NEW  ZEALAND
FOLK * SONG
Aue Mama Aue Papa

Action song, 1940
  

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WW2 action song for the Maori Battalion.

In Feb 2015 I was contacted by Ida, an 82-year-old Pakeha lady who was child at Mokai during World War Two. She sent me a Maori Battalion song she had learnt at that time, requesting me to help her get more information about it. She wrote ...
"We lived in a village named Mokai which is north west of Taupo, from 1934 until Jan 1945. I am nearly 83. I can't remember when I was told it was sung by the Maori Battalion, but every time there was a party or get-together it was sung in both languages.

"Not a tune that I recognise belonging to anything else. The Maori people in the village at that time were mainly Arawa and Maniapoto, but the main singers were Niki Hiini and her daughter Missie. Niki was a sister of Anna Hato."  
"These are the words we sang in Maori... Aue mama aue papa
Homai te aroha.
E haere ana au
Ki runga Tiamana #
Ki te - whawha i a
Hitara e
Mo te kingi
Me Niu Tirini."
 		"Then we sang these words in English... Oh my mammy, oh my pappy
Give all your love to me.
I'm going away you see
Across the seven seas.
To fight - the Nazis
For our liberty
For our king
And coun-tar-ry."
# 'To get on top of Germany, to get hold of Hitler.'

Shelly Sharp
My whanau is from Mokai, and my uncle still lives there, in the village, Hohepa Huirama, Mohio koe tenei waiata? xxx

Tangi Tipene
My koro Rangi Davis says this is the second verse of the waiata. Once I get the first verse I shall put it on this page for people. He's here with me now. In the version they sang, the line here, Ki runga te moana, was sung as Ki runga Tiamana Germany he says, and Ingae te ra was not one of the lines, it was Mo te iwi e, Mo te te kingi, me Niu Tirini.
Turongo Hanaiali'i-Paki
Some sing E haere ana ahau, ki runga o Ihipa Egypt, ki te whawhai i a Hitara Hitler

David Ellison
 The song is magical, alright. It was the first Maori song our generation learnt, at Puketeraki. It was sung at every function held in the old Puketeraki Hall on our Marae during World War Two, our generation's first action song.

As kids we stood in the back row and copied our elders. My, what a memory. I can still picture Aunty Ata, Aunty Wiki, the Parata women, the Ape whanau, Mahana and the Tetau whanau, and all the other whanau, at all the send-offs, welcome homes which continued right up to when we built a new wharenui. This action song generally started the patriotic fundraising Maori concerts put on in the Regent Theatre and the town hall.

The non-Maori kupu was an effort to fit Liberty and Germany into the lyrics. Oh, who is the lady who remembers it? She's given me tears. AUE hiiiiii.

A Longer Version


Auē mama, tukuna ahau... Hei aha? Hei whakamaemae roa... Ko taku tinana nei... He tinana iti rawa e... Pēhi kino iho nei
te aroha i ahau e. Auē mama, auē papa Hōmai te aroha E haere ana au Ki runga te moana Ki te whawhai Ki a Hītara Mō te kīngi Mō Niu Tīreni (Repeat) Horahora atu ra nga rongo Mō nga rangatahi Maori katoa Ko koutou e tama ma nga mihi Mō te iwi hapai nga mahi Auē, kei whea ra nga tūpuna Hei arahi i a tatou e Kia kaha, kia manawanui e hoa ma Tae noa ki te mutunga
(Repeat) 		Oh mama, let me go ... Why? To clean up for a long time ...
This is my body ... A very small body ... But pressing badly here
is the love I have.
Oh mama, oh papa
Give me your love
I'm going away
Across the sea
To fight
all the way to Hitler
For the King
and for New Zealand


Spread the news
For all the young Maori people
Our thanks to you
For all your support.
Alas, where are the ancestors
To guide us?
Be strong, be stout-hearted my friends
Until the end.


Kohanga Reo Version

The original 1940 lyrics were modified at one of the first Te Ataarangi language revival gatherings in the early 1980s, possibly by Katerina Mataira.
Haere mai Māmā, haere mai Pāpā Haere mai, haere mai rā Haere mai e kui, Haere mai e koro, Haere mai, haere mai rā. Me ngā kohakoha, me ngā kohakoha, me ngā kohakoha e. Ki te Kōhanga, Ki te Kōhanga, Ki te Kōhanga reo
Hello Mummy, hello Daddy Welcome, come on in It's lovely to see you Grandma And you too Grandad Welcome, come on in. You must have worked hard really exerted yourselves to set up the Nest this Nest this Language Nest

Kohakoha was a new word for me, and the Te Aka dictionary gives exertion, effort, toil, giving your all, emptying.

This is a track-list of ditties that were created and recorded at those 'dawn of Maori culture rebirth' meetings.
  Maku rapea, maku rapea....
  I roto te tohu o te he
  E te Ariki, he rangimarie....
  Tirama, tirama nga whetu / Na wai ra patu takutama heihei.
  Kei whea ko au, kei whea ko au.
  Kei te ako au, i nga mahi e.
  To ringa ki roto, to ringa ki waho
  E ako e te tau te reo Māori
  Tena koe, tena koe, kei te pehea a koe/ haere mai ia, haere mai ia
  Ua kaka, ua kaka
  Motuka i te rawa e
  Upoko, mahuna, matenga e / Te puawai o te rakau
  Puta puta putupaiarehe / Pakoko pakoko, kowai koe
  Homai to poko hei whiringa
  Haere mai mama, haere mai papa.(ki te kohanga e) <=
  Kotahi te kuia, kotahi te koroua
  Me takiwaru ki runga / Tahorotia atu he miraka e
  He punu a Heti, he punu a hoiho / Rere manu rere runga
  Ko konui tenei, koro a tena.
  Tera e whiti ana, nga maunga tu tonu
  Mane te ra tuatahi, Turei te tuarua / He iwi he iwi e rereke.
  He rakiraki au e kaukau ana, quack, quack.

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Published on Folksong.org.nz in Feb 2020, video added Oct 2021.
Kohanga version added 2024