NZ Folk Song * Hoea Ra Te Waka Nei

1917 lyrics		literal translation
1. Haeremai e hine mä, Me nga taonga o te wä, He reo karanga i katoa, Haeremai ki au. Chorus Hoea rä te waka nei. Hoea, hoea ki te pae Ma te poi e karawhiu E rähui i te pai. 2. Me pehea rä e taea ai Te aroha pehi kino nei, Mo te tau i pamamao Haeremai ki au! 3. Koia ra e hine mä Koha kore noa te pai. Haere me te atawhai Ka rahui i te pai. 4. Na te ngäkau tangi ra Ko te tiwaiwaka nei Te poi ka hoea atu nei He tohu no te pai.		Come dear girls with the the gifts of the time (our action songs) calling to all, (who have come to this concert) "Welcome!" Paddle this canoe (support those in combat) Paddle, paddle to the horizon (to the war's end) May the beat of the poi (our fundraising concert) keep up the morale (of both us and our boys) What kind of evil is this that crushes my heart when my beloved is far away? Come to me! So it is, ye maidens suffering is not good at all. Come with generousity (Donate to the comfort fund) to aid the welfare. (of our boys overseas) How the heart cries out (How heartbreaking is the cry) "The fantail is here!" (a telegram - a messenger of death) So the poi will be swung out (So our concert will raise money) as a sign of protection. (to help our boys survive)

Footnotes:

1. This line is now sung as Hoea, hoea ki te pai - row, row for the (common) good, ie. Do your patriotic duty.
But the 1917 English version was row this canoe to the end, which was translated in 1926 as Hoea, hoea ki te pae - Row, row to the horizon, ie Fight on together until the war is won.

2. This line is now sung as Kia rere tika ai - Point out the right direction.
But in the 1917 version was E rahui i te pai - Protect the common good - ie. Do your duty.

Origins of the Song

In July 1917 Paraire Tomoana took 55 men and women to perform at Waiomatatini (East Cape) at the marriage of Te Rina, daughter of Ngata, to Hetekia Te Kani Te Ua. There, and later at Manutuke and Gisborne, Paraire's group raised more than 250 Pounds.

This pre-1930 image was found in the Keystone-Mast Collection.
Does anyone recognise the location?
In September, following an invitation by Apirana Ngata, Pariare Tomoana took Te Poi o Heretaunga, as the group was now called, to Wellington. Forty-five men and women performed in the Wellington Town Hall from 3 to 5 September, and later gave a performance at Trentham Military Camp.

A canoe poi being performed in at the Christchurch Exhibition in 1907.
One of the songs they performed was written by Paraire, the later well-known Hoea ra te waka nei which was also known as Come where duty calls. The group raised Ł550 for the Maori Soldiers' Fund. At this time the 900 men of the Maori Pioneer Battalion were taking heavy losses digging combat trenches though the swamps of Passchendale and the Ypres Salient.

"Exhausted from days of paddling;" a canoe poi at Ruatoki in 1904.
See "Through Tuhoe Land"
Paraire announced that the group, billed as Te Ope Ngahau o Heretaunga (the dance group of Heretaunga), was to perform for 10 days at Christmas in Auckland.
Adapted from Angela Ballara and Ngatai Huata's biography of Paraire Tomoana in the Dictionary of NZ Biography

Tomoana's 1919 Manuscript

Tomoana first published the 1917 lyrics of Hoea ra te waka nei in this 1919 fund-raising booklet, which the Alexander Turnbull Library kindly sent me a photocopy of. (It also has the words of Te Ope Tuatahi, and when this booklet was reprinted in 1921, Tomoana also included the lyrics of Pokarekare. in it.)

A NOBLE SACRIFICE"
AND
"HOEA RA TE WAKA NEI"
("COME WHERE DUTY CALLS")
Words and Action arranged by
Hon A. T. Ngata and P. H. Tomoana
PROCEEDS IN AID OF MAORI SOLDIERS'
FUND

Hoea ra te Waka Nei
(COME WHERE DUTY CALLS )
(Poi song imitating in action the crew of a war canoe)

Maori 1.
Haeremai e hine ma,
Me nga taonga o te wa,
He reo karanga i katoa,
Haeremai ki au.
Chorus
Hoea ra te waka nei.
Hoea, hoea ki te pai.
Ma te poi e karawhiu
E rahui i te pai. 2.
Me pehea ra e taea ai
Te aroha pehi kino nei,
Mo te tau i pamamao
Haeremai ki au

3.
Koia ra e hine ma
Koha kore noa te pai.
Haere me te atawhai
Ka rahui i te pai.

4.
Na te ngakau tangi ra
Ko te tiwaiwaka nei
Te poi ka hoea atu nei
He tohu no te pai. English
Come ye maidens, come to me
Singing songs of melody
Crying near and far to all
"Come where duty calls."

