Ripeka Paia Te Hau (b
c.1829) and her abstemious older sister, Mere Raiha
Hineitukua, were both wives of the prominent Ngati Porou
leader Iharaira
Te Houkāmau (b c.1805, d 1875).
In 1862 Governor Grey appointed Iharaira to be assessor
(magistrate) of the Wharekahika River - Hicks Bay
district, responsible for maintaining its law and order
there. He tried to restrict the drinking of alcohol, but
as you can see from this song that his free-spirited
young wife used to sing, he was unsuccessful in gaining
her support, and the ditty was still being sung 50 years
later. |
Pōkarekare ai
te pounamu rama nei!
Me aha koa rā, ē,
ngā ture a te iwi!
Tenei ka inumia, kia wawe,
ko te pau,
Te hanga a te kakī
e toro nei ki te rama,
Rama!
'Auaka ahau, e I',
e whakawehia mai.
Tukua te tamara
kia tahu i roto rā,
Ki te kai haurangi nāhau,
e te Kuini;
E kapo noa atu rā
ki runga ki te kaute:
Haute!
|
How
sparkling is
the jade bottle
of rum here!
Who cares about
the laws of the tribe!
Lets drink it, without delay,
to the last drop,
the custom of my throat being
to reach for the rum,
Here's to rum!
I am not, oh Iharaira,
frightened of
you.
Let the tumbler be raised
to burn within,
with the intoxicating tonic of yours,
O Queen
Victoria,
now being snatched up eagerly
from the counter:
My shout! |
A P Ngata, Nga Moteatea, Part 3. p72
Puke ki Hikurangi newspaper,
Dec 1912
Maori songs - Kiwi songs
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Placed on NZFS website August 2020
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