This waiata tangi was composed by Henare Te Owai after the death of Pine Tamahori. This waiata is a whakatauaki or guidance that enables how to forge future leadership and the trade-offs that go with the terrain. This is what happened to my Koro Henare when he was away from his homelands in Makarika when his dear friend Koro Pine Tamahore passed away. It reminisces about the trials and tribulations of leadership succession at the marae, community through to institutional levels. Some Māori people are placed in leadership roles where it takes them away from their whānau and hapu areas. Thus the marae are left with not many people to transition to the paepae or area of whaikōrero (oral speech functions of historical, genealogical and important cultural knowledge).
This is a Te Aitanga a Mate, Ngāti Porou lament sung at tangi and waiata that originated from Makarika on the East Coast of the North Island, New Zealand. My parents (Ihipera Morrell and the late Koroni Neha Toki) were raised in this area from childhood through to adulthood. Koro Henare Te Owai is my Great Grandmother’s brother or my Great Grand Uncle. Permission has been granted from my late father’s, first cousin Nicola Taewa who endorsed this posting of our whānau waiata on Te Whānau Lab website.
Kia tau i te rangimarie e ōku whānau. Ka tangi hotuhotu, ka heke o te roimata me te hupe maha i ōku koroua me toku papa. Arohanui tino pumau nā tō moko me tamahine ko Tia Nita Neha.
| I runga ahau o Ngā Puhi1 Ka tae ake o rongo Ka piri mai ko te aroha Ka kai kino eHoki atu taku tangi Te marae o Kapohanga Ki o koringa, e Pine I te oranga e Ma wai ra e taurima Tau tahi, tau rua2 Piki atu, heke atu I mahara hoki au I runga ahau o nga hiwi Kei huia mai koutou |
I was amongst Ngā Puhi When the news about you reached me Grief reached me And overcame meMy lament returns To the marae, Kapohanga To the places you frequented, Pine Whilst alive Who will lead our marae in Te Awe Mapara? Regardless of the amount of years Rising and falling I was mistaken I was upon the hills Lest it be said by others |
1 Amongst Ngā Puhi – Koro Henare Te Owai was far away up in Northland when Koro Pine Tamahore died on the East coast. At the time, because of his expertise in Kapa Haka, Koro Henare was commissioned by Koro Sir Apirana Ngata to help revive waiata with the whānau in Northland. This mission was to maintain Te Reo me te tikanga o Māori.
2 Tau tahi, tau rua – “Be it one, two years’ time, or whenever, the time and pain makes no difference.” It still remains.
3 Koro Henare Te Owai had indeed been travelling up and down many hills on the roads heading north towards Cape Reinga, and he uses this as a metaphor for
his mixed emotions as the kawemate or soul of his dear friend Koro Pine that now heads towards a place of spiritual departure.
To locate this to now, as potential leaders you may witness the same experiences as my Koro if you come from far away lands. This is part of being human and the sacrifice that goes with the lived experience. Take care and be kind to the ones that you love most as this is the highest form of leadership. Kia tau i te rangimarie.
TE WHĀNAU LAB 