Then together we will draw
This canoe until the end,
To the goal the world desires
Peace and joy for all.
Would you still the aching heart
Ease the pain that gnaws within
For the dear ones far away
Gone where duty calls

Cleansed by war of all its dross
Love is gleaming strong and bright.
In our hearts we vow to serve
Where our duty calls

Small may be this our canoe
Floating in a sea of tears
Tribute to the brave who fell
Where their duty called.

The English version is a free rendering of the Maori, and must not be taken as a correct translation. It seeks to convey to an English audience the motive of the poi-dancers in making their appeal to the patriotism of the public.

1926 Piano Score

You will find several spelling errors in the Maori lyrics printed on this 1926 piano score, and capital letters have been used at random. But its English verses are closer to the Maori in meaning.

1. Haere mai e hine ma
Me nga Taonga O te wa
He Reo Kara nga i Katoa
Haere mai ki au

Chorus
Hoea ra te waka nei.
Hoea, Hoea Ki te pae.
Ma te poi e karawhiu
E rahui ite pai.

2. Me pehea rae taea Ai
Te Aroha pehi Kino nei
Me te tau i pamamau
Haere mai Ki Au

3. Koia ra e hine ma
Koha kore moa te pai
Haere mai te Atawhai
Ka rahui te pai.

4. Wa te Ngakau tanga ra
Ki te tiwaiwaka nei
Te poi Ka hoea Atu nei
He tohu No te pai.
Come ye maidens, come to me
Singing songs of melody
Calling one and all to be
Firm where Duty calls.

Now ye maidens paddle away
This canoe until the end
may your pois swing merrily
Keeping fears away

An aching heart is hard to keep
Laughing when it wants to weep
But belov'd we think of you
Firm where duty calls

So ye maidens it may rest
All your love and fond caress
For the world to see and know
Firm where duty calls

A fantail fluttering from the tree
Like my heart so fancy free
Although swinging like a poi-
But our duty calls

Click here to see an image of the original score

Used in a 1950s medley

In more recent times, the first verse of Hoia Ra has be used in performances dramatising the coming of the Maori from Hawaiki (Eastern Polynesia, near Tahiti) to New Zealand.
One such performance is described in Maori Action Songs by Alan Anderson (Reed 1960)

NARRATOR: It was about the year 1350 that there were major migrations to this land. Every tribe knows the canoe in which their ancestors came to New Zealand. Even today, the songs and stories of the Maori are full of tales of the seven main canoes - Aotea, Kuruhaupo, Tainui, te Arawa, Mataatua, Takitimu and Tokomaru.
SONG: Uia mai koia
NARRATOR: Relying on favourable winds, and guided by the sun and stars... these intrepid seafaring ancestors of the Maori traversed the 3000-odd kilometres of Te-Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the Great Pacific Ocean.... For weeks on end, the primitive canoes sailed the vast empty ocean, without charts, without navigating instruments and at the mercy of winds and currents.
Day in, day out, paddling and always paddling, the crew became tired ...But always they sang, and as they sang, strength flowed back into their weary limbs.
POI WAKA: Hoia, Hoia Ra and Hoia Ra te Waka Nei

Töia mai ngä waka e te iwi e
Hoea hoea rä
Aotea, Tainui, Kurahaupo
Hoea hoea rä
Töia mai nga waka e te iwi e
Hoea hoea rä
Mataatua, Te Arawa, Täkitimu
Tokomaru hoea hoea rä

Hoea rä te waka nei.
Hoea, hoea ki te pae.
Mä te poi e karawhiu
Kia rere tika ai.

Haere mai e hine mä
Me ngä taonga o te wa
He reo karanga i katoa
Haere mai ki au

Haul the canoes everybody
Paddle, paddle back
Aotea, Tainui, Kurahaupo
Paddle, paddle back
Haul the canoes everybody
Paddle, paddle back
Mataatua, Te Arawa, Takitimu
Tokomaru paddle, paddle back

Row the canoe.
Row, row to the horizon.
May the swing of the poi
indicate the right direction.

