A
song to boost the morale of the descendants of the
15th century tribal leader Tahu-pōtiki, calling on his
spirit to guide them in the future. It was sung at a
remembrance service in Christchurch
after the destructive 2010-11 earthquakes
there.
Tahu-pōtiki
tāku tupuna
Hoki wairua mai arohaina e
Ki ō uri e karanga ake rā
Aratakina tō iwi, auē
Aoraki te maunga ariki
Hei whaka-maru te iwi kei raro
Takitimu waka whakairo
Hoea hoea rā te moana
Auē e Koro e
Hei whaka-mahana
Kore rawa koe e warewaretia
Huakina mai rā ki ō tamariki
Ngā tikanga o ngā mātua tīpuna
Aoraki te maunga ariki
Hei whakamaru te iwi kei raro
Takitimu waka whakairo
Hoea hoea rā te moana
Ngāi Tahu te iwi ki Te Wai-pounamu
Maranga mai!
Tahu-pōtiki,
my ancestor may your spirit
bring back compassion
to us your offspring, calling for
your tribe to be led, alas.
May Mount Cook
our sacred mountain
protect this tribe
here below. May Takitimu, our
sacred voyaging craft still carry us upon
this sea of life.
Oh Grandfather,
you warmed our hearts.
You will never be forgotten.
Revealed to your children are
the teachings of the ancestors.
May Mt Cook our sacred mountain
protect this
tribe here below. May Takitimu our
sacred voyaging craft still carry us
upon the sea of life
Oh, Tahu's descendants in the South Island rise up!
Ruahine Crofts
'Tahupōtiki’ is a waiata written by Ruahine Crofts
(1930-2010) for Ngāi Tūāhuriri kapa haka group in
the early 1980s. At this time, she was working with
Christchurch youth at risk. She could see that they
needed guidance back into the Māori world, a world
where they could connect with their culture and
identity. A natural teacher, keeper of traditional
marae culture, tutor of kapa haka, composer, weaver
and a caller on the marae, she was well placed to
provide the kind of help needed.
The song identifies the singers as descendants of
Tahupōtiki. It acknowledges their link with the
sacred mountain, Aoraki, that marks their home
territory, and refers to their ancestral ocean-going
catamaran, Takitimu, which connects them with their
wider Polynesian culture.
Tahu-pōtiki
‘Tahu-pōtiki (tahu - of the senior line, pōtiki -
youngest) is the founder of the Ngai Tahu tribe. He
was the younger brother of Porou-rangi, the founder
of Ngāti Porou. He was raised at Whangara on the
East Coast. Their gt-gt-grandfather was Paikea
(circa 1350AD).
In around 1500AD, Tahu-pōtiki took over the
captaincy of the Takitimu waka on a cruise to the
South Island, married a woman on the South-west
Coast, and then returned to Whangara when
Porourangi died. Subsequent generations of
Tahu-pōtiki’s family migrated south to Hawke’s
Bay, then to the Wairarapa, then in the 1600s to
Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington).
In the early 1700s they began crossing to the
South Island. Some formed an alliance with Kāti
Mamoe in the Nelson area, and others pushed
further south, conquering Kaikoura. By the 1730s
Ngāi Tahu had settled in Canterbury. Through
conquest and strategic marriages, they enveloped
the tribe of Waitahā, the original settlers of the
South Island, who lived in Otago and Southland.
Ngāi Tahu traditions and language strongly
reflect their joint Waitahā and Kāti Mamoe
heritage, more so than their East Coast
origins. Thus Tahu-pōtiki’s impact on his
South Island whānau is a distant one. But his
legacy lives on: Ngāi Tahu is the third largest
tribe in the country.
