Waiata.
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
He waiata tūturu noa tēnei, he waiata tangi nā te ngakau whakamomori.
Ko te matenga o tōna kuia te pūtake i tito ai tēnei waiata tangi.Ka mate te kuia ka haere te kupu ki te whānau. Ki reira te pou tito tū nenehawa ai e mātaki ana i tōna kiri whānaunga e mū ana, e tīoioi ana otīā e huamo ana. Ka tū te rā,ka makere kau te muriaroha ki te tupapaku ki te kuia kua huri atu rā ki Te Reinga. He ahakoa he paku noa te tangi, ka rongo i te whakaminenga te whatinga o tana whatumanawa.E taumaha ana ngā kanohi o te tangata e whakamomori hoki te whatumanawa. Nā tēnei huinga tokorua ka whakaaro ake te pou tito he taonga nā te atua, he tohu ēnei nā ngā tūpuna.Nā reira ka noho ia ki te tito waiata tangi.
Me te mea hoki nā te wairua ake o te waiata e māori noa iho te takoto kupu ki te pepa. Nā Te Rangikaiata i tito hai tāna nōnā te waimarie i whakaarongia a ia e ngā tūpuna hai kaupapa kawe i te wairua o te waiata tangi.
Pūpuke mahara i roto i te hinengaro E tō ana ahau i te kumukumu
He wawara aituā, tēnei ka tata mai Ki te kuku o te Manawa e
Kai reira, kai ngā kamo te aroha e huna ana
Kāore te mamae e ngau kino nei Ko taku manawa ka paea te koko Mātou ō kame, mōkai ā!
Ko koe anakē e tīpao haere i ngā mahara I tiaria mai tō mata whakarewa Kia whakatauria te uhi a aroha
Kia titi whakaripa ki te kōtore huia
Kai konei, kai waku kamo te aroha e huna ana
Kāore te mamae e ngau kino nei Ko taku manawa ka paea te koko Mātou ō kame, mōkai ā!
Rere a manu tonu ki te hui matangohi Kai hoki te ingoa, kia tārewa ki runga ra Titi ki te rae! =
Composed in the year 2016 this waiata is the written expression of lived experience.
The pain of losing a kuia dear to the heart was observed so vividly by the composer of his cousin.
No words were uttered in the moment of receiving notice, but it was as if time itself slowed to a standstill and every emotion poured out of the cousin, and only for an instant and so it was not noticed by any other. It was in the eyes.
That the story itself was revealed, love and sorrow became a marital union.
And thus, this waiata was given to the composer as if a divine tribute.
The thoughts well up in the mind
And I am suddenly engulfed in dread. For a rumour has surfaced, a notice of tragedy That has pulled at my heartstrings.
It is there, I know, within the eyes, death resides.
How gnawing is this sorrow?
That my heart has been left in loneliness We your precious babies! Only you are upon my thoughts.
Now dressed in high regard
Tattooed with the pricks of love.
Adorned with the feathers of the huia. You are here, within my eyes the love for you never dies.
How gnawing is this sorrow?
That my heart has been left in loneliness We your precious babies! Speeding like a bird into the fray
Lest you be forgotten but be remembered for all eternity!
Brief kōrerohanga of composer:
The composer of this waiata was chosen only as the vessel for its journey to the physical realm.
■ Composer’s note: “Oki noa E pārīrā ngā wai e rere nei Ngā wai e here nei Īere!”