| NEW ZEALAND FOLK*SONG |
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| Usual English | Translation of the Mäori | |
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Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright Round yon Virgin Mother and child Holy infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace Silent night holy night Shepherds quake at the sight Glory streams from heaven afar Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia Christ the Saviour is born Christ the Saviour is born. |
Märie te pö, tapu te pö
Marino, marama Ko te Whäea, me te Tama Tama tino, tapu rä Moe mai i te aio Moe mai i te aio. Märie te pö, tapu te pö Ka kite ngä hëpara Te koröria o te rangi Më ngä ahera Hareruia Kua whänau te tamaiti E Ihu te Karaiti |
Peaceful night, holy night,
calm, bright. See the mother and the baby boy the Son so holy there Sleeping peacefully Sleeping peacefully Peaceful night, holy night. Shepherds behold the glory in the sky and angels' 'Halleluiah.' The child that has been born is Jesus the Christ. |
Thanks to Toby Rikihana for these words.
In his book (Waiata Maori 1992) he says there are several Maori versions of this song.Peaceful night: Märie te pö - Pö märie - Hängü te pö (Silent night).
Heavenly hosts/angels: ähera - anahera - anahere
Don't pronounce it as "Mar-ree tay poe" !! but more like "Mar-ri-air tair pore."
In December 1943, the Maori Battalion were fighting at Orsogno, Italy. Richard Spence, in his biography of Padre Wi Huata, writes
"At Christmas Eve, just on midnight, the Maori struck up "Silent Night" in Maori. And the Germans replied in their language.
Hangu te po, tapu te po,
Marama tiaho mai
Ki te Whaea me te Tama,
Tama tapu ngakau marie,
Tou te rangimarie --
Tou te rangimarie.
Hangu te po, tapu te po,
Ka kite nga hepara.
Te kororia ki te rangi
mano waiata hareruia.
Ka whanau te Karaiti --
A Ihu te Ariki.Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
alles schläft, einsam wacht
nur das traute, hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigem Haar,
schlaf' in himmlischler Ruh' - -
schlaf' in himmlischler Ruh'.
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Hirten erst kundemacht
durch der Engel Hallelujah,
tönt es laut von fern und nah';
Christ, der Retter, ist da --
Christ, der Retter, ist da.The original words were written by Josef Mohr in Oberndorf, Austria circa 1816-1818.
The music was by Franz Gruber, circa 1820.
The words were translated into English by John F. Young in 1863.
I don't know any details of the date or author of any of the Maori translations.Here is another version, from the book Te Marae by Pat Tauroa.
Haungu te po And yet another, quite different, version I heard at a Christmas carol session at Ohakune in 2002.
Tapu te po
Marino, marama
Ko te whaea
Me te tama
Tama tino tapu rawa
Moe mai i te marie
Moe mai i te marie
Po marie, po aroha
Kei te moe nga tangata
E titiro atu ana
A Maria me Hohepa
Ki te kaiwhakaora
Ke a hehu aroha
Po marie, po aroha
Whaka-atu mai nga Anahera
Kia hari ki te ao nei
Kua whanau a Hehu
Te kaiwhakaora
Ki Peterehema.
Other NZ Christmas songs
- Te Harinui
- Not on a snowy night
By star or candlelight...- Backblocks Nativity
- ...So her kid was born in that roadman's shack
By the light of a lamp that'd hardly burn...- A Pukeko in a Ponga Tree
- On the first day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
A pukeko in a ponga tree...- Sticky Beak the Kiwi
- He's notified old Santa Claus to notify the deer
That he will pull the Christmas sleigh in the southern hemisphere...- One on a Tractor
- We three kings of Orient are
One on a tractor, two in a car...- An Upside Down Christmas
- Carol our Christmas, an upside down Christmas;
Snow is not falling and trees are not bare...- The Jersey Cow Came Mooing
- The jersey cow came mooing, mooing, mooing.
The jersey cow came mooing to the old shed door...- The Southern Cross Looks Down
- O little town of Bethlehem,
the Southern Cross looks down...- Christmas in New Zealand
- A chance to share the good times in the summer sun
Another family holiday's begun