Papaki kau ana te Tai o Mihi Haka Pōwhiri
Nā Komene Cassidy
Papaki kau ana: Papaki kau ana te tai o mihi
Whakatarawai ana te waka: He au tuke, he au hāro
Ko te pupuha o Tinirau: Ka pari mai te kauika,
Ka pari mai te tira paraoa
Ka aropuke te ngaru pae whenua:
Kia kawea mai ai tō waka
ki te kaunukutanga o te wai,
ki te patīnga o te tai
Ki te tai papaki rua, a, ki uta
Ko irewaru e tōrino atu ana:
i runga i te hau o maioha
Ko te reo te whatinga o te tūātea
e pōwhiri atu ana ki a koutou
Auē haere mai Tauti mai
Auē haere mai Tauti mai
Nei te reo pōwhiri e kawea ana
E te tai mihi, e te tai maioha
E mea o! O! x2
Ko koe anō Ko koe anō i haere mai rā
i a Tūraka-nui-a-rua
I te-poroporo-ki-hua-riki e
Haere mai Haere mai
Haere mai Haere mai
Auē ki taku hui, hī!
Crashing waves: Crashing waves of greeting
A canoe on the horizon: Rough at sea, calm onshore
A spouting whale: A school of whales approaches
A party of chiefs approaches
The landward wave swells:
So that it may carry your waka
To where the water runs steadily,
to the flowing tide
To where the two tides meet
The voice of the sea drifts out:
To you on the winds of regard
The voice, is the crest of the
breaking wave
Calling out to welcome you.
Welcome Welcome
Welcome Welcome
This is the voice of welcome carried on the tides
of greeting, of salutation
Answer the call! O!
It is you again
It is you again who has travelled
from Turaka-nui-a-rua
from Te-poroporo-ki-hua-riki e
Welcome
Welcome
To this gathering
Whakataukī/Kīanga
1. Whakatarawai ana te waka
- The canoe is like a speck on the horizon.
Tarawai is unevenness in the horizon line at sea that would indicate a canoe coming over the horizon.
2. Ko te pupuha o Tinirau
- The whale spout of Tinirau.
Whales are synonymous with Tinirau and are also used to talk about chiefly people. This is used in the waiata to announce that a travelling party is on its way.
3. Te Tai Papaki Rua
- Place where two waves meet
This saying is used in this waiata to talk about the meeting between peoples.
Ngā Kupu Hou - New Words
Aropuke - Swell (as in a wave)
Au hāro - calm seas
Au tuke - Rough seas
Irewaru - Spirit voice heard on the sea coast
Kauika - Pod of whales, party of chiefs
Kaunuku(tanga) - Move steadily
Maioha - Mihi, greeting
Matakuikui - Joyful
Ngaru pae whenua - Landward wave
Patī(nga) - Flowing tide
Pupuha - Whale’s spout
Tira Paraoa - Pod of whales, party of chiefs
Tōrino - Drift
Uta - Land
Kawe(a) - to carry