Our School Waiata / Songs
Particular waiata are often chosen because the words support a particular kaupapa (situation or context), or a particular speaker and their whaikorero, they may also be chosen to show respect for a particular Iwi or hapu or for a feature of the landscape. If guests choose the same waiata that we may have prepared then we would quickly choose another. The waiata are an important and integral part of the exchange between groups.
Raglan Area School have a number of waiata that we consider our own including ‘Whakamau’ written by Wini Bidois. Other waiata demonstrate our connections to tangata whenua and to local Hapu and Iwi. Choosing the appropriate waiata is an art in itself and is done quickly and discreetly. We are thankful to have experts on the staff to guide the process.
The waiata listed below are some of those that we often use. There are others that will be added to the list in time. There are others that belong to particular groups in the kura that are not listed. Those listed are in the public domain and we encourage you to listen to and learn them, especially Whakamau.
Whakamau
Na Wini Bidois
Whakamau te titiro
Ki Kawhia moana, ki Kawhia kai, ki Kawhia tangata
Te urunga tapu o Tainui
Whakawhiti atu ra Te Aroaro O Kahu ki Arekehanara
Te haona kaha o Matutaera
E huri to kanohi ki te Tihi o Kakepuku ki te tai whakarunga ko Maniapoto
Ka tika ra tona korero, Tamaki ki raro, Mokau ki runga, Mangatoatoa ki waenganui
Titiro tawhiti ra ko Maungatautari
Te oko horoi I Kemureti e
Whakaheke atu ra ki te riu o Waikato
Ki Ngaruawahia, Turangawaewae mo te ao katoa
Whakatau atu ra te maunga Taupiri
Ko te rua koiwi e
Hoki komuri mai ki Te Hauauru, ko Whaingaroa
E kiia nei tona korero
Tainui A Whiro, ngunguru te ao, ngunguru te po
Au, au, aue ha … Kokiri!
Tuturu o whiti whakamaua! Kia tina
Tina!
Hui e,
Taiki e!!
EXPLANATION OF “WHAKAMAU”
Composer: Wini Bidois Year: 1989
Join me as we go on a spiritual journey to places of historical significance to the Tainui Waka.
Our journey begins at Whaingaroa. We gaze fixedly across to the shores of Kāwhia where in the early days of our ancestors arrival there was a plentiful supply of food from the land, forests and sea. Of major significance is the resting place of the Tainui Waka at Kawhia.
We continue our journey as we navigate the Pirongia range (Te Aroaro-o-Kahu) to Pirongia (Arekehānara). Kīngi Tāwhiao (also known as Matutaera, Methuselah the second Māori King) and his followers took refuge there during the land wars where they lived for a period of twenty one years. When Tāwhiao came out of exile he referred to Arekehānara, in the first part of one of his most famous proverbs:
“Ko Arekehānara tōku hāona kaha.” Alexandra my symbol, of strength of character.
We continue our journey as we gaze at the summit of Kakepuku and beyond to the territory of Ngāti Maniapoto, which according to the proverb:
“Tāmaki ki raro, Mōkau ki runga, Mangatoatoa ki waenganui.” Tāmaki (Auckland) in the north, Mōkau in the south, Mangatoatoa in the centre, thus defining the northern and southern boundaries of Tainui.
We gaze into the distance to Maungatautari and to Cambridge, where Tāwhiao and his followers travelled to pay their respects to his people who had been killed, and referred to by him in the second part of the proverb:
“Ko Kemureti tōku oko horoi!” Cambridge, my washbowl of sorrow!
We descend to the valley of the Waikato where Tāwhiao and his followers paid homage at the tomb of his father, Kīngi Pōtatau, in which he made reference to the third part of the proverb:
“Ko Ngāruawāhia tōku tūrangawaewae!” Ngāruawāhia my footstool!
We pay homage at Taupiri Maunga, the burial place of the Māori Kings as we end our spiritual journey at Whaingaroa, with the final proverb:
“Tainui-a-Whiro, ngunguru te ao, ngunguru te pō!” The seas of Whiro roaring continuously day and night’
Whakaaria mai
Whakaaria mai
To ripeka ki au
Tiaho mai
Ra roto I te po
Hei kona au
Titiro atu ai
Ora mate
Hei au koe noho ai
Whakaaria mai
To ripeka ki au
Tiaho mai
Ra roto I te po
Hei kona au
Titiro atu ai
Ora mate
Hei au koe noho ai
Ora mate
Hei au koe noho ai
Amine
TRANSLATION:
The tune of Whakaaria mai is the hymn How Great Thou Art, which was written in 1886 by a Swedish pastor, Carl Boberg, after he was caught in a sudden thunderstorm while out in the countryside.In time the hymn was translated into Russian and was learnt by Stuart Hine, a British missionary working in the Ukraine. Hine later translated it into English. An American preacher, Billy Graham made it well-known in English-speaking societies.
| Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout the universe displayedThen sings my soul my savior God to Thee How great Thou art How great Thou art Then sings my soul my savior God to Thee How great Thou art how great Thou art. |
Abide With Me
The words of Whakaaria mai are a loose translation of the last verse of “Abide with Me,” composed by Scottish Anglican Minister Henry Francis Lyte. He wrote this hymn in 1847 as he lay dying of tuberculosis, and he survived only a further three weeks after its completion.
| Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies; Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. |
Whakaaria mai Tōu rīpeka ki au Tiaho mai Ra roto i te pō Hei kona au Titiro atu ai.Ora, mate, Hei au koe noho ai |
Show your cross to me. Let it shine there in the darkness. To there I will be looking.In life, in death, let me rest in thee. |
Toia
Toia mai te waka nei
Kumea mai te waka nei
Ki te takotoranga I takoto ai
Tiriti te mana motuhake
Te tangi a te manu nei
Pipiwharauroa
Kui kui kui
Whiti whiti ora
Hui e
Taiki e
(Haka tama)
Totoia kume kumea
I te kokoma I te ko komako
Ko te hau tapu e rite ki te kai tapu na
Matariki
Tapa reireia koia tapa
Tapa konunua koia ana tukua
(leader)Hi aue Hi
Ko Whaingaroa e ngunguru nei(2x)
Hi au au aue Ha
(leader)I A Ha Ha!
ka tu te ihi ka tu te wanawana
ki runga I te rangi e tu iho nei
tu iho nei
hi aue hi
EXPLANATION:
This chant is commonly used when calling visitors onto a marae, just after the karanga.
A woman from the host side will first call (karanga) to indicate to the visitors (manuhiri) to move forward on to the marae. A woman from the manuhiri then returns the call as the manuhiri move forward onto the marae. The purpose of these two karanga is to weave a spiritual rope to allow the waka of the manuhiri to be pulled on to the marae.
After the women doing the karanga have woven the rope, the haka pōwhiri pulls on the canoe of the manuhiri, hence the reason ‘Tōia mai te waka’ is used at so many pōwhiri.
The call of the haka powhiri likens the arrival of the group of visitors to the safe arrival of a canoe, with its paddlers and passengers, to the shore. The voices of the haka powhiri symbolically represent the rope by which the visitors are pulled safely onto the marae.
Often those doing the pōwhiri hold greenery in their hands. The greenery should be specially chosen ensuring that there are both light and dark leaves, (often silver fern and kawakawa) representing life and death, and reminding us that that life and death are interwoven.
This theme of interwoven life and death is often reinforced by following Tōia Mai with the Ka mate, ka mate; kia ora, kia ora chant.
E Noho E Ata
E noho e Tuheitia te hiri o Waikato
E huri tō kānohi ki te Hau-ā-uru
Ngā tai e ngünguru i waho o Te Akau
Āue hei āue! (hīāue) x2
Tō pikitanga ko te āo o te rangi
Tō heketanga ko Kārioi maunga
Tō hoenga waka ko Whaingāroa
Āue hei āue! (hīāue) x2
Takahia atu rā te moana i Aotea
Kia whatiwhati koe i te hua o te miro
Te tihi o Moerangi te puke okiokinga
Āue hei āue! (hīāue) x2
Puia ō mata ki Kāwhia Moana
Ki Kāwhia kai, ki Kāwhia tangata
Ko te kupu tēnā a ō tūpuna
Āue hei āue! (hīāue) x2
E huri tō kānohi ki Pīrongia Maunga
Ki te rohe potae ki Arekahānara
Ko te hāona kaha o te rungarunga rawa
Āue hei āue! (hīāue) x2
Pākia ō ringa ki te Kauhanganui
Te Paki o Matariki ngā whakaoati
Ko Kemureti rā tōna oko hōroi
Āue hei āue! (hīāue) x2
E tū tō wai ki kei o Tainui
Tēnei tō hoe ki te tekau-mā-rua
Ngā tai e mārino i waho o Karewā
Āue hei āue! (hīāue) x2
E hoe tō waka ki Ngāruawāhia
Tūrangawaewae mō te āo katoa
Ko te tongi whakamutunga a Matutāera
Āue hei āue! (hīāue) x2
Tairi te aroha i ahā hā
Toro mai ō ringa me aroha tāua
Āue Hikitia! Āue Hāpainga!. Āue hei āue! (hīāue) x2
He Honore (Himene)
He honore, he kororia
Maungarongo ki te whenua
Whakaaro pai e ki nga tangata katoa
Ake, ake, ake, ake, amine
Te Atua, te piringa, toku oranga
TRANSLATION:
Honour, glory and
peace to the land
May good thoughts come
to all men
for ever and ever, for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Lord is the refuge
and my life.
