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| This is Te Kooti’s adaptation of a
1720s oriori composed for a Ngati Kahungunu boy,
preparing him for his role as a healer. Te Kooti
composed this adaptation of it in 1887, after another
unsuccessful attempt to visit the East Coast. He had hoped to attend a gathering to be held near Gisborne on New Year's Day 1888 at a meeting-house named Rongopai that had been built and adorned to receive him, but government officials prevented him yet again from returning to the region where he had been born and grown up, so he sent this song instead. In its verses he calls upon his followers to keep to the path of peace and virtue, while rebuking those who had not been true to their word and had betrayed him. |
whanake te kura i raro i Awarua
ko te kura nui, ko te kura roa,
ko te kura o tawhiti na Tuhaepo.
Tenei te tira hou, tenei haramai nei;
ko Te Umurangi na Te Whatuiapiti.
whanake te kura i Awarua.
Ko te kura nui, ko te kura roa,
ko te kura nā Tūhoe pō!
Tēnei te tira hou, tēnei haramai nei,
Nā te rongopai, nā te rangimārie.
the treasure that came from Awarua
The great treasure, the long-held treasure,
the treasure of the Tūhoe spiritworld!
This new band of travellers is setting out here,
a people of faith and peace. Ringatu
Ki whaka-ngungua; koe ki tekahikatoa;
Ki te tumatakuru; ki te tara ongaonga;
Nga tairo ra nahau, e Kupe,
I waiho i te ao nei.
Kia whakangungua koe ki te mini,
Ki te hoari, ki te pū hurihuri,
Ngā rākau kōhuru a te Pākehā
e takoto nei ēi.
so you can be introduced to the Minié rifle,
the sword and the revolver,
The murderous weapons of the Pākehā
lying here. Weapons
Te ara o Tawhiki i piki ai ki runga;
I rokohina atu ra Maikuku-makaka,
Hapai-o-Mauri,
He waha i pa mai,'
‘Taku wahine purotu!’
‘Taku tane purotu!’
Korua kotau te tau, e.
Te ara o Enoka, i piki ai ki runga,
I rokohinga atu rā Maikuku-makaka.
Hāpainga te aroha!
He waha i pā mai,
‘Taku wahine purotu!’
‘Taku tāne purotu!’
Kōrua ko te tau ēi!
the pathway of Enoch, who climbed up high
And there found Maikuku-makaka.
May love be supported!
Words were uttered: Enoch
‘My beautiful wife!’
‘My handsome husband!’
You and your beloved, eh!
No runga rawa koe
No te tahu nui a Rangi e tū nei
Na Rangitu koe,
na Rangiroa
Na Tane rawa koe,
Nō runga rawa koe,
nō te mana o Kuini e tū nei.
Nā Rangi-tū koe,
nā Te Kotahitanga,
nā Tāne rawa koe,
that you are even above
the Queen's mana established here."
Your power, my friend, comes from Rangi-tu,
from our Spirit-of-oneness
from Tāne himself,
na te Apa-rangi i rarapa.
Tukia i whare rangi,
ko te ngaruru mai rangi;
Te mata a tohi kura,
ko Apa i te honga."
Nāhana ra koe.
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ko te wānanga i a taua ne.
Tē ai i waho i Ōkaiure rā
ngā pure tawhiti.
Te kaunoti hikahika
Te kaunoti a to tipuna, a Tura
I haere ai i Tere-i nui-ao
ka hika i tona ahi.
Kimihia e Kura, ko Tū-ma-tere
Te Umu ka hoki nga kai ki te ao.
nā kaunati hikahika
Te kaunati a tō tipuna, a Rāwiri,
I haere ai, i tere i nui ao,
Ka hika i tana ahi.
Kimihia, e te iwi, te ara o te tikanga,
i pai ai te noho i te ao nei.
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Your power comes from ancient rituals *
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with the fire-making stick,
The fire-making stick of your ancestor David,
who set out, traveling through the wide lands,
kindling his fire. David
Seek, oh my people, the path of righteousness,
that we can live peacefully in this world.
He patu i te tangata kia mate.
Na te mau whaiwhaia hoki ra
I mānene ai i te ara,
Ka mate kongenge, ka mania, ka paheke.
Ko te matamata ki te tū-āhu
e makutu mai ra,
Ko Tamairiakinaterangi, te Hekengaorangi.
Ko Taramuru anake titi kaha mai ra.
he patu i te tangata kia mate.
