Pātere – Ka tū au

Kaitito / Composer – Hana O’Regan
Rohe – Kāi Tahu whānui 

Whakamārama / Explanation

Nō te tau 1993 i Te Whare Wānaka o Wikitoria a Hana i tito i tēnei waiata hai waiata whakanui i tōna hākoro mō tōna whakapōtaetaka hai Tākuta i te Whare Wānaka o Waitaha.  He haereka tēnei ki kā pito whakahirahira o te rohe o Kāi Tahu.
This song was composed during Hana’s first year of undergraduate studies at Victoria University of Wellington to celebrate her father’s graduation with his honorary doctorate from Canterbury .  This waiata carries the singer around many significant points of interest in the Kāi Tahu rohe

 Ka tikaka whakamahi mō te waiata nei / Notes on appropriate usage of this waiata

He pai tēnei waiata hei wāiata kīnaki i te wā o te pōwhiri.
This waiata is appropriate for formal pōwhiri as waiata kīnaki.

 

 


KA TŪ AU

Ka tū au i te pito o te whenua
o Tūahuriri, o Rakiamoa
i tauawhitia nei e te tai o Mahaanui e
Ko tēnei te karaka o Rakiamoa
i whiua atu ki te papatipu marae e takoto nei

I hara mai au, i te Parinui-o-Whiti
Ki te Tai o Marokura
E rere ana te wairua o tōku whakapapa ki te toka e
Ki Irakehu, Waihora, Te Ruahikihiki,
Huirapa, tae noa ki Moeraki e…
Aru tonu au i kā kare o te wai
Ki te Tai o Araiteuru
Ki te Moana Tāpokopoko a Tāwhaki e

Tae atu ki  Rakiura, kei reira
e tū ana te puke o Motu Pōhue
Ko te taurapa o te waka e…
Ka tahuri au  rere atu ki Piopiotahi
i mahora kā mahi a Tū-te-Rakiwhanoa


Whakamakariri ōku waewae
e kā puna a Rākaihautū e…
Hikitia ōku whatu ki Aoraki
e tū mai nei, he tipua, he Atua…
Haere tonu tōku haereka
ki te Tai o Poutini ko te rohe o Kāti Waewae
ā, tua atu ki te Rae-o-Kahuraki
ki te Tai-o-Rehua e.
E rere ana au, e rite ki te manu
ki Kā Pākihi Whakatekateka o Waitaha
ā, heke iho tōku wairua
ki raro i te mana o Tuahuriri e..


I STAND

Here I stand in the heart of the land
Of Tūahuriri and Rakiamoa
Embraced by the tide of Mahaanui
This is the call of Rakiamoa
Cast upon this ancestoral marae before me

I have journeyed here from Te Parinui-o-Whiti
To the Coast of Marokura
The spirit of my ancestory flys southwards
To Irakehu, Waihora, Te Ruahikihiki,
And Huirapa, until arriving at Moeraki
I follow onwards on the ripples of the water
To the coast of Araiteuru
And the turbulent waters of Tāwhaki

As I reach Rakiura, there stands
The hill of Motu Pōhue
The stern post of the great canoe
Turning now I soar to Piopiotahi
Where the accomplishments of Tū-te-Rakiwhanoa
lay before me

My feet cooled
By the springs of Rākaihautū
I raise my eyes to Aoraki
Standing proud, a giant, a God
My journey continues to Te Tai o Poutini,
the territory of Kāti Waewae
and beyond to the Kahuraki headland
and the Tasman Sea
Like a bird I soar
To the Canterbury Plains
Before descending beneath
The mana of Tūahuriri once more