Karioi
I nga wa o mua, ko Karewa, te tane a Karioi
I puremu ki a Pirongia aue te mamae
Ka panangia e Karioi I a Karewa ki te moana
I hurihia ki ana tamariki e piata mai ra.
Atawhaitia a Karioi
Manaakitia a ia.
Whakamaramatia i nga tohu o te taiao.
Hei arahi I a matou e Hei arahi I a matou e
No Whaingaroa a Karioi,
Te maunga o te taitamatane
Kei te taha o te moana, e tu ana ia.
Ataahua tona ahua he wahine whakahirahira
Ka rere ona makawe e heke ana ki te moana
Atawhaitia a Karioi….
E rere e nga waiora hei rongoa mo te ao katoa whoatu ratou te oranga ki te manawa. Nga rakau kei runga I a Karioi nga manu e rere ana e te kaitiaki a Karioi ko Tanemahuta.
Atawhaitia a Karioi…
No Poihakena nga kararehe kino o Karioi
He maha nga kararehe kino I te wao nui a Tanemahuta
kia tupato ra
E rakuraku ana e kai ana I nga hua o te rakau e
Kaua e turakina nga rakau o te maunga nei
Kaore matou e pirangi I enei kararehe hoha
Te mamae te mamae o Karioi
Te mamae te mamae o Karioi
E tangi ana ia kua ngaro haere nga taonga e
Atawhaitia a Karioi… Hei ha
Katohia
Katohia he wai mau
Ka eke ki te puaha o Waikato
te awa
He piko he taniwha
He piko he taniwha
Kia tupato ra kei tahuri koe
I nga au kaha o Waikato
Whakamau te titiro ki tawhiti ra
Ko Taupiri te maunga
Potatau te tangata
Te mauri o te motu e
E hoe to waka ki Ngaruawahia
Turangawaewae mo te ao katoa
Te tongi whakamutunga a Matutaera
Aue hoki aue
Purea Nei (Poi/waiata-a-ringa/whakangahau)
Purea nei e te hau
Horoia e te ua
Whitiwhitiria e te ra
Mahea ake nga poraruraru
Makere ana nga here
E rere
E rere wairua e rere
Ki nga ao o te rangi
Whitiwhitiria e te ra
Mahea ake nga poraruraru
Makere ana nga here
Makere ana nga here Purea nei
Te Marama I Te Po (Waiata aroha/tautoko)
Te marama i te po nei
Nga whetu i te rangi
Oho ake i te ao nei
Papaki kau ana e
Me pewhea ra nei
E mutu ai te aroha
Me rukuruku pea
Nga wai o Whaingaroa e
TRANSLATION:
The Moon in the night
and the Stars in the sky.
You awaken, o Maiden
to a gentle tapping.
So how will you, oh Maiden
cease your pining?
By diving into
the waters of Whaingaroa?
Te Aroha
Himine waiata tautoko
Te Aroha
Te Whakapono
Me te Rangimarie
Tatou tatou e
Te Aroha
Te Whakapono
Me te Rangimarie
Tatou tatou e
TRANSLATION:
Love
Faith
And peace
Be amongst us all
Tau Ka Tau (Haka)
Tau ka tau
Tau ka tau
Tau ka tau ki runga Waikato whanga ia mai nei
Nge, nge, nge ara tū ara tē ara tau
Tahi ka riri, toru ka wha
Homai ō kupu kia wetewetea, wetewetea, ara tū ara tē ara tau
Descending/ approaching
Descending/ approaching
Descending upon Waikato, who await you here
And prepare for your arrival
There will be continuous battle
Give me your threats and I shall make short work of them, in the heat of battle
A haka is more than just a challenge
Emphasis should be taken away from the haka being used as just a “challenge”, as this stereotypical view can be misleading and often takes focus away from the true purpose of haka. The meaning behind a haka often depends on the context in which it is being performed. Below are some more examples of how haka can be used.
Acknowledgement
This involves honouring distinguished individuals or groups. Haka can be used as a gesture of thanks or endearment.
Celebration
Haka is often performed in pure celebration of a significant event. Its performance represents the unification of the people performing it under a common celebratory idea or belief.
Boost moral
An example of this is the performance of haka by supporters at sports games to inspire the players on the field.
Haka tautoko (haka of support)
Haka can be used in support for a speech to further emphasise or add mana to the speech’s message and / or the speaker.
Haka powhiri (haka of welcome)
Haka can be used to welcome people to a significant event.