NEW  ZEALAND
FOLK * SONG 		Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi
Maori lyrics Canon Wi Huata, 1950s, to music from the USA

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Wi Huata wrote this song and taught it to his children whilst on a family gathering to Lake Tutira, north of Napier. He was explaing how the iwi came together here to support each other. Later he used this song to promote Moral Re-armament, uniting different cultures.

A 
Tūtira mai ngā iwi
D           A
Tātou tātou e

Tūtira mai ngā iwi
B7          E7
Tātou tātou e
A
Whai-a te marama-tanga
D        A
me te aroha - e ngā iwi!
D
Ki-a k' tapa-tahi, 1
A
Ki-a ko-tahi rā.		
E7          A 
Tātou tātou e.

Sing it all a second time.

Then finish with...
D          E7       A 
Tā  - tou, tā - tou E!!   

Hi aue hei !!!
 

Line up together, people

All of us, all of us. 

Stand in rows, people 

All of us, all of us.

Seek after knowledge

and love of others - everybody!

Think as one, 

Act as one. 

All of us, all of us.



Sing it all a second time.

All of us, all of us!!

Hi aue hei !!!





1 Kia or Kia Ka or Kia Ko?

The line that is sung as "Ki-a k' ta-pa-ta-hi" is written down variously in print as
.. Kia tapatahi,
.. Kia ko tapatahi
.. Kia ka tapatahi.

The correct grammar would appear to be
.. Kia tapatahi - Be named as one
.. Kia kotahi ra - Be acting as one also.

But to help everyone singing it to actually act as one, the poetry requires repetition here.
And so it is sung as
. "Kia k' tapatahi
.. Kia kotahi ra"

But when that singing is written down, the k' sound is sometimes written as ko and at other times ka.
Williams' dictionary says ko is in front of a noun, for emphasis.
But tapatahi is not a noun, its a verb.
However Williams also says 'ka is used in Maori poetry, possibly as an abbreviated form of whaka-.
Perhaps it would be grammatically correct (but very confusing) to write it as
.. Kia 'katapataki, being an abbreviation of Kia whaka-tapa-taki "Be like those who call themselves one people

Tune

Play this small sound clip in the key of G, the same as the piano score.


Play this Audio clip. It is on the Maori.org.nz site. Thanks guys.

In the Audio clip, the song is being sung up high in the Key of A, so I have put chords above the lyrics in the key of A too. But I suggest you go a few frets down the fretboard to a lower key after you have learnt to sing it and to play the chord-shapes.

Chords

Bar chords are usually used to accompany this song. The guitar is strummed,

A
D
B7
E7


Canon Wiremu (Wi) Te Tau Huata, MC, QSO, CBE (1917 - 1991)

Ngati Kahungunu; Anglican priest, military chaplain.
Born at Mohaka, the eighth of eleven children of Hemi Pititi Huata and his wife, Ropine Aranui.

Early Years

From the age of 7 on, he attended Mohaka Native School. This meant walking about four miles each way, barefoot. When he was nine he had pneumonia and was unconscious for ten days. In 1933, aged 16, he began form three at Te Aute College which had just become a theological college also. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1940. While serving as assistant curate in Hastings, he developed contacts with the Tomoana family.

Army Chaplain

In 1943, he joined the 28th New Zealand (Maori) Battalion as chaplain.

Padre Huata 1943
Click to enlarge.
Part of the "training" Wi had received at the hands of other Maoris of the contingent, was instruction in the art of saluting with the left hand. This caused great hilarity on the troopship until he was put straight.

He was conned by the Colonel of the battalion to accompany the men on the front line of the battle, where he became father-confessor to soldiers of all denominations. His duties included finding bodies and supervising the digging of trenches for the dead - both Maori and German - reading the burial service, and recording the location of the burials.

When they were back in the rear, he captained the battalion rugby team, helped to stage concerts, and conducted prayers and hymns before battle again. He learnt Italian songs and he was famous for his rendition of 'Buona notte mio amore,' providing a running commentary as he went.
Buona notte mi' amore
Buona notte mio cuore
Sogna tutti miei baci
Sogna sola di me . . . 		Goodnight my love
Goodnight my heart
I dream of many kisses
I dream only of you . . .

Pastoral work

Captain Wi Huata MC returned to new Zealand with the Maori Battalion in January 1946, and returning to Hastings to resume his ministry, he married Ybel Tomoana, daughter of Kuini and Paraire Tomoana. After a stint in Rotorua, he moved, in 1952 to the King Country and Waikato. He organised hui and church conventions, including a national hui at Ngaruawahia in 1962. He also set up He Toa Takitini, an association to promote Maori arts and crafts and goodwill; its concert party travelled to marae around the country and in 1966 to Australia. He also assisted the Maori Women's Welfare League and promoted Moral Re-armament amongst Maori.

After his retirement in 1982 he was involved with the Tu Tangata and Kohanga Reo. In 1986 he travelled to San Francisco to lift the tapu on the Te Maori art exhibition there. He died in Hastings in 1991 and was buried at Ramoto, Wairoa.

For more details see, Huata, Wiremu Te Tau 1917 - 1991, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography

The Moral Re-Armament movement
This Oxford Group started among Oxford University students in the late 1920s. In 1938, as nations re-armed for war, its originator, Frank Buchman called for a 'moral and spiritual rearmament' to work towards a 'hate-free, fear-free, greed-free world'. At the end of the War, under the name Moral Re-Armament (MRA), a program of moral and spiritual reconstruction helped to reconcile former enemies, such as France and Germany.

Current initiatives are aimed at:



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Page put onto website August 31 2003, revised May 2008