The moment we were
perceived, one of their women made a signal to
us, by holding up a red mat, and waving it in
the air, while she repeatedly cried out at the
same time in a loud and shrill voice, haromai,
haromai, haromai, (come hither) the customary
salutation of friendship and hospitality.
John
Nicholas, Narrative of a Voyage to New
Zealand, 1817
Calling
the dead - Karanga
Haere mai r?
te ?huatanga
i ? t?tou mate tuatini,
e haere mai!
Welcome
to the representatives
of our many dead,
welcome!
Karanga are calls performed by women on the marae, usually
to welcome visitors.
This
karanga was recorded on October 7, 1963, at the annual
celebration of the coronation of King Koroki at
Turangawaewae, Ngaruawahia. It was performed by a Waikato
woman during a p?whiri, or welcome, for visitors from
Ng?puhi and Ng?iterangi tribes.
The
visitors are greeted as representatives of the tribes to
which they belong. As they approach, their hosts mourn for
those on both sides who have died, and especially those
whose deaths have occurred since the last such meeting
took place.
Visitors then address the ancestral house, and farewell
the dead, and the chants become entwined.
Haere mai r? e kui mai, e horo m?
i te p?.
Come
old women, old men from the underworld.
Karanga r? te tupuna whare hi te k?hui pani
Call,
ancestral house, to those who mourn.
Huhuingia mai r? o t?tou mate hia tangihia i te
r? nei.
Gather
our dead to be wept over today.
Thanks
to Mervyn McLean for permission to use his archive
recording and details.
fromMcLean and Orbell, Traditional Songs of
the Maori, 1975
Welcoming
the living - action songs
The karanga for the dead
clears a spiritual pathway between the hosts and the visitors.
The living guests can then be welcomed. There are many Maori
songs of welcome, most with similar ritual words. Here is one by
Sir Apirana Ngata, father of the action song.
Listen to The Ngata
Memorial College singing the 1st verse (all three verses have
the same tune).
Sir Apirana Ngata, 1920s
Haere mai
E nga iwi haere mai
Mauria mai te aroha
Ki te marae e
Karanga ra
ki nga ope tuarangi
Kua eke nei
Ki te marae e te iwi e
Kia ora ra
Ki nga iwi e tau e
Mauria mai te aroha
Ki te marae e
Kia ora.
Welcome
all iwi welcome
Bring forth your love
to the marae.
Call us
the visiting groups from afar
who have arrived
onto the marae, O people.
Good health
to every iwi here
Bring forth your love
to the marae.
Good health.
Ngoi Pewhairangi &
Dalvanius Prime, 1985
As sung by
Cara Pewhairangi and the Patea M?ori Club, from the 1985
Dalvanius Prime/Ngoi Pewhairangi production Poi-E The Musical.
Cara is Ngoi Pewhairangi's grandaughter.
Haere mai, nau mai, e ng? iwi e
Haere mai, nau mai, e ng? iwi e
HAERE MAI, haere mai,
E NG? IWI, HAERE MAI
Mauri?
mai
Te aroha ki te marae e. 1
KIA ORA R?, kia ora r?,2
KI NG? OPE T??RANGI
Kua eke nei 3
Ki t?u marae, e te iwi e.
KARANGA R?,
karanga r?,
KI NG?
OPE - E TAU NEI - 4
Kua eke nei
Ki t?u marae, e te iwi e.
Haere mai, nau mai, e ng? iwi e
Haere mai, nau mai, e ng? iwi e
Kia ora r?.
Welcome, welcome to all Iwi
Welcome, welcome, to all Iwi
WELCOME, welcome
TO ALL IWI, WELCOME
Bring forth
Your love to the marae.
BID GOOD HEALTH, good health
TO THE TRAVELLERS FROM AFAR
who have arrived
onto your marae, 0h people.
CALL OUT, cry out
TO THE VISITORS ASSEMBLED HERE -
who have arrived
onto your marae, 0h people.
Welcome, welcome everybody
Welcome, welcome everybody
Good health
Notes
The words "te aroha"
are sung as "t'yaroha."
The words "kia ora"
are sung as "kya ora."
The words "kua eke
nei" are sung as "kwa e-ke nay."
Rikihana has "e tau e"
but on the Pewhairangi CD we hear "e tau nei"
Inia te Wiata, 1966
The song is
possibly older than this, but I found it on 1966 recording
Inia te Wiata's "Waiata M?ori, a festival of M?ori song."
Here is a youtube recording of a Ngati Kahungunu group singing
it.