Nā te maungārongo hoki rā
i haere ai i te ara,
Ko koutou anake
e titi kaha mai nā.
weapons that strike men dead.
But we were returning in peace Bullets
when we went along that path.
It was only you
who did not practise peace
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I waho o te moana o toka hapuku,
Ko Maunungarara, ko Wharerauaruhe.
Ko Ta-kopai-te-rangi, ko te Ara-totara,
Te Huawaiparae, koia te korori.
I waho i te moana o Toka-ā-huru
Ko Te Kopai-o-te-whare, ko te Ara-totara,
Te Huawaiparae, koia te korori.
out to sea at Toka-ā-huru reef off Whāngārā
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There's 'The Corner-of-the-house,'
Te Aratōtara, and Te Huawaipārae, that cunning fellow.
te wā ki to koutou irāmutu,
tā maua mai nei ki te ua i te kahu.
E kai o mata ki runga Marokotia.
Karokaro i te taturi o to taringa,
kia areare ai, mo te whakarongo atu
Ki nga kī mai a to tipuna, a Noho-atu,
makamaka mai ra i a taua anake
Te Ārai o Tūranga,
Te matenga o Hinerakai
i turamatia ai,
I matakitakina ai,
Koia Hikamatakitaki.
te wā ki tō koutou whanaunga,
Te waua mai nei ki te hua i te kai.
E kai ō koutou mata ki runga o Pāparatū ī.
Karokaro i te taeturi ō koutou taringa
Kia areare ai mō te whakarongo atu
Ki ngā kī atu. Kaua ahau e patua,
Mōku anake
Te Arai o Tūranga.
Te matenga o Māhaki,
i mau ai te rongo patipati.
Mātakitakina ai,
koia 'hika mātakitaki'.
is the region owned by your relatives:
news of its fertility has reached us.
Feast your eyes upon Pāparatū.
Remove the wax from your ears Paparatu
to clear them so you can listen
to the message there. Do not destroy me,
I alone am the owner of
Te Arai at Gisborne.
I shared the shame of Māhaki Mahaki
when a sweet-talking peace was made.
Rudely gazed upon,
hence ‘their-self-respect-violated’.
Tē ai he mahara,
ka mate koe i Awarua;
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Ka manene mai koe ki a rō te wai, *
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Ka ū ana ko Hauraki.
Ka pa ko te waha o Tutawirirangi,
‘E tama! Ina ia te kai.
Toia ki uta ra, haehaetia ai;
Tunua hai te manawa, ka kainga, ka pau.
No Karotimutimu,
no Taurangakoau.’
Tē ai ō mahara
ka mate au i Waerenga-a-Hika,
Te kī mai koe, me whakawā mārire
Hopu ana koe i ahau,
kawea ana ki Wharekāuri.
Ka manene mai au ki rō te wai,
ka ū ana ko Whareongaonga.
Ka pā ko te waha o te Kāwana,
‘E hika mā ē! Inā ia te kai!’
Tōia ki uta rā, haehaetia ai,
Tunua ai i te manawa, ka kainga, ka pau
Mō Korotimutimu,
mō Tauranga-kōau.
without your thought
that I might have died at Waerenga-a-Hika,
You told me I would be fairly judged
But you seized me unjust exile
and took me to the Chatham Islands.
I was exhausted in the water,
and landed at Whareongaonga.
Then was heard the voice of the Governor:
‘My friends, here is food to eat!’
hauled ashore and cut up, eaten up
The heart is roasted, eaten, consumed
because of Korotimutimu
because of Tauranga-kōau.
ka kai ki te kirikiri,
Ka kai ki te ponga,
Ka kai ki te mamaku,
Ka kai ki te ngarara whakawae,
Ka kai ki te pananehu,
E tama, e!
ka kai ki te waipiro,
Ka kai ki te whakamā,
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ki te mauāhara.Me whakarere atu ēnā mahi kino,
E hika mā, ē
from consuming alcohol,
feeding on shame,
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and
hatred
needless strifePut aside those evil things,
My friends!
Books used for referenceJudith Binney, 1993, Redemption Songs: A Life of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te TurukiMervyn McLean, Margaret Orbell, 2001, Songs of a Kaumatua: As Sung by Kino Hughes Percy Smith, 1910, History & Traditions of West Coast Maori prior to 1840 |
Webpage put onto folksong.org.nz website Dec 2018