NEW  ZEALAND
FOLK * SONG 		Hinemoa

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An old long poi song from Rotorua



Kāore he wahine
E rite ki a Hinemoa
Tai ana ki a hiahia
Ki te mutunga

E hi nawa! E hika hei!

Tirohia Mokoia
Ka ngaro i te rahutai
Kīhai rawa he meneti
Ko ngā harirau... 1

E hi nawa! E hika hei!

Mā to mate rā ano
Mā taku mate rā ano
Kātahi rā mutu
Taku aroha

E hi nawa! E hika hei!

No woman
can be likened to Hinemoa;
what she dearly wished for,
she finally achieved.

Hey, far out! Too much, bro!

Look to Mokoia
lost in the spray;
It wasn't a minute
before the hundred sweet smells...

Only by your death
or by my death
will this be ended
my love for you.

 


1 Rirau, or Harirau. Toby Rikihana translates this word as the scent from the plants on the island wafting across the lake.
                               But it was Tutanekai's flute that attracted Hinemoa. Can anyone give me a better translation to put here?


The story of Hinemoa

Hinemoa swam across Lake Rotorua in the middle of the night to her lover Tutanekai on Mokoia Island. She was guided towards him by the sound of the flute he played.,

mokoia

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Page placed onto the NZ Folksong website, June 23, 2011, for Blanche Hohepa-Kiriona