NZ Folk Song * Waiaroha

Maori songs - Kiwi songs - Home

This waiata speaks of the changing nature of relationships between lovers.
It metaphorically expresses the journey of life and love through the symbol
of a fern leaf on a river, with all currents eventually flowing to the sea, the
symbol of boundless unity.

V 1 Maringi noa ngā roimata Kahu ai te pōuri Pokepokea mai te māramatanga O ngā whetū	When tears flow freely and sadness grows, then formed is the understanding from the stars.
Chorus Wai ka ripo, wai ka huri te rau aruhe Aue, pupū – hihī Mirimiri te rau aruhe [E] tanuku i ngā waipuke	The waters swirl, spinning the bracken leaf oh, bubbling - hissing rubbing the bracken leaf until it collapses in the floods
Wai aroha rere tōtika Rere tika ki te moana Waiho ngā pikotanga Kia aio te rere, te rere Kaua e papaki kino e wai I ngā pari e tāwharau nei Te aruhe taku rau taonga. Wai-aroha, wai-marino.	Waters of love flow smoothly Straight towards the sea ignoring the bends so that the flow is calmer, flowing with no harmful slapping by the water onto the cliffs while it is sheltering here. The bracken is my treasured leaf carried on waters of love, on tranquil waters.
V 2 Hikina te pō; haruru te ao, haruru te wai I nga kōawa o aku mahara Pōraruraru noa	The night moves; the earth rumbles, the water roars in the valleys of my memory so confusingly.
Wai ka ripo, wai ka huri te rau aruhe Aue, pupū – hihī Mirimiri te rau aruhe (E) tanuku i ngā waipuke	The waters swirl, spinning the bracken leaf oh, bubbling - hissing brushing the bracken leaf until it collapses in the floods
Wai aroha rere tōtika Rere tika ki te moana Waiho ngā pikotanga Kia aio te rere, te rere Kaua e papaki kino e wai I ngā pari e tāwharau nei. Te aruhe taku rau taonga Wai-aroha, wai-marino	Waters of love flow smoothly Straight towards the sea ignoring the bends so that the flow is calmer, flowing with no harmful slapping by the water onto the cliffs while it is sheltering there. The bracken is my treasured leaf carried on waters of love, on calm waters.
Bridge Taupatupatu, pōteretere te rau aruhe Kati te kō e wai. I te rau, e whana nei e koe.	In conflict, back and forth goes the bracken leaf obstructing the path of the water. Like the leaf, you will spring back here.
Wai aroha rere tōtika Rere tika ki te moana Waiho ngā pikotanga Kia aio te rere, te rere Kaua e papaki kino e wai I ngā pari e tāwharau nei Te aruhe taku rau taonga Wai-aroha, wai-marino	Waters of love flow smoothly Straight towards the sea ignoring the bends so that the flow is calmer, flowing with no harmful slapping of water onto the cliffs while it is sheltering there. The bracken is my treasured leaf carried on waters of love, on peaceful waters.

My translation

I met many interesting river kupu for the first time in these lyrics. Kōawa, river bed. Pari, cliff. Pikotanga, bend. Waipuke, flood. Tōtika, smooth (waters). Aio, calm (waters). Haruru, roaring. Hihi, hissing. Mirimiri, rubbing. Papaki, slapping. Pōteretere, bobbing. Rere, flowing. Ripo, swirling. Thanks Rob.

The dictionary tells me pōteretere can mean going back and forth and also dripping wet, while pō teretere can mean going down quickly. I have seen bracken fronds stuck between rocks in the rapids continually bobbing down and quickly flicking back up. That is the image I see here.

I'm not sure if I found the correct meaning of the line I te rau e whana nei e koe. Can anyone express this, or any other line, in better English? Please email me [email protected]

Chords

The song's chords can be found here.... ChordU.

Imagery from nature

Rob Ruha is following old Maori traditions in Waiaroha when he sketches a troubled scene in nature that finds resolution and connects to our human condition.

The same format was used in karakia to identify the forces of nature that are at work connecting us to the atua, the ancestral spirits.

Whakataka te hau ki te tonga ...
Get ready for the southerly wind
    (destructive forces)
Kia mākinakina ki uta ...
It will be icy cold inland
    (...but windless, as the forces change for the better)
E hī ake ana te atākura he tio ...
The dawn will soon be rising red-tipped on ice
    (with warm sun uniting us to the atua)
Haumi e! Hui e! Tāiki e! ... Join! All together! Intertwine!

This format has also been used in more recent songs and chants.

Tiaho mai ra te whetu ...
Shining over there is the morning star,
a sign that love does not turn away
Pō karekare ...
Dark and troubled are the waters,
but if you cross over them, all will be calm.
Pō atarau ... On a moonlit night I see in a dream you going away:
farewell, but return again.
Rimurimu teretere ... Seaweed drifting, floating out to sea
(a mother grieving for her dead daughter)
E pā tō hau he wini raro ...
the wind from the north touches me, bringing loving memories.

Rob Ruha

Rob Ruha (Ngati Porou, Tainui, Ngati Tuwharetoa, Te Arawa, Nga Puhi) is a Maori composer and solo artist of a new generation. Coming from a long line of Maori artists, Rob was raised with dance, haka, song and a legacy of innovation in a Maori-speaking community at Rotorua.

Rob has the rare ability of weaving together sound and rhythm to conjure emotions. In some of his songs, he protests the social impact of destructive political behavior on indigenous communities, and then he then presents remedies inspired by prophetic movements and by his life as a marae boy, a husband, a father, and follower of the Ringatu faith.

In 2013, under the mentorship of Maisey Rika, he began a career as a solo artist with a unique style coined haka-soul, and since then he has gone on to win many NZMA, APRA, VNZMA and Kapa Haka awards.

Video

The video was produced for Maori Language Week 2015, using a song Rob had composed several years earlier. Maisy Rika joined Rob in the singing, Marcus Winter drew the sand art, Cilla Ruha danced the poi, and filming was at Mitai Village it Rotorua by Velvet Stone Media.

Maori songs - Kiwi songs - Home

Webpage put onto folksong.org.nz website August 2018