Haere mai, haere mai
E ng? iwi e haere mai
Ki runga o te marae
Hui mai t?tou katoa
E hine m?, e tama m?
Hapainga to mana M?ori e
Kia rewa runga rawa
I a ha h?
E ng? iwi e
Haere mai, haere mai.
Tahi miti toru e
Tae te marumaru
Whare tapu teitei
Te ao korowhiti
Tenei au e te t? hawerewere
Te ao wahine
R? r? t?whai t?whai
Welcome, welcome
all the tribes welcome
onto the courtyard
all of us gathered here.
Young women, young men
uplift your Maori prestige
to float on high
I a ha ha
All the tribes
Welcome welcome.
First one then later three weapons
as a protection for
the lofty sacred house
known throughout the world
This be I standing alert
noticed by all women
and all things tremble.
Tahi Miti
chant
Usually the Haere
mai verse is sung, then repeated raised one key up,
then the Tahi mihi chant performed as a contrasting
bridge, then finished with the Haere mai verse
again.
Rikihana says in
his book Waiata Maori that the precise meaning
of the Tahi mihi chant unknown, but that one
informant told him it could be a "waiata whaiwhaia," a
chant used to cast a spell which keeps enemies away.
Rikihana draws
attention to the song P? Mai written in Hawkes Bay
to encourage young men to enlist in the Army in World War
2, which also includes the first four lines of the Tahi
Miti chant.
Play this 1999
pop version of Pa Mai, by Maisey Rika.
P? mai t? reo aroha
Ki te p? o (. . . . . . )
E ng? iwi o Aotearoa
Haere mai, haere mai.
Tahi miti toru e
Tae te marumaru
Whare tapu (topa?) teitei
Te ao korowhiti
Haere mai, haere mai.
Titiro ki nga hoia
kua wehi nei
Aue te aroha me te mamae
E nga iwi o Aotearoa
Kia kaha kia manawanui
Your voice of love reaches
the army base of (. . . . . .)
People of new Zealand
Come hither, come hither.
First one, then three weapons
as a protection for
the lofty sacred (soaring?) house
known throughout the world
Come hither, come hither.
Look at the soldiers
departing from us
alas the love and the pain.
To the people of New Zealand,
Be strong, be patient
Freedman's song
was designed to welcome tourists, with a "doodly-doo,
doodly-doo," echo-the-leader style of tune which was popular
in the 1950s, (Ha E Re Mai - "Ha Airy My,"
Ev'rything is ka pai -"Ev'rything is k'pie") and with
a few phrases of Maori well-known to Pakeha of the time, haere
mai, ka pai (good), pai kare ("by golly").
Published in 1952, it was probably written to welcome Queen
Elizabeth II who had just been crowned, and who was
scheduled to do a Royal Tour of New Zealand in 1953
("Throughout the land, we want to shake your hand").
1. Ha-ere Mai!
Ev'ry-thing is ka pai!
You're here at last,
You're really here at last.
2. Ha-ere Mai!
Not a cloud in the sky,
To coin a phrase,
This is the "day of days".
Bridge.
You're welcome as the sunshine,
You're welcome as a king!
Pai kare! This is one time
We'll really have a fling!
3. Ha-ere Mai!
Ev'rything is ka pai!
Throughout the land,
We want to shake your hand,
Dr Karetu's less
well-known lyrics for Freedman's song are written in simple
Maori phrases, to greet Maori guests. It should be sung more
slowly and with more feeling than the English version.
1. Ha-ere Mai!
Te manuhiri e!
Kua tae mai koe,
Ki te tautoko e.
2. Ha-ere Mai!
Tena ra koe e hoa.
Ka nui te koa
Te kitenga i a koe
Bridge.
Mauria mai te aroha
Me nga aitua e
Kia tangihia e tatou
Kia ea ai nga mate
3. Ha-ere Mai!
E manaaki nei e
Matou i a koe
No reira kia ora
Coda.
Ha-ere Mai!
Nau mai ra e hoa!
Ha-ere Mai!
Ha-ere Mai!
Come hither
visitor!
You have arrived
to give (your) support.
Come hither!
You are here friend.
Great is the happiness
at seeing you.
Bring love
in these troubled times.
We are all weeping
that the dead may be satisfied.
Come hither,
you have bestowed prestige on us.
We say to you
once again "Kia ora."
Come hither!
Welcome friend!
Come hither!
Come hither!
Page made March 25th 2003,
for Thea Daniel,
who left her marae 16 years ago to migrate to Australia.
Freedman song added July 2003.
Modified for small screens Apr 2021.
