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No. 7 (Summer 1954)
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Nga Titotito a te Maori

Te Oriori a Hinekitawhiti mo tana Mokopuna mo Ahuahukiterangi

Na R. T. Kohere i tuhituhi

1.Kia tapu hoki koe na Tuariki, e!
Kia tapu hoki koe na Porouhorea!
Kaati nei e noa ko to taina, e,
Whakaanga i runga ra, he kauwhau ariki, e,
Koi tata iho koe ki nga wahi noa.
Whakaturia to tira hei Ngapunarua;
Tahuri o mata nga kohu tapui
Kei runga o te Kautuku, e rapa ana hine,
I te kauwhau mua i a Hinemakaho,
Hai a Hinerautu, hai a Tikitikiorangi,
Hai kona ra korua, e!
2.Ana, e koro, auaka e whangaia ki te umu nui,
Whangaia iho ra ki te umu ki tahaki;
Hai te pongi matapo hei katamu mau,
Kia ora ai hine, takawhaki atu ana,
Nga moka one ra i roto o Punaruku,
Tena Te Rangitumoana mana e whakapeka
Moe rawa ki kona, e!
3.Mau e ki atu, ‘Arahina ake au,
Ki runga o te Huia, ki a Ngarangi-kamaea,
Kia marama au ki roto Tawhitinui’,
Tena ra kakahu mana e ui mai,
‘Na wai ra tenei tamaiti e?’
Mau e ki atu, ‘Na te Au-o-Mawake’.
Kia tangi mai ai o tuakana koka,
‘I haramai ra koe nga kauanga I kaituri, na!
I haramai ra koe nga uru karaka i te Ariuru,’
Nahau te mau mai i nga taonga o Wharawhara,
Hai tohu ra mohou, kai haengia koe,
Ko te Paekuru ki to taringa, ko Waikanae ki to ringa,
Hai taputapu mohou, e hine, e!

Nga Whakamarama:

I te kaingakau o Hinekitawhiti ki tana mokopuna, ka whakanuia e ia ki runga ake o nga

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Maori Poetry

Hine-ki-tawhiti's Oriori

Translated by R. T. Kohere

1.Be thou apart, offspring of Tuariki,
Be thou apart, offspring of Porouhorea;
Let thy younger brother common be,
But move thou in exclusive circle, thou of a lordly line;
Ne'er alight on common ground,
Let Ngapunarua be thy starting point;
Turn thine eyes to gathering clouds,
O'er Kautuku Hill; for my lady is seeking
An exalted line from Hinemakaho,
From Hinerautu and Tikitiki-o-rangi,
Greeting to you both.
2.Her receive, Sire, of the common umu, she may not taste,
Let her eat only the choicest taro,
Refreshed, let my lady pursue her course,
Until at Punaruku beach she arrives;
Her Te Rangitumoana would welcome,
And sleep and rest give her.
3.Thou may'st ask for a guide on the way,
To Huia, to Ngarangi-kamaea,
Then thou wilt clearly see Tawhiti-nui,
Where Kakahu will ask,
‘Whose child is this?’
Thou wilt then reply, ‘From Auamawake’.
Thine aunts and cousins will greet thee,
And say, thou hast come from Kaituri crossing,
Thou hast come past karaka groves at Ariuru,
In thine hands, carry the treasures of Wharawhara,
By these thou wilt recognised be:
Paekuru in thine ear, Waikanae in thine hand,
Precious ornaments for thee, my lady.

Notes:

Oriori may be translated lullaby. The grandmother with her little grand-daughter in her

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mokopuna katoa. I nga korero whakamarama a Apirana Ngata, i tana pukapuka, e Nga Moteatea, ka tuhituhia e ia te whakapapa o Hinekitawhiti raua ko tana mokopuna, i heke iho nei i a Makahuri, mokopuna a Tuwhakairiora, rangatira nui o Ngati-Porou. He korero no Ngati-Porou, ‘Kaore te rangatira e whakapapatia’. No te mea, e tino mohiotia ana te rangatira. Na Tuwhakairiora katoa a Ngati-Porou. E mohiotia ana nga rangatira. Ngati-Porou, a kore rawa au i rongo he rangatira a Hinekitawhiti. Ko te nuinga o nga whakamarama kei Nga Moteatea.

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arms sings the oriori and gently swings her in her arms bidding her call on her relatives from Tokomaru to Raukokore in the Bay of Plenty. Chiefs and chieftainesses on the way are mentioned, and also historic places. Sir Apirana Ngata gives the oriori as the first song in his book of Maori songs, Nga Moteatea. He traces the composer from Makahuri, grandson of the great Ngati-Porou chief, Tuwhakairiora. The singer, in a flight of poesy, exalts her little grand-daughter to the highest, but the composer's name is not amongst those of well-known chiefs and chieftainesses of the Ngati-Porou tribe.

(1)

Umu, haangi, or Maori oven.
(2)

Paekura, name of a tribal ear pendant.
(3)

Waikanae, name of a historic greenstone weapon or mere.
(4)

Taro, a choice vegetable.

* * *

For the visit of Her Majesty the Queen, the Government invited to New Zealand seventeen chiefs and other leaders from the Island Territories. The number included eight representatives from Western Samoa, six from Cook Islands, two from Niue and one from Tokelau Islands.

Members of the party combined a sightseeing tour of the country with visits to industrial and agricultural centres, and in Wellington they attended several of the functions in the Royal programme. They were accorded traditional Maori welcomes at Auckland, Ngaruawahia, Hastings, Ruatoria, Rotorua and Christchurch.

* * *

At the time of the 1951 census just on two-thirds of the total Maori population of just over 115,000 was registered as being full-blooded Maori. The figure was 76,918. The number of Maori-European halfcastes was 23,183, and the number of Maori-European three-quarter-castes as 15,201.