NEW  ZEALAND
F
OLK * SONG

Ara! Ka Titiro
Traditional

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Once a lusty young man's sexually suggestive dance, this is now a girls' flirtatious poi song.


G7 Whitu-whitu, waru-waru, C kani-kani e!

Ara!1 Ka titiro koe make-G7-tu!2
Ara! Ka titiro koe make-C-tu!
Ara! Ka titiro koe make-G7-tu!

Whitu-whitu, waru-waru, C kani-kani e!
G7 Whitu-whitu, waru-waru, C kani-kani e!

Nuku-nuku mai ra e hine ma,
Neke-neke mai ra e hine ma,
Kia piri tonu mai ra e hine ma,

Whitu-whitu, waru-waru, kani-kani e!
Whitu-whitu, waru-waru, kani-kani e!

Seven-seven, eight-eight, dancing-dancing eh!

Hey! You take a good look!
Hey! You look at me with desire!
Hey! You look at me and get ba-a-ad ideas!

Seven-seven, eight-eight, dancing-dancing eh!
Seven-seven, eight-eight, dancing-dancing eh!

Move over this way girls,
Shift over this way girls,
Stick real close girls.

Seven-seven, eight-eight, dancing-dancing eh!
Seven-seven, eight-eight, dancing-dancing eh!


1 Ara!
Although Te Ara is usually translated as 'The Path," in this case Ara! is an exclamation.


2 titiro maketu
Look with evil thoughts, look with lust, look hard.

A lusty young man's courting song

This seems to be a "Saturday Night Fever" type of song for a lusty young man to attract an equally lusty young woman as his wife, so it is strange to hear it now sung prettily as a poi dance by young girls. Or sung by an aging opera diva!

These other songs have originated as lusty young Maori men's songs are also now sung as poi dances in a pretty-pretty fashion:-

Me He Manu Rere

He Püru Taitama e

Epo i Tai Tai e
.

Dominion Song Book Number 1, 1930

Our thanks to David Dell for pointing out that a modified fragment of this song appeared in the first Dominion Song Book for New Zealand schools, in 1930, as a "Maori Rhythmic Song, with nonsense words."

Mata ka titiro koe Makati
Mata ka titiro koe Makati
Mata ka titiro koe Makati
Whitu-whitu, waru-waru, kani-kani O!

Look now Mataki, see what you can see X 3
Seven-seven eight, come and dance with me!

Maketi was probably a nonsense word invented for school children to sing instead of the word for evil, maketu. But notice that Te Makati whanau come from the Southland coast between Chaslands Mistake and Wallace Head.

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Page published on web July 17th 2005, modified 10 May 2006, Dec 2011, Jan 2022