NZFS Waiata Tuhoe * Ngā Hoe o Te Waka

This is a great song. I have not come across any song with technical canoeing terms previously, so I learnt a lot. The Takaro Tree recordings are sung in an East Coast/Tuhoe dialect.

I have slowed down the chipmunk voices in the Takaro Tree video, and lowered the voices to normal human pitch (using the free Audacity app).

A slightly different version

Grammatically accurate English translation.

Nga hoe o te waka E tia, e tia, (active verb) e ranga, Ngā hoe o te waka E ranga whakaterea te waka	The paddles of the waka thrust in so hard, in so hard, getting it moving. The paddles of the waka Get it moving Making the waka go faster

Te tauihu o te waka, wāhia, wāhia, wāhia, Wāhia nga ngaru o te moana, Kia rere te waka.	Oh bow of the waka cut, split, slice the waves of the sea to make the craft flow smoothly along.

Nga tiheru o te waka tāngia, x3 (passive) Tāngia te riu o te waka Te kaupokina. (dialect)	The water-scoops of the waka are filled, lifted and emptied. The waka's bilge is bailed out to stop it capsizing.

Te kai-uri (kai-urungi ) o te waka(dialect) Koropetia x3 (command) Koropetia te waka Kia tika Kia tau ai ki uta Nga hoea te waka	Oh helmsman of the waka reach out with your paddle, pull it in, and turn the waka exactly right so that they settle gently on the shore, those paddles of the waka.

Singable kids version

Nga hoe o te waka E tia, e tia, e tanga, Ngā hoe o te waka E tanga whakaterea te waka	The paddles of our waka thrust in and pull, we pull so hard, we start to move. The paddles of our waka come round and down We move so fast.

Te tauihu o te waka, wāhia, wāhia, wāhia Wāhia nga ngaru o te moana, Kia rere te waka.	The bow of our waka cuts through the waves, through the waves Oh what a ride. We slice through waves way out at sea How smooth-ly we glide.

Nga tiheru o te waka tāngia, tāngia, tāngia, Tāngia te riu o te waka Te kaupokina. (dialect)	There's water in the bilge! Get it all bailed out, all bailed out it must not rise. If the water in the bilge is not bailed out we could capsize.

Te kai-uri (kai-urungi) o te waka Koropetia Koropetia te waka Kia tika Kia tau ai ki uta Nga hoea te waka	The captain of the waka steers with his oar. Around we turn, around some more He turns just right to take us all right back to the shore.

I am most grateful to Laura M for emailing me a more coherent Takaro Tribe audio file and for translating some of it for me, and special thanks also Reupena Tawhai for finally getting it all correct.

New words for me

Ranga - get it moving
Whakatera- go faster
tauihu - bow or figurehead

tiheru- bailer
taupoki - capsize.

Tuhoe / East Coast dialect words

Kaupokina, is a passive dialect form of Taupoki, to capsize

Kai-uri, is a dialect form of Kai-urungi the captain

Word use

The -ia, -ia, -ia, sounds in the second line hold the verses together and makes it fun for kids to sing, but notice they denote different verb tenses, as active, passive and commanding.

Tāngia is not the passive of tangi= to cry.
"To be cried over" would use the word tangihia.

Note that your tongue goes forward pronouncing "ti" so it is ALMOST /tsi/, while your tongue is further back for "to," so it is ALMOST /do/.

Sung all over the Pacific

All over the Pacific, people listen to, understand and sing songs and videos in Aotearoa's Polynesian dialect, with its Scottish /r/ replacing the usual Pacific /l/ sound, (just as we can follow and sing songs in the Scottish, Texan or Indian dialects of English)
Canoes are used in everyday life in the islands far more than in NZ.
Versions in Samoan, Tongan, Hawaiian or Tahitian would be great.

Here's a draft version in Fijian. Remember that

'b' indicates the sound /mb/ as in 'timber.'
'c' indicates the sound /th/ as in 'these.'
'd' indicates the sound /nd/ as in 'hinder.'
'g' indicates the sound /ng/ as in 'singer, wringer.'
'q' indicates the sound /ng-g/ as in 'finger, hunger, anger.'

Na ivoce ni bavelo
Curuma na wai, curumai na wai, me rawa ni toso.
Na ivoce ni bavelo me rawa ni toso
me lako na bavelo

Na mua ni bavelo
Musuka na ua, x3
Musuka na ua ni wasawasa levu,
Me drodro kina na bavelo

Na gone ni bavelo
vakalala na wai, x3
Vakalala na wai mai na ra ni bavelo
de qai vuki na balavu.

Na turaga ni bavelo
veisautaka na sala x3
Na turaga ni bavelo
vuki yani ki vanua
na ivoce ni bavelo.

Maori songs - Kiwi songs - Home

This webpage was started in Sept 2024

freevisitorcounters Homepage