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A
Ngati Porou lament sung at tangi. The Ma Wai Ra verse is
also sung at policy-making hui by the hosts, as a
reminder to put personal motives
aside. I
have also put three other versions here; a short one for
general use, a Waikato one, and Puhiwahine's 1850s
version. This
version was composed by Henare Te Owai after the death of
Pine Tamahori.
I runga ahau o Ngapuhi1
I was amongst Ngapuhi
I
don't know who composed these words. I
don't know anything about this. It was quoted from
memory on a Maori.org.nz Papa Panui site, and may
have a few typing errors. Ma
wai ra e taurima
Ma wai ra e taurima Henare
Te Owai (Ngati Porou) composed this waiata at
Hiruharama marae, near Ruatoria, after the death in
1933 of Pine Tamahori. Pine's
grandson is Gisborne accountant and Business
Roundtable chairman Rob McLeod. 1992
- New
Zealand Expo Maori Entertainers, Waka Maori,
CD
E whitu nga tau
E au kai tu, Who
will it be to raise I
now eat on my feet,
Seven years. The period of sporadic fighting in
various parts of the country, following Hone Heke's War
in the north.
Patu.
A short flat weapon for hand to hand fighting. One
made of whale bone was called a patu-paraoa.
Manuka. The harbour on the western side of
the Tamaki isthmus, where the city of Auckland now
stands. Sometimes called Manukau. At the time the
only fighting on a large scale was that of Hone
Heke, hence the expression ³beyond Manuka.²
Spider's wind. Hau o pungawere.
Before a hurricane, or stormy weather the spider
will disappear into holes and crevices. Hurricanes,
on that account, are called 'spider's wind.¹
I now eat on my feet. The manner of eating of
one who apprehends danger. Te
Poihipi. One of Puhiwahine's former lovers. It
is said he endeavoured to persuade the people of
Kawhia to go north and join in Hone Heke's War. The
one bespoken. This is a reference to her
broken romance with Te Poihipi. His tribe,
Ngati-Karetoto, had opposed his marriage to
Puhiwahine because he was already be-spoken as a
husband for a young woman of his own tribe.
The food-gathering tribe. A captious
expression by the poetess, inspired by the
recollection of her broken romance. Kiwi
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Ka tae ake o rongo
Ka piri mai ko te aroha
Ka kai kino e
Hoki atu taku tangi
Te marae o Kapohanga
Ki o koringa, e Pine
I te oranga e
Ma wai ra e taurima
Te marae i waho nei?
Ma te tika, ma te pono
Me te aroha e
Tau tahi, tau rua2
E kore koe e wareware
Ka piri mai ko te aroha
Hei hoa haere e
Piki atu, heke atu
Nga rori ki Te Reinga3
Piki heke, tahi atu
Me te aroha e
I mahara hoki au
He kai pai te aroha
Kaore ia
He kai kawa e
I runga ahau o nga hiwi
Ka pai na taku titiro
Ki te ara i nunumi ai
Nga tira haere e
Kei huia mai koutou
Kaore he aroha
Kei roto i ahau
E kai ana e
When the news about you reached me
Grief reached me
And overcame me
My lament returns
To the marae, Kapohanga
To the places you frequented, Pine
Whilst alive
Who will tend
To the marae here?
Truth, honesty
And love will.
Regardless of the amount of years
You shall never be forgotten
Grief will remain close
As a constant companion
Rising and falling
Are the roads to Te Reinga
Rising and falling
Like my sorrow
I was mistaken
That love was a good thing
That it was not
A bitter thing
I was upon the hills
So that my sight was clear
To the road that wandering parties
Travelled into the distance
Lest it be said by others
I have no love for this man
Indeed, it is within
Gnawing away
Our
thanks to Greg Henderson for translating this
waiata.
1
amongst Ngapuhi - The
orator was far away up north
when Pine died on
the East coast.
2 Tau
tahi, tau rua - "One, two..." a pithy
abbreviation for "Whether in one
year's
time, two years' time, or
whenever, it makes no difference."
3
The
orator had indeed been
driving up and down many hills
on the roads
heading north
towards Cape Reinga, and he
uses this as a metaphor for
his up and down
emotions as
Pine's soul now heads towards
that place
of spiritual
departure.
This
briefer version is also sung; to the same tune but more
melodiously.
Ma
wai ra e taurima
te marae i waho nei?
Ma te tika
ma te pono
me te aroha e.
Who
will take responsibility
on the marae now?
There can be justice
and truth
only if there is love.
Noho
au i taku whare
whakarongo ki te tangi
o te manu
rere i runga
rere waho e
I
sit in my house
listening to the cry
of the free spirit
flying up
and away beyond here.
Nga
wawata, nga roimata
i maringi ki te pa
Hei aha
hei ua rangi
me te aroha e?
The yearning, the tears
flow at the Pah.
Why do
the heavens send down rain
if not for love?
Tangihia
au tinei4
kua riro koutou;
ki te iwi
ki te rangi
ki te Atua e.
I bewail, in my darkness,4
your departing;
to the people
to the heavens
and to God himself.
Ma
wai ra e taurima
te marae i waho nei?
Ma te tika
ma te pono
me te aroha e.
Who
will take responsibility
on the marae now?
Let there be justice
let
there be truth
and let there be love.
4
Tinei
literally means to extinguish a flame.
I'm
extinguished, I'm all empty inside, I feel
lost.
