Ruia, ruia, Opea, opea, Tahia, tahia Kia hemo ake Ko te kaka "koakoa" Kia herea mai. Te kawai koroki "Kia tatata mai" I roto i tana pūkorokoro Whai karo.1 He kuaka He kuaka marangaranga Kotahi manu I tau ki te tahuna Tau atu Tau atu Kua tau mai     Spreading out, scattering, then gathering, reforming, becoming as one again With death from exhaustion rising up the cry "koakoa"1 is the strand binding us together. The flock's cry2 of "Keep close together" comes from inside throats seeking to avoid death.3 A godwit a hovering godwit, one single bird,4 has landed on the sand bank. Another lands then others land Now all have landed here. 1 'Koakoa!' - 'Be happy!' or 'Keep your spirits up!'                   2  A nice poetic touch, but in fact most of the long flight would   be in silence, to conserve energy.                                     3  Some versions use 'whai koro' - 'seeking a sheltered bay.'        4  We need individual initiative as well as combined group action. Karakia Notice how this follows the traditional 3-part karakia structure - It mentions the great forces, some deadly, binding us to the spiritual world. Their harmful bonds are loosened, and their helpful ones strengthened. The third section indicates what is required from us for oneness with those spiritual forces. " We cut ourselves loose from what is destructive,   We bind ourselves to what is life-giving.    In the 'eternal present' of ritual, we become one with the atua." Godwits The Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri) are legendary shore wading birds renowned for their annual triangular hikoi from New Zealand to South China, to Alaska where they breed, and then back to New Zealand. Their stamina is legendary; not only is their 3- stage, 30,000 km journey a long one, but the godwits make no stop for rest or sustenance during each stage. On their 12,000 km flight back from Alaska, the parents and 3-month-old nestlings fly at 60 km/hr for 200 hours non-stop, losing half their body weight on the journey. Unlike seabirds, they cannot stop and eat fish during their journey. After the nestlings fly to New Zealand, they spend 3 or 4 winters here before sexual maturity and their first flight to the Arctic Circle to breed. Tauparapara This karakia recalling the Godwits' annual return is a metaphor for our own troubles, travels and homecomings. It is often used as as tauparapara, an introductory karakia at the beginning of a speech. Each northern tribe has its own variant of this basic story, so the version that is chanted tells listeners what tribe the speaker is from. Mervyn McLean collected many of these variations during his collecting trips in the 1960s and 70s. Ruia, ruia, tahia, tahia. Kia hemo te ka koa ... Ruia, ruia, tahia, tahia. Kia hemo te ka koakoa ... Ruia, ruia, tahia, tahia. Te hemo o te kakoakoa ... Ruia, ruia, tahia, tahia! Kia hemo ake te kakoakoa ... Ruia, ruia, tahia, tahia! Kia hemo te koa ko te kakoakoa ... Ruia, ruia, tahia, tahia! Kia hemo ake koa ko te ka koakoa ... Ruia ruia, tahia tahia! Kei hemo te kakua, Kia tataki mai i roto i te pakorokoro ... Ruia, ruia, tahia, tahia! Opeope a! Kia hemo te kakoakoa ... Ruia, ruia, ope ope e tahia tahia! Te hemo o te kakoakoa ... Ruia, ruia, opea, opea, tahia, tahia, Kia hemo te kakoakoa ... Ruia, ruia, opea, opea, tahia, tahia, whiria, whiria. Kia hemo ake te ka koakoa ...                                         Archive of Maori & Pacific Sounds [ruia ruia] An escape at the North Cape This Muriwhenua version recalls the historical escape of the Te Aupouri people at the North Cape from their enemies. Tahia, tahia, ruia, ruia Kia hemo ake te kākoa koa, Kia herea mai ki te kawau korokī. Kia tātaki mai ki roto i te pūkoro, whaikoro, He kūaka mārangaranga, Kotahi te manu i tau ki te tāhuna,  Tau atu, tau atu, tau atu! The Te Aupouri people were forced to move again and again due to Ngapuhi attacks. This Ruia Ruia chant recalls their escape from the barren island of Murimotu, (top right on map) where they had taken refuge from a Ngapuhi war-party. They plaited a long rope, and at night a strong swimmer swam with one end to the mainland so everyone could haul themselves on it to the beach there. Their leader Tumatahina had unusually large feet and made his people step carefully in his outsize footprints on the beach (tahi-a, "become as one") as they quietly slipped through the Ngapuhi lines at night. Next morning the enemy sentries saw only a single track in the sand and did not realise Murimotu Island had been abandoned, giving the Te Aupouri people time to reach safety 8 km south in Whare-ana, two large caves in the cliff near a stream of the same name.