#waiata

Marlon Williams' album of waiata Māori coming out the same day as the Committee report making it clear exactly how unpopular the Treaty Principles Bill is was a gift to me, personally.

Pōkarekare ana ngā wai o Waiapu, Whiti atu koe hine marino ana e

E hine e, hoki mai rā. Ka mate ahau i te aroha e

The waters of Waiapu are agitated But when you cross over, girl, they will be calm

Oh girl, please come back to me I am dying of love for you

Pōkarekare Ana is a well-known Maori folk song that had its origins in the First World War. Likely composed by members of the Maori Pioneer Battalion sometime during/after 1916.

The song depicts one of the most famous Maori Myths, the romantic tale of Hinemoa a noble woman (who in the version of the story i was raised on) swam 3.5 km across Lake Rotorua and battled a Taniwha to be with her beloved Tūtānekai, a man who dwelt on Mokoia Island.

The song has become a staple of New Zealand Culture, known widely among both Pakeha and Maori.

(With my favourite rendition sung by Prince Tui Teka)

We're listening to Poi E in my te reo Māori class.

Dalvanius Prime did the tune, the lyrics were written by Ngoi Pewhairangi, and the song was performed by the The Pātea Māori Club.

When the song came out in 1984, record companies in Aotearoa had no interest in recording or promoting songs in te reo Māori. So Prime created his own record company to distribute the song himself. Although radio stations wouldn't touch it, its brief appearance in an Eyewitness News segment brought it the attention it needed. It quickly became popular within the Māori breakdancing scene which brought further attention to the song as it was performed on the street. Poi e eventually reached the number one spot in the national charts.

You can find the lyrics in both te reo Māori and English here.

Alien Weaponry

Ahi ka

Kai Tangata

Tangaroa

Drax Project

I Moeroa

Maisey Rika

Matariki i te po

Ruaimoko (ataata ataahua!)

Waiti Waita

Modern Māori Quartet

Māreikura

Rob Ruha

I te po

Wakakura

E ra e taku poi tītahara ra

Whakarunga, whakararo

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, declared that the country will go into a nationwide lockdown from March 26 (Singapore time).

Six Singaporean youths took the last flight back from New Zealand before the lockdown commenced.

Out of appreciation for the SIA crew, they performed a Maori song, known as the waiata, aboard the plane.

The six students are from the New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington, studying full-time classical ballet or contemporary dance, according to Stuff.

They said they were thankful for the “amazing cabin crew”, who were willing to take just the six of them back to Singapore over 10 hours on this “rescue flight”.

[vid source]

[text source]