Mōteatea – Te Hapa o Niu Tireni

Kaitito / Composer – Hana O’Regan
Rohe – Arowhenua, Kāti Huirapa 

Whakamārama / Explanation

He waiata tēnei mō Arowhenua i titoa i te tau 2001.  Ko kā kōrero o roto nā tētahi tino tāua o Kāi Tahu i tōna wā, ko tāua Kera Browne tērā.  Nāhana i tono mai ki ahau ki te tito i te waiata nei i a au e rakahau ana i te mahi a te waiata i roto i a Kāi Tahu i kā tau o 1995 ki 1997.  Ahakoa tōna kaha ki te taki mai i kā kōrero, e whā tau atu anō  i hipa i a au i mua i te titoka o tēnei waiata, ā, i  ea i a au te mahi nei kainamu tonu ki te rirotaka o te kuia rā ki tua o Paerau i te marama o Ono i tau 2002.  Ko te kaupapa o te waiata ko kā tūtohu whenua o tōna rohe o Arowhenua.   Ka noho te waiata nei hai tohu whakanui i te wahine rakatira rā, te Whatukura o Takaroa, ki a Aunty Kera
This is a waiata about Arowhenua that was composed in the year 2001.  The stories contained within are from an esteemed tāua of Kāi Tahu of her time, Kera Browne.  She requested that I compose this song whilst researching the role of song within Kāi Tahu during the years 1995-1997.  Despite her willingness to share the stories with me, four years were to pass before the song was composed, and the task only completed just before we lost Aunty Kera from this world in the month of October 2002.  The song identifies significant places within the Arowhenua territory.  This waiata is dedicated to the memory of the chiefly woman that was affectionately known as our Aunty Kera.

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

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

 

 


TE HAPA O NIU TIRENI


Tū mai rā Kā Tiritiri o te Moana
E tau iho ana te maru o Aoraki
Ki ruka i te puku o tōhona waka
Ko Kā Pākihi i whakairohia
E kā tapuae o te iwi e

Whāia kā ara tūpuna
Ki a Waitaki, ki a Rakaia
I whiria hei kahu taniko
O te kaitaka whakaahuru i te whenua
Mō te aitaka o Huirapa e

I kau te tai i te maka
Ko Ōrakipaoa e rere atu ana
I Te Waiateruatī
Whītikiria kā kāwai rakatira
A Huirapa, a Te Rehe, a Kahu e

Ka huri taku aro ki Awarua
Whakamākūkūtia kā waewae
O te whare whakamaharataka
O kā kī tauraki i whiua ki te iwi
E tauka kore ana i te hau

Aka atu ki te pae mauka
Uhia ai e te kahu hukapapa
Māhū kura o te tō o te rā
Ka tau ki ruka i a Tarahoua
Hei pohū ahi pakūtia ki te raki e


THE UNFULFILLED PROMISES OF NEW ZEALAND

Stand forth the Great Divide
The shadow of Aoraki is resting
Upon the centre of the canoe
The plains engraved
By the footsteps of the people

Follow the ancestral paths
To the rivers of Waitaki and Rakaia,
Braided into the taniko boarder
Of the fine cloak that protects the land
For the descendents of Huirapa

The tide bites at the stream
Orakipaoa flows forth
From Te Waiateruatī
The chiefly lineage
Of Huirapa, Te Rehe and Kahu

I turn and face Awarua
That moistens the feet of
The house that stands to remind us
Of unfulfilled promises thrown to the people
Unworthy of the breath

Look up to the mountain range
Covered with its cloak of snow
The setting sun begins to redden
As it comes to rest upon Tarahoua
A fire bomb exploding in the sky