NZ Folk Song * Tangaroa Whakamautai

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The cries of a pod of whales warn of impeding disaster in the oceans.
Men are emptying the oceans of its inhabitants, whilst heating, acidifying
and polluting the waters with chemicals, noise and plastic junk.

Te ararau o Tangaroa E rere ki te papa-uru-nui ¹ Tahora² nui ātea Te manawa o te moana Te mauri o Tangaroa Tangaroa whaka-mau-tai Tangaroa whakamautai		The hundred waterways of Tangaroa flow into the great ever-filling seabed. creating a vast featureless open sea the heart of the ocean the life-essence of Tangaroa Tangaroa, commander of the tides Tangaroa, commander of the tides
Tūtara Kauika ³ He poutiriao Te wai o Tangaroa Te wai o Tangaroa Te tangi a te tohorā ² He tohu nō aituā Te mau a Tangaroa Te mau a Tangaroa Tangaroa whakamautai		A pod of whales supernatural escorts arise from the waters of Tangaroa the waters of Tangaroa. The cry of the whale is a warning of calamity⁴ regarding the hold of Tangaroa the firm hold of Tangaroa Tangaroa, commander of the tides
He kaitiaki He taonga He tipua He ariki He taniwha He tipua He kaitiaki He taonga He tipua Tangaroa whakamautai		The whale is a guardian A treasure A strange being A commander A sea monster An object of fear A guardian A precious treasure A supernatural being of Tangaroa, commander of the tides.

1. Papa-uru-nui
Papa-uru-nui only appears once in Maori literature online, in Fishing Methods and Devices of the Maori, Elsdon Best (1929). Fishing nets as big as 30m deep and 2000m long were woven, and then folded onto a platform between two large waka. The net was let out as this craft was slowly moved in a curved line out from the beach and back again. As the net touched the water the fishing expert chanted....

Tena te pou o Tangaroa,
te pou ka rere
Ka rere ki moana nui,
ki moana roa
Ki moana potango,
ki moana pouri, ki moana huakina
Papa uru nui o Tangaroa
Tena te pou ka rere.

This is the ribbon of Tangaroa
the ribbon flowing out,
flowing into the great sea,
into the ongoing sea
into the dark sea
into the mysterious, rushing sea
the great entered seabed of Tangaroa.
This is the ribbon flowing out.

2. Tahora / Tohorā (and Tāhora)
Don't get these words mixed up. Tahora is the open sea, or uncultivated open land. Tohorā or tohoraha is properly the balleen or Southern "right" whale, but the word is often used for any whale. Otherwise, Ika Moana is used to describe whales in general. (Tāhora is gathering fruit off a tree)

4. Aituā = warning?
The record company's official translation is The cry of the whale signals a warning of the power of Tangaroa. But 'warning' is whaka-ohiti in Maori, and aituā is a disaster resulting from a violation of the natural order.

3. Tutara Kauika
Tū-tara (Remaining-topside) Kau-ika (Swimming-fishlike) is the name of the mythical guardian whale ancestor, the giant kng of the whales. But a pod of several adult whales looks like one giant whale and is thus personified as Tutara Kuaika.

Maisy Rika is from Whakatane, and would know the old story of Te Tahi o Te Rangi, a tohunga at Whakatane who so frightened everybody with his occult powers that they invited him across to the volcanic White Island to harvest mutton birds - then abandoned him there.

But Te Tahi cast a spell summoning Tutara Kauika from the depths, swam out to the great whale, climbed on his back and was carried past the waka of the treacherous villagers home to Whakatane. The full story of Te Tahi

Maisy Rika

Mei-Alicia Rika was born in Whakatane in 1983. She is from Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Awa, Tūhoe and Te Arawa on her mother's side, and Samoan on her father's side.

She attended Saint Joseph‘s Maori Girls College and was the soloist for “Te Hine,” an award-winning album of classical Maori songs recorded by the school choir in 1998. Since then, she has made another four albums of her own original songs, and has toured Europe, Asia and the USA sharing these songs, which have also featured in movies and TV programs.

She is married to Bosy Hill and they have 2 children.

Song List - Other Maori songs - Home

Published on Folksong.org.nz in April 2019. Edited November 2020