Paikea

Mikare Pewhairangi (Tokomaru Bay) composed Paikea as a haka in the 1870s.

Paikea

Uia mai koia,
whakahuatia ake
Ko wai te whare nei e
Ko Te Kani
Ko wai te tekoteko kei runga
Ko Paikea Ko Paikea

Whakakau Paikea – Hei
Whakakau he tipua – Hei
Whakakau he taniwha – Hei
Ka ū Paikea ki Ahuahu Pakia

Kei te whitia koe
ko Kahutia-te-rangi – aue
Me ai tō ure ki te tamahine
a Te Whironui – aue
nāna i noho te Roto-o-tahe

Aue! Aue!
He koruru koe, koro e

Translation

Ask and you will be told;
What is the name of this house?
It is Te Kani
Who is the carved figure above?
It is Paikea! It is Paikea!

Paikea emerges. Hey!
A wizard emerges. Hey!
A deep-water prodigy is wading ashore. Hey!
Paikea lands at Ahuahu. Slap!

Your identity is entwined
with Kahutia-te-rangi. Amazing!
You were intimate with the daughter
of Te Whironui – really!-
who settled at the Lake-of-woman’s-blood.

Alas! Alas!
You are now a figurehead, old one.

Ngati Porou ki Poneke

Wellington, New Zealand

info@ngatiporoukiponeke.org.nz

027 202 9220

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