0800 KAI TAHU (0800 524 8248)
Manu Rakatira
Kaitito / Composer – Hana O’Regan
Rohe – Kāi Tahu whānui
Whakamārama / Explanation
He waiata tēnei e pā ana ki te Kerēme o Kāi Tahu me te āpurutaka o Kāi Tahu i te haereka mai o tauiwi mā. I titoa tēnei waiata hei whakanui i te Kerēme me te heke tōtā o Kāi Tahu i te tau 1994, ā, he whakatenatena o roto ki te iwi kia tū pakari, kia tū whakahī kia whakatutuki i a mina, i a hiahia.
This song is based on the Kāi Tahu Claim and the impact of colonisation upon Kāi Tahu. It was composed to commemorate the Claim and the Kāi Tahu struggle in 1994 and aims to encourage the iwi to stand tall, with pride in order to achieve our dreams.
Ka tikaka whakamahi mō te waiata nei / Notes on appropriate usage of this waiata
He pai tēnei waiata hei kīnaki i kā kōrero ōkawa.
This song is appropriate to use to support the speeches in formal situations.
Aka atu ōku kanohi ki te manu haea
E pōkaitia ana e kā kupu ā ōna tūpuna
i whakairo ki kā pari karakaraka
whakamaurutia ōna mamae e kā wawara o te pō
Whakamohoa e te kupu o te Tiriti
i tuia te muka ki te tau
nā te apo o te tai hēmanawa
i whakarērea koe taku toroa e
Tūtakitaki i kā ahi kouka
ko te mātāpuna o te mana e
kia whakaahuru te wairua o te pīpī
kia whakapakari te hinekaro o tō iwi
E tū e te manu rakatira
ka kā i te hau nō kā tūpuna
māu te taoka whakaraukura
ko te mura e kore rawa e weto.
I raise my eyes to the torn bird
surrounded by the words of its’ ancestors
carved into the echoing cliffs
its pain is soothed by the whispers of the night
Betrayed by the word of the Treaty
that sew the thread to the heart
by the greed of the suffocating tide
you were deserted my prized albatross
Stoke the fires of the home place
for they are the source of our mana
to warm the spirit of the young bird
to strengthen the mind of your people
Stand forth majestic bird
and breathe the air of your ancestors
you have the adorning treasure
the flame that can never be extinguished