Tangihia

NEW ZEALAND FOLK ^* SONG	Tangihia lyrics Polly Whatarau 1964 arranged Bill Kerekere c. 1965

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Young people call on their leaders to impart to them the nurturing culture of their ancestors.

Tangihia, tangihia o tātou aitua Kua wehea atu rā ki te pō Nō reira āwhinatia mai te kaupapa rā Whaka-mahara-tanga ki a rātou mā Kia mau ki ō tikanga me to reo Māori Hei tauira mauri ki te iwi, aue.	Weep, weep for our dead Who have departed from us into the night Therefore when you assist us in today's programme Remember them Hold firm to your traditions and to your Maori language As a living example to the people, yes!
Ka huri ki mihi ki nga rōpu o te rohe. Toru atu nei ngā ringaringa o tēnei rōpu Kia kotahi rā tātou ki roto i tēnei wa Ki te tautoko aka ki tō tātou Māoritanga Ki kaha rā, aue! No reira hōmai ki a au te mata o tō mana Tātou ka whakakite atu ki te ao katoa Maranga rā, āwhiniatia te karanga Hui e, taiki e, kia ora rā, aue!	We turn and greet the groups of the district. Stretched forth are the hands of this group Let us be as one in this period of time devoted to strengthening our Maori culture Be strong, aye! Therefore give us the source of your spiritual power And we will show it to the whole world. Arise, support the call Let us all gather together, intertwine, and do well, aye!
E ngā iwi e tau nei, pōwhiritia rā E aku rangitira karangatia rā, aue. He mihi nui atu ki ngā taitamariki Haere mai, haere mai, aue He kupu karanga te rangatahi aue Tēnei rā te kaupapa; āwhinatia rā Homai te mātauranga, tautokohia rā Horahia mai ki a au aku toa tūpuna Hui e, taiki e, whakrongo, x2 Tēnā rā koutou Tihe, hi aue hei, mauri ora, Taiki e.	To all the people gathered here, greetings; To our esteemed leaders, especially. This is a great tribute to us young people Welcome, welcome, goodness me! The topic is the young generation, and this is its purpose - to assist us to give us knowledge and to support us. Let it spread to us from our accomplished ancestors Let's gather together, intertwine, listen to each other x2 Greetings to you all The first breath, indeed, the breath of life That sums it up.

Guitar Chords

Intro: D Bm G A

D          Fm        G         D   D7
Tangihia, tangihia o tatou aitua
G         Gm           D    D7
Kua wehea atu ra ki te po
         G          Gm        D Db D   D7
No reira awhinatia  mai te kaupapa ra
        G          Gm         A     A7
Whaka-mahara-tanga ki a ratou ma
D          Fm        G            D     D7
Kia mau ki o tikanga me to reo Maori
G          Gm            D           D7
Hei tauira mauri ki te iwi(iiiii), aue.              

G                             E        E7
Ka huri ki mihi ki nga ropu o te rohe
Am                            D          D7
Toru atu nei nga ringaringa o tenei ropu
C                             G          E7
Kia kotahi ra tatou ki roto i tenei wa
Am                   G        D             D7
Ki te tautoko aka ki to tatou Maoritanga Ki kaha ra, aue!
G                                E       E7
No reira homai ki a au te mata o to mana
Am                              D        D7
Tatou ka whakakite atu ki te ao katoa
C                           G        E7
Maranga ra, awhiniatia te karanga
Am           D          G          Am D
Hui e, taiki e, kia ora ra, aue! 

G                           E        E7
E nga iwi e tau nei, powhiritia ra
Am                     D             D7
E aku rangitira karangatia ra
C                           G          E7
He mihi nui atu ki nga taitamariki
      Am         G         D             D7
Haere mai, haere mai, He kupu karanga te rangatahi
G                          E        E7
Tenei ra te kaupapa; awhinatia ra
Am                          D          D7
Homai te matauranga, tautokohia ra
C                           G        E7
Horahia mai ki a au aku toa tupuna
Am           D         G     Am  D ....
Hui e, taiki e, whakarongo

History

Tangihia evolved from Cuando Calienta el Sol, written in Nicaragua in the 1950s by Rafael Gaston Perez.

In 1961 Michael Vaughn and/or Sunny Skylar put English lyrics to Perez' tune to create Love Me With All Your Heart. The Ray Charles Singers' version of this was top of the hit parades for several weeks in 1964. This was the rangi used by Mrs Whatarau for the last two verses of Tangihia.

Later groups who sang Tangihia used a modified version of Mrs Whatarau's work. The oldest recording of Tangihia in the National Library is a c.1965 LP, Maori Songs and Hakas, by the Waihirere Maori Club. On the cover of this album, the composer of Tangihia is given as Bill Kerekere, the founder of the Gisborne-based club.

Polly Whatarau

"Polly" Pareawa Otene was born at Hastings in about 1917 and married James Tipuna Whatarau in 1936. They had three daughters, Virginia (Sullivan), Isabel (Cowan) and Rona.

Mrs Whatarau excelled at performing, composing and translating waiata, and formed the Te Awapuni Maori Concert Party. In 1954 they traveled to the South Island, where their performances focused national attention on the depth of Maori skill at performance and stage presentation, with their unique combination of Maori kapahaka, popular songs in English, and very high performance standards.

Kapahaka had been added to the usual English popular songs in JC Williamson's 1903 musical comedy "Tapu," and Te Puea's concert group had performed both kapahaka and popular English-language songs in in the 1920s, to raise money for building Turangawaewae, but Mrs Whatarau developed this combination quite independently after her daughters Virginia (9) and Isobel (7) won a talent quest in about 1946, and then began singing popular songs on a Hastings radio show.

In the concert party Mrs Whatarau included Virginia and Isabel and the young Howard Morrison, who performed as the Clive Trio, and European entrepreneur Benny Levin added his business skills and management know-how to the running of the concerts.

Thus, Mrs Whatarau's work with the Te Awapuni Maori Concert Party laid the foundation for the international Maori showbands of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. As well as mixing modern pop songs with traditional Maori numbers, she pioneered performances that combined natural exuberance, charm and musical talent with strenuous self-discipline, adaptability, and hard work. The Maori Hi Fives and other groups were soon imitating these attributes of Te Awapuni, while the Howard Morrison Quartet and her daughter Isobel's touring group both evolved directly from it.

Mrs Whatarau died in Aug 1978. Some of the other songs that she composed are Tena ra koutou, Nei ra matou, Nei te Reo, Wetewetehia and Moonbeam Shining.

Sources: Hina, V. A. 2009, Waretini-Karena, D. 2009

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Page published on the NZ Folksong website, May 3rd 2011. Modified for small screens Apr 2021