Ki hea rā āu e hītekiteki² ana
Ka mau tonu i āhau ōku tikanga
Tōku reo, tōku oho-oho,
Tōku reo, tōku māpihi maurea³
Tōku whakakai marihi
My language is my strength,
An ornament of grace

Wherever I may roam
I will hold fast to my traditions.
My language is my cherished possession
My language is the object of my affection
My precious adornment
My language is my strength,
An ornament of grace

Ke hea rā āu e hītekiteki ana
Ka mau tonu i āhau ōku tikanga
Tōku reo, tōku oho-oho,
Tōku reo, tōku māpihi maurea
Tōku whakakai marihi
My language is my strength,
An ornament of grace

Wherever I may roam
I will hold fast to my traditions.
My language is my cherished possession
My treasured Tiger Shell
My precious ornament
My language is my strength,
An ornament of grace

This is an abbreviated form of a whakatauki or old proverb that has been handed down through the generations.

The full proverb is
"E kore au e ngaro, he kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea,"
I shall never be lost, a seed scattered from Rangiatea.

Traditionally speaking, Rangiatea or Ra'iatea, an island north-west of Tahiti, held the ancient shrine at which the Tahitian people gathered to render homage to Io, the supreme god of Hawaiki Nui, the land that the ancestors of the Maori people came from.

Rangiatea is also the historic Anglican church at Otaki, so named at Te Rauparaha's bidding.

Under its altar is soil from the marae atea of Ra'iatea.

By 1843 Agustus Hadfield was spreading the seeds of love of the supreme being from this building.

In 1995 a Maori radical Frank Shaw burnt down Rangiatea, claiming the Anglican Church had betrayed Maoridom. Rangiatea at Otaki

But rather than asking where is Rangiatea, we might ask WHAT is it?
In literal terms Rangi atea is a " clear sky."
Better might be the abstract "clear spiritual realm," or "a state of enlightenment."

2. Hītekiteki
   Drifting lightly, roaming.

Teki means "to lightly scrape" or "a deck," and Hī is "to raise up."
So Hī-teki-teki "raise-up-after-lightly-scraping-the-deck," is usually translated as tiptoeing.

But here we are reminded of "tiptoeing" thistledown, drifting on the wind, just touching the earth and then lifting off again, carrying its tiny seed onwards to fertile ground.

So too, when young adults are on their OE, they briefly touch down then drift away again, but they carry the seed of their culture with them, ready to flourish when they finally settle in receptive society.

Mapihi is literally a personal ornament.

Maurea is a Tiger Shell sea-snail.
It is found on rocky shores of the upper North Island of NZ.
It is not common and it has a beautiful shell pattern, so it is much prized.

Ornamental belts woven from Carex beach-grass may copy the Tiger Shell pattern. "He maurea kia whiria." "Weaving a tiger-shell belt."

So the literal meaning of māpihi maurea is "an ornamental belt woven in the tiger shell style."

"Hey, I'm really fond of this belt." Fondness for a particular dress adornment has given the phrase a figurative meaning.
Māpihi maurea = object of affection.

Maurea tigris

4. Ka ūhia au e ōku tūpuna
   Covered by my ancestors

The ūhi or ūwhi is the tropical yam with a big edible root.
Polynesian migrants brought it to New Zealand from Ra'iatea,
but when the climate grew colder it was replaced by kumara.

Its leaves spread out as a "cloak" over the ground covering it the way convululus vines do.

So ūhi means "to cover," and ūhia is the passive "to be covered."

Born of Greatness

The original bilingual waiata was entitled 'Born of Greatness' and was written by Hohepa Tamehana. He composed it for the Manu-ti-oriori Show, a Maori 'Pop Idol' type programme established in 2001 to form a pop quartet of talented, positive young Maori role models who were fluent in speaking te reo Maori, as well as singing in it.

The original version of Born of Greatness with the 12 candidates was recorded at Te Tokanga Nui a Noho Marae in Te Kuiti.  The revamped version was recorded at Taihape College with Hohepa Tamehana, James Whetu, WVVLC, a boy band trio called Koha Kii and a girl band trio called Verse 3.  Both versions were recorded by the late Phil Fuemana.

Aaria
The eventual Maori Pop winners were Hemi Peke, Te Rau Winterburn, Hayden Weke, Tomairangi Mareikura and Amomai Pihama who formed Aaria.   They released 'Kei A Wai Ra Te Kupu' as their first Urban Maori single, with an English version of it called 'You're The One I'm Thinking Of'.

'Born Of Greatness' was an extra song on their CD single release. It has since been released on four other CDs.

Hohepa Tamehana

Hohepa Tamehana (Tūhoe) was born in 1969 and raised at Opotiki. Moved to Lower Hutt, studied at Taita College, worked at Ford Motor Company. He taught in Masterton and became tutor of Te Whanau Whanui Ki Wairarapa. In the mid 90s he taught at the bilingual Clover Park Mddle School in Manukau. He currently lives in the Bay of Plenty, but travels frequently to Canada, Hawaii & USA. In 2007 he is director of a talent agency and doing a Bachelor of Matauranga Maori. He has been involved in traditional Maori performing arts for 20 years, performing Kapa Haka throughout New Zealand, Australia and North America. He learnt his skills from his father Te Ranapia Tamehana, Te Mana Rollo, Pou Temara, Hirini Melbourne, Kaa and Tawhiri Williams, Bubby Hohipa and Te Hue Rangi, as well as other performers in the many groups he has worked with. His personal philosophy is 'Culture is the essence of our being, it is the voice of our ancestors, the cries of our grandfathers, the anger of our fathers and the strength of our children.' "In the time of our ancestors, culture was the daily voice used," he explained. "In the time of our grandfathers, when culture and the language was banned by the colonial education system, it became the cries of our grandfathers." "In the renaissance of the language in the time of our fathers, anger was the drive to revive the language; it is now the language and culture that gives strength and identity to our children."

Typos

Somebody very kindly posted a rough draft copy of this song on the internet.
Mihi nui. They gave the opportunity to develop this webpage.

But several others have copied that draft copy onto other webpages, without checking for errors.
If you are using those words please note:-

Internet draft copy I am the seed An ornamental grace I hea ra Toke reo That you they know Kamau tonu Ka uhi ahau

Correct version I am a seed An ornament of grace Ki hea ra, Tōku reo. That you may know. Ka mau tonu Ka uhia au

Our thanks to Mr Tamehana for providing the correct lyrics and an accurate English translation.