Three sections of a karakia
The first section of any karakia acknowledges the great forces that are at work connecting us to the atua, the spiritual powers.
e.g. the useful but constant Westerlies, and the killer Southerly storm.
The second section expresses a loosening of these forces' harmful bonds, and a strengthening of their helpful ones.
...after the howling Southerly storm blows through, a frigid, but windless night will follow.
The third section is the naming of what is required for oneness with the atua.
...an awe-inspiring dawn transforming the icy snowscape. - Touch the picture =>
Tāiki e! The final line is equivalent to the Amen at the end of a Christian prayer.
Lost in translation
Some people seem not to have understood this triple structure when they tried to put this karakia into English.
They noticed that it was a "prayer" of sailors threatened by an approaching storm, and they then distorted the Maori words to make all three sections requests for what is wanted. There are several translations on the internet like this one.
"May the winds from the west and south cease (?).
Let light breezes (?) blow over the land and sea.
Let the red-tipped dawn come with a sharpened air (?),
a touch (?) of frost, a promise of a glorious day.(?)
Becoming one with the ancestors
Karakia are the chants of Maori ritual, using traditional language, symbols and structures. They are a means of achieving oneness - one with the atua, one with the ancestors and one with events of the past.
They have their own traditional structure, symbols and rituals, and their concern is the whole of the universe, earth, sea and sky and into the night.
Karakia are not magic spells depending on the exact recitation of the words. The words can be, and are, changed. The power of the karakia came from the atua, and the effectiveness of the karakia depended on the faith of the people using the chants.
Musical style
In their use of ready-made phrases or formulas, the karakia are similar to the other forms of Maori recited chants and Maori songs. But a karakia is different in its musical style - a very rapid monotone chant.
Karakia were usually recited solo by males, though some of the work karakia have sections for a chorus and there are examples of Ngapuhi karakia recited by women.
Types of karakia
There were karakia for kumara growing, childbirth, warfare, sickness and death. Karakia for daily work, canoe building, good weather and protection against curses. Karakia to unite factions, to give power to weapons, to cure injuries, to ward off ill luck.
The earth, sea and sky, war and peace, life and death were all included, and the emphasis was on the human person. Every aspect of life was covered.
Michael Shirres
The above paragraphs are a summary of a study of Maori theology by Dominican priest Fr Michael Shirres PhD.
To chant the words of the karakia is to become one with the ancestors.
We cut ourselves loose from what is destructive, and bind ourselves to what is life-giving.
In the 'eternal present' of ritual, we become one with the whole movement of creation.