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NEW ZEALAND WAIATA * POI |
Tōia Mai Te Waka Nei |
A call to take special care of all the new legislation, or "canoe," supporting the
Treaty of Waitangi, because it is a sign of a new summer of Maori pride.
| Tōia
mai1 te waka nei Kūmea mai te waka nei Ki te takotoranga i takoto ai Tiriti2 te mana motuhake3 Te tangi a te manu e4 Pīpī-wha-rau-ro-a5 Kūi! Kūi! Kūi! Whitiwhiti ora! Hui e, tāiki e. |
Haul
this canoe closer haul the canoe here to its special resting place; the Treaty gives us our autonomy. May the cry of the bird, the shining cuckoo - Quee! Quee! Quee! - signal a change for the better. Draw together, beome intertwined! |
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A big ornate war canoe was a symbol of the mana of the tribe, (like British battleships in the early 20th century and US aircraft carriers today) and needed protection from the elements. So these "waka taua" were hauled up above high water level and stored in long sheds with thatched roof and open sides.
But the ancient "Toia Mai" chant was then used to welcome visitors arriving by canoe at a riverside marae, to symbolically "draw them ashore." And later it was used to draw a busload of visitors in, when they arrived at roadside marae.
At Waitangi in 1840, after 20 years of ruinous inter-tribal musket wars, Maori signed sovereignty of their country over to Britain, in return for guarantees about their land and other possessions.
But a giant land grab (E Pa To Hau) then took place when British capitalists and venal officials ignored this treaty for the next 120 years.
Literally "separated prestige," or the authority and capacity to be autonomous.
This is a political term created during post-Waitangi attempts (Hoia Ra Nga Waka Nei) by Maori groups to continue to control their own affairs or regain jurisdiction that had been removed or lost.
This is an old karakia whose words have been incorporated into this modern poi song. It connects us to world of the atua by way of bird-calls, and then it focuses on the good news of the shining cuckoo's distinctive September bird-cry announcing the end of winter ...May the spirits give us a summer that is without storms or drought. Metaphorically ...May the spirits give us what the Treaty promises.
This karakia would originally have been chanted in a fast monotone. Listen to a similar karakia.
The Pīpīwharauroa spends winter in the Solomon Islands and then flies down to New Zealand in late September to breed in our forests. It replaces the eggs in Grey Warblers' nests with its own eggs, and leaves those little birds to hatch and rear its chicks.
If you can make any corrections or improvements to this webpage, please email me. John.Archer@xtra.co.nz