Waikato
variant
It is interesting to compare it to the version
above.
Te paepae o runga ra?
O te rangi, o te aroha,
Ka whakaangi ra
Noho nei kaua e tangi
He rerenga wairua
Ki te iwi aua ra
E tahuri e te aroha e
Me he mea kei nga awa
O Waikato nui e
Kia rongo ki te tangi
O Te wherowhero e
Nga wawata, nga roimata
E maringi ki te whenua
O Waikato e maringi
Tana wai ki Taupo
Te Heuheu o Tuwharetoa
Whakarongo ki te wai
O to iwi ki Tokaanu
Ki Waihi, aue
Tangihia au i konei
Kua riro korua
Ki te rangi ki te mano
Ki mataara e
te marae i waho nei?
Ma te tika ma te pono
me te aroha e.
Noho au i taku whare
whakarongo ki te tangi
o te manu rere i runga
rere waho e
Nga wawata, nga roimata
i maringi ki te pa
Hei aha hei ua rangi
me te aroha e?
Tangihia au tinei
kua riro koutou;
ki te iwi ki te rangi
ki te Atua e. Pine
Tamahori
Pine, an outstanding Maori Anglican minister, had been
asked by Apirana Ngata to teach the haka 'Ruaumoko'
for the welcoming of the Governor General Bledisloe at
Waitangi in 1934.
Pineamine (Pine) Tamahori was born in about 1885. He
was educated at Te Aute College and Te Rau Kahikatea
theological college Gisborne, married in 1910 to
Mereana Korimete and from 1916 to 1933 was pastor of
Hikurangi Maori pastorate diocese.
'Ma
Wai Ra' on record
1992 - Kiri Te Kanawa, Howard Morrison, Voyages,
1992 CD
2000 - Maisey Rika, Kotiro Maori CD
2006 Songs for Hui Gatherings (A great
CD. Get it here)
Ma
wai ra taku mate
E huti ake ki runga?
Ma te Atua Nui,
Maana i runga nei.
No te kore ano;
Te kore-te-whiwhia,
Te kore-te-rawea -
Na wai hoki te kore?
E kawea ana te patu
Ki te rakau hoari,
Ki te rakau pu hou.
Whakatuputupu, whakatuputupu!
Kaore ana ra;
Kei tua o Manuka.
I te ra e puta mai,
Te hau o pungawere,
Hei whakariu ake -
Mania, ka paheke atu ana,
Ki te wai tai!
Mimiti, pakore
Ki te waha o te parata!
E au kai rere,
E au kai whakatokihi;
I runga o te tumuaki
O Te Poihipi,
Me tohu hoki koe
No Ngati-Karetoto,
He pahi mahi kai
Maaku ma te tau, e,
Te tau, e, i.
My fallen ones again?
None, but Almighty God,
He who reigns above.
All about is now a void;
An empty void,
A dismal void -
Tell
me, who caused the void?
For seven
years
The patu has opposed
The unsheathed sword,
And the loaded gun.
Be prepared, be prepared!
The worst is yet to come;
It is still beyond Manuka.
But the day will dawn,
The day of the spider's
wind,
Which will rend all asunder -
Slipping, all will slide onward,
Onward into the salty sea!
Flowing outwards 'twill expose
The gaping mouth of the sea monster!
I now eat in haste,
I now eat in secret;
For all now rests upon the head
Of Te
Poihipi,
The
one bespoken
By the tribe of Karetoto,
The
food-gathering tribe
For me your cherished one,
My beloved, alas.Puhiwahine
Ngati
Tuwharetoa poetess. Puhiwahine was born about 1816
near Petania pa. Her father was Rawiri Te
Rangihirawea, who was a close relative of Te Heuheu
Horonuku's wife, and her mother was Hinekiore, a
famous song
leader and a high priestess of the bird cult.
Puhiwahine learnt her people's traditions and songs
and dances of from her mother, and at an early age
became an accomplished performer at Ngati Tuwharetoa
gatherings. She grew up into an attractive and
fascinating young woman whose artistry, wit and charm
captivated everybody. Her accomplishments made her a
very popular member of the tribe, and she travelled
extensively with her Taupo people on visits to other
tribes. Some of her love songs and lullabies enjoyed
wide popularity.
During these travels she captured the hearts of many
notable chiefs, both married and unmarried. Puhiwahine
remained fancy free until she accompanied a party of
her Taupo people into the Waipa valley in the
foothills of the Rangitoto ranges. At Araikotore,
Puhiwahine met Hauauru, a young Maniapoto chief.
Puhiwahine fell violently in love with him, but
because he was already married, her two brothers would
not agree to a marriage that would have made her a
secondary wife for Hauauru.
In the early 1840s, at Poaru, near Taupo, Puhiwahine
married Johann von Goethe (c. 180993), a German
immigrant. He was an innkeeper at Wanganui. After her
marriage Puhiwahine lived at Wanganui and later at
Gotty's farm in the Rangitikei district. She died at
Ongarue on 18 February 1906 leaving two sons.
Her songs and poetry, for which she is remembered,
follow traditional Maori forms and rhythms and abound
with traditional imagery. Her plaintive He Waiata
Aroha mo Te Mahuta Te Toko is still sung as a
farewell at tribal gatherings.
This
page published on the web, May 2007, translation added
2018.
modified for narrow screens, Nov 2021