivor He morehu ahau	Whenever I stand, I am covered in mana by my ancestors My pride I will show That you may know who I am I am a warrior, a survivor I'm a survivor.
Ki hea ra au e hitekiteki ana Ka mau tonu i ahau oku tikanga Toku reo, toku oho-oho, Toku reo, toku mapihi maurea Toku whakakai marihi My language is my strength, An ornament of grace	Wherever I may roam I will hold fast to my traditions. My language is my cherished possession My treasured Tiger Shell My precious ornament My language is my strength, An ornament of grace

Chords - E, D, A, and back to E

E He kakano ahau
I D ruia mai A i Rangia-E-tea
And I can never be D lost
I am a A seed, born of E greatness
Descended D from a line of A chiefs,
He kakano a-E-hau.

A Ki hea ra au e hitekiteki ana
Ka mau tonu i ahau oku tika-E-nga
A Toku reo, toku oho-oho,
Toku reo, toku mapihi maure-E-a
Toku D whakakai marihi
My A language is my E strength,
An A ornament of E grace.

Ka tu ana ahau,
Ka u-D-hia au e A oku tipu-E-na
My pride I will D show
That you may A know who I E am
I am a D warrior, a sur-A-vivor
He E morehu a-E-hau.

Hohepa's 100% Te Reo Maori version

I ruia mai i Rangiātea E kore au e ngaro He kākano mai i Rangiātea Mai i ngā tīpuna, ngā rangatira He kākano ahau	I am a seed Scattered from Rangiatea And I can never be lost A seed from Rangiatea from the ancestors, from the chiefs, I am a seed.
Ki hea rā au e hītekiteki ana Ka mau tonu i ahau ōku tikanga Tōku reo, tōku ohooho Tōku reo, tōku māpihi maurea Tōku whakakai mārihi He reo rangatira He rākai ātaahua	Wherever I may roam I will hold fast to my traditions. My language is my cherished possession My language is the object of my affection My precious adornment A language of leaders A beautiful language
Ka tū ana ahau Ka ūhia au e ōku tīpuna Ka tū kaha tonu ahau Kia kite koutou i tōku mana⁵He mana taua⁶ nō onamata He mōrehu ahau	Whenever I stand, I am clothed in mana by my ancestors I will always stand strong So that you can see my power inherited from ancient times. I am a survivor.
Ki hea rā au e hītekiteki ana Ka mau tonu i ahau ōku tikanga Tōku reo, tōku oho-oho, Tōku reo, tōku māpihi maurea Tōku whakakai marihi He reo rangatira He rākai ātaahua	Wherever I may roam I will hold fast to my traditions. My language is my cherished possession My language is my treasured Tiger Shell My precious ornament A language of leaders A beautiful language

Notes

1. He kakano ahau i ruia mai i Rangiatea

Touch this picture, then click

This is an modified form of a whakatauki or old proverb that has been handed down through the generations. The full proverb is

"E kore au e ngaro, he kakano i ruia mai i Rangiatea,"
I shall never be lost, a seed scattered from Rangiatea.

Traditionally speaking, Rangiatea or Ra'iatea, an island north-west of Tahiti, held the ancient shrine at which the Tahitian people gathered to render homage to Io, the supreme god of Hawaiki Nui, the land that the ancestors of the Maori people came from.

Touch this picture

Rangiatea is also the historic Anglican church at Otaki, so named at Te Rauparaha's bidding. Under its altar is soil from the marae atea of Ra'iatea. By i843 Agustus Hadfield was spreading the seeds of love of the supreme being from this building.

But rather than asking where is Rangiatea, we might ask WHAT is it? In literal terms, Rangi atea is a " clear sky." Better might be the abstract "clear spiritual realm," or "a state of enlightenment."

In i995 a Maori radical Frank Shaw burnt down Rangiatea, claiming the Anglican Church had betrayed Maoridom.

Rangiatea at Otaki

2. Hitekiteki
Drifting lightly, roaming.

Teki means "to lightly scrape" or "a deck," and Hi is "to raise up."
So Hi-teki-teki "raise-up-after-lightly-scraping-the-deck," is usually translated as tiptoeing.

But here we are reminded of "tiptoeing" thistledown, drifting on the wind, just touching the earth and then lifting off again, carrying its tiny seed onward to fertile ground.

So too, when young adults are on their OE, they briefly touch down then drift away again, but they carry the seed of their culture with them, ready to flourish when they finally settle in receptive society.

3. Toku mapihi maurea
The object of my affection

Mapihi is literally a personal ornament.

Maurea is a Tiger Shell sea-snail. It is found on rocky shores of the upper North Island of NZ. It is not common and it has a beautiful shell pattern, so it is much prized.

Ornamental belts woven from Carex beach-grass may copy the Tiger Shell pattern. "He maurea kia whiria." "Weaving a tiger-shell belt."

So the literal meaning of mapihi maurea is "an ornamental belt woven in the tiger shell style."

