Our School Waiata / Songs

Our school often has the opportunity to waiata: as support for hui and speakers; for creating an inclusive atmosphere in classes and within the school; and also at events and when visiting.  We also enjoying having a repertoire for entertainment and the sheer pleasure of singing together.

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.

Print a copy of our school waiata.

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 displayed
Then 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
Tīhei Mauri ora e,

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
Kaea: Waikato te awa katohia katohia he wai mau

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)
Kaea: Makere ana nga here

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)
Below is one way of translating our school haka. The words translated like this would indicate that this is a haka powhiri.

 

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.