Come girls
bring the gifts of the time
calling to all
Come to me.

Yeah, right! A reality check.

Some of the above statements should not be taken at face value.
"...For weeks on end, the primitive canoes sailed the vast empty ocean, without charts, without navigating instruments..."
Primitive canoes? Spend some time exploring the web-site of the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
It would appear that Eastern Polynesians came here in ocean-going waka. These were highly sophisticated double hulled craft, 16 to 18 metres long, with planked and decked hulls, a cabin on the deck, and with very efficient sails. They could carry more than 100 persons and sail about 50% faster than European sailing ships. This would allow them to travel over 200 km/day. A 4000 km trip from Tahiti to new Zealand could have been done in less than three weeks.
Without charts? There were latticework maps of the island groups, and the navigators only had to follow the millions of birds migrating to New Zealand each spring.
Without instruments? The navigators used a variety of techniques; star compasses, mental maps, dead reckoning, observation of birds and driftwood, swell patterns ... Pol Voy Soc -Navigation.
"...Day in, day out, paddling and always paddling,..."
With two big sails and the wind blowing from the north-east in summer, paddling was only needed to maneuver the waka near reefs and in harbour.
Non-stop paddling was only used in coastal waters. Coastal war canoes that were paddled were lighter, faster, more manouverable and could escape upwind.

Other Maori songs of World War One

Tipareri: 1914 - Its a long way to Tipperary...
Te Ope Tuatahi: 1916 recruiting song by Ngata and Tomoana.
Pokarekare Ana: popular with Maori solders in 1915-17 preparing to go to WWI.
E Pari Ra: 1918 tangi for Maori solders lost in battle during WWI.
Karangatia Rä: sung to returning men of the Maori Battalion after WWI.

A Mother As Lovely As You

Sydney : Southern Music, 1952
The credits to this song, which has been highly popular in many countries of the world in Mother's Day selections, say it was
"Adapted from the Maori folk melody 'Hoea ra' -words & music by David Smith and Harry Connelly."
However it would be more accurate to say it was
Refrain adapted from Pariare Tomoana's melody 'Hoea ra.'
The music for the introductory verse was composed by Harry Connelly.

Verse
Your hair has gone grey while I've been away
And the years are beginning to show
But you'll always be the angel to me
That you were in the sweet long ago
Refrain (tune -verse of Hoea Ra)
Since I left your tender care
Though I've travell'd ev'rywhere
In this world I never knew
A mother as lovely as you

(tune -chorus of Hoea Ra)
You are still as sweet to me
As you always used to be
God was kind in giving me
A mother as lovely as you
Repeat the refrain.

Worldwide popularity

"A Mother As Lovely As You" has been very popular, right around the world, for the last half entury, as a track on Mother's day compilations, as these examples from CD listings show.
Home sweet home, A mother as lovely as you, Pal of my cradle days, M-o-t-h-e-r.
My Mammy, She was a Grand Old Lady, Pal O' My Cradle Days, Silver Hair and Heart of Gold, Mother as Lovely As You, Mother Pal & Sweetheart
My Mother's Eyes, A Mother As Lovely As You, You Will Never Grow Old
Mother's Flower Garden, Sweet Mother's Love , Medals For Mother, I Dreamed About Mom Last Night, Mother Was The Strong Side Of My Life, A Mother As Lovely As You Gentle Mother
Song List - Other Maori Songs - Home
Page published on web Feb 25th 2003.

Usual lyrics today	Literal English	Rhyming English, 1940s
Haere mai e hine mä Me ngä taonga o te wä He reo karanga i katoa Haere mai ki au Chorus Hoea rä te waka nei. Hoea, hoea ki te pai. ¹ Mä te poi e karawhiu Kia rere tika ai. ²	Come dear girls with the the gifts of the time; calling to all, "Come here to me." Paddle this canoe back (home). Paddle, paddle for the common good. May the beat of the poi indicate the right direction.	Come oh maidens welcome here You in all the world most dear Sweetest voices draw you near Come oh maidens, come Gaily our canoe shall glide Flowing o'er the rolling tide Twirling pois shall lay beside 'Til we reach our home.

Hoea Rä Te Waka Nei, 1917 Come Where Duty Calls Come Oh Maidens - A Mother as Lovely as You

Pariare Tomoana