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This song is thought to be about the Ngapuhi Chief Ueoneone, and his courtship of two Waikato women.

Purea nei e te hau Horoia e te ua Whitiwhitia e te ra Mahea ake nga poraruraru Makere ana nga here.	Scattered by the wind washed by the rain and transformed by the sun, all doubts are swept away and all restrains are cast down.
E rere wairua, e rere Ki nga ao o te rangi Whitiwhitia e te ra Mahea ake nga poraruraru Makere ana nga here, Makere ana nga here.	Fly O free spirit, fly to the clouds in the heavens, transformed by the sun, with all doubts swept away and all restrains cast down. Yes, all restrains are cast down.

G Pu-re-a nei e te hau Ho-roi-a e te u-a-a-G7-a C Whiti-whiti-a e te G ra C Ma-he' a-ke nga po-G-raru-raru C Ma-ke-re a-D7-na nga he-G-re.	Scattered by the wind washed by the rain and transformed by the sun, all doubts are swept away all restrains are cast down.
E re-re wai-ru-a e rere Ki nga ao o te ra-ngi-i-G7-i C Whi-ti-whi-ti-a e te G ra C Ma-he' a-ke nga po-G-raru-raru C Ma-ke-re a-D7-na nga he-G-re C Ma-ke-re a-D7-na nga he-G-re.	Fly O free spirit, fly to the clouds in the heavens, transformed by the sun, with all doubts swept away and all restrains cast down. Yes, all restrains are cast down.

A Ngapuhi proverb says 'Hoki kia purea koe e nga hau o ou maunga, kia horoia koe e te ua'

This was developed into a song by Henare Mahanga of Ngati Hine. This is probably the same Henare Mahanga who was a teacher at Hilary College, Otara, in the 1980s.

Hirinini Melbourne modified this song for Kiwi Tuteao, one of his students at Waikato University. Kiwi was blind and also going through a lot of adversity at the time, and came to Hirini for support.

The sisters Reitu and Reipae are renowned in Maori tradition. Ueoneone, a chief from Whangape, travelled to the Waikato, where he fell in love with the sisters. He proposed marriage and they accepted.	E rongonuihia ana ngā māhanga a Reitū rāua ko Reipae i roto i ngā kōrero a te Māori. Nō te haerenga o te rangatira nō Whāngāpē i a Ueoneone ki Waikato ka taka tōna manawa mō ngā tuāhine nei, ā, moea rawa e Ueoneone ngā tokorua nei.
Ueoneone sent a bird to the Waikato to carry the sisters northward. However, when the bird landed near present-day Whangarei, Reipae fell in love with a chief named Otahuhupotiki, and married him. Te Whanga-a-Reipae (the harbour of Reipae) is one meaning of the name Whangarei.	Ka tukuna e Ueoneone tana manu ki te rohe o Waikato ki te tiki i ngā māhanga kia whakahokia ki te tai tokerau. Heoi nō te paenga o te manu rā ki te takiwā e tata ana ki te wāhi kei reira te tāone o Whāngārei ināianei, ka mate aroha atu a Reipae ki tētahi rangatira o reira, ko Ōtāhuhupōtiki tōna ingoa; waihoki ka moe rāua. Ko tētahi tikanga mō te ingoa o Whāngārei ko Te Whanga-a-Reipae.
Reitu carried on alone and married Ueoneone at Whangape. Kauae and Tawakeiti, their twin daughters, married Tupoto, from whom every tribe north of Auckland can trace descent.	Ka haere tonu a Reitū ki Whāngāpē ka moe i a Ueoneone kia puta ki waho he māhanga kōtiro, ko Kauae rāua ko Tawakeiti. I moe rāua tahi i a Tūpoto, ā, ka puta i a rātou ngā iwi katoa e noho ana ki tua raki o Tāmaki. Hopara I Te Ara

Maori Songs - Kiwi Songs - Home

October 2007, Published on web April 2008, Blind student comment and chords added