"Hey, I'm really fond of this belt." Fondness for a particular dress adornment has given the phrase a figurative meaning. Mapihi maurea = object of affection.

4. Ka uhia au e oku tupuna
I'm covered by my ancestors

The uhi or uwhi is the tropical yam with a big edible root. Polynesian migrants brought it to New Zealand from Ra'iatea, but when the climate grew colder in the mid-1400s, it was replaced by kumara.

Its leaves spread out as a "cloak" over the ground covering it the way convolvulus vines do. So uhi means "to cover," and uhia is the passive "to be covered."

5. Toku mana
my authority

Mana is an enduring, indestructible power of the divine and it is inherited at birth: the more senior the descent, the greater the mana. Every person with mana remains its agent, never its source.

This divine choice is confirmed by the elders, and consecrated by a tohunga. It gives a person the authority to lead and organise, making decisions regarding environmental, social and political matters.

6. Mana taua
    Inherited authority

When you find a word written as 'taua,' it can have one of 3 pronunciations or several meanings: you must determine its meaning by the other words it is with.

Taua, 1. be next in succession to a leadership role.

   2. an old lady (South Island)
   3. a war party (in some districts)

   4. that ("The thing that I mentioned.")

Tauaa, 1. to mourn, to wear mourning clothes,

    2. a mourning wreath on a woman's head.
           3. a war party (in other districts)

Taaua 1. we two, us two, you and me.

    2. an old lady (in the North Island)

Born of Greatness

The original bilingual waiata was entitled 'Born of Greatness' and was written by Hohepa Tamehana. He composed it for the Manu-ti-oriori Show, a Maori 'Pop Idol' type programme established in 2001 to form a pop quartet of talented, positive young Maori role models who were fluent in speaking te reo Maori, as well as singing in it.

The original version of Born of Greatness with the 12 candidates was recorded at Te Tokanga Nui a Noho Marae in Te Kuiti. Hohepa’s email address was printed on the CD cover, and when it was released he received a huge influx of emails from all over the world from the UK, America, other countries too where M?ori lived, all spilling their life story to him in their messages.

He realized that even though the waiata was about him, establishing his historical connection, his identity, it wasn’t just him who needed to be reassured. One particular email he received was from a wahine whose brother had committed suicide. She explained that he took his own life because he couldn’t find his place in his whanau and in society. She believed that has he heard ‘He Kakano’ he would still be alive. Later he wrote a version that was totally in Te Reo Maori.

Aaria
The eventual Maori Pop winners were Hemi Peke, Te Rau Winterburn, Hayden Weke, Tomairangi Mareikura and Amomai Pihama who formed Aaria. They released 'Kei A Wai Ra Te Kupu' as their first Urban Maori single, with an English version of it called 'You're The One I'm Thinking Of'.

'Born Of Greatness' was an extra song on their CD single release. It has since been released on four other CDs.

Hohepa Tamehana

Hohepa Tamehana (Tuhoe) was born in 1969 and raised at Opotiki. He moved to Lower Hutt, studied at Taita College, worked at Ford Motor Company. He taught in Masterton and became tutor of Te Whanau Whanui Ki Wairarapa. In the mid 90s he taught at the bilingual Clover Park Mddle School in Manukau.

In 2007 he was director of a talent agency and doing a Bachelor of Matauranga Maori.

He has been involved in traditional Maori performing arts since the 1980s, performing Kapa Haka throughout New Zealand, Australia and North America.

He learnt his skills from his father Te Ranapia Tamehana, Te Mana Rollo, Pou Temara, Hirini Melbourne, Kaa and Tawhiri Williams, Bubby Hohipa and Te Hue Rangi, as well as other performers in the many groups he has worked with.

His personal philosophy is 'Culture is the essence of our being, it is the voice of our ancestors, the cries of our grandfathers, the anger of our fathers and the strength of our children.'

"In the time of our ancestors, culture was the daily voice used," he explained. "In the time of our grandfathers, when culture and the language was banned by the colonial education system, it became the cries of our grandfathers."

"In the renaissance of the language in the time of our fathers, anger was the drive to revive the language; it is now the language and culture that gives strength and identity to our children."

Typos

Somebody very kindly posted a rough draft copy of this song on the internet.
Mihi nui. They gave me the opportunity to develop this webpage.

But several others have copied that draft copy onto other webpages, without checking for errors.
If you are using those words please note:-

Internet draft copy
I am the seed
An ornamental grace
I hea ra
Toke reo
That you they know
Kamau tonu
Ka uhi ahau
Correct version
I am a seed
An ornament of grace
Ki hea ra,
Toku reo.
That you may know.
Ka mau tonu
Ka uhia au

Our thanks to Mr Tamehana for providing the correct lyrics and an accurate English translation.

Kiwi Songs - Maori Songs - Home

Placed on this website 20th October 2007
Revised, with 100% Maori version added, Oct 2023