Mātāmua ko te Kupu!
He kohinga whakaaro, he kohinga wheako hoki mō te waiata me te haka nā tētahi tokānuku kua aua atu e tū ana i taua ao.
Ko Tā Tīmoti Kāretu tētahi o ngā tohunga reo Māori o te motu – ko ia te kaiarataki i Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, i Te Māngai Pāho, i Te Kōhanga Reo tae atu ki Te Panekiretanga o te Reo, i whai rā ki te whakawhanake i ngā uri matatau o ngā iwi o te motu kia matatau kē atu. I te ao haka, he kaitito, he kaihaka, he kaiako, he kaiwhakawā, he kaiārahi, he mātanga hoki ia. I tēnei pukapuka āna, ka whakatakoto a Tā Tīmoti i te whānuitanga o ana wheako e pā ana ki te haka me te waiata – mai i ngā waiata o ngā pakanga o te ao e rua ki te aranga mai o ngā whakataetae kapa haka, mai i te waiata aroha ki te waiata ā-ringa, mai i ā Tā Apirana Ngata titonga ki ā Te Puea Hērangi, mai i te atamira o Te Matatini ki ngā hui o te wā i te marae ātea. Puta noa i te pukapuka, ka horahia e ia ngā kupu o ngā waiata me ngā haka, ka whakamāramahia hoki ngā kaupapa me ngā horopaki mō tēnā, mō tēnā, ka mutu, nō hea ia e peua i tana whakaaro kia Mātāmua ko te Kupu! He mea tuhi te pukapuka nei ki te reo Māori kairangi tonu hei pātaka mō te mātauranga me te reo Māori.
A lifetime of insights on Māori dance arts told in te reo Māori by one of our luminaries in this field.
Sir Tīmoti Kāretu is one of the country’s chief exponents of te reo Māori – from leading the Māori Language Commission to producing a new generation of language experts through his teaching at Te Panekiretanga o te Reo Māori. He is also an unrivalled creator of waiata and haka, composing songs and judging at Te Matatini and other events. In this book, Sir Tīmoti shares his extensive experience in the artforms of haka and waiata – from Māori songs of the two world wars to the rise of kapa haka competitions, from love songs to action songs, from Sir Apirana Ngata to Te Puea Hērangi, and from Te Matatini to contemporary hui on marae. Throughout the book, he draws on exemplars of Māori song and haka, explaining form and meanings, maintaining his stance that Lyric is Paramount! Written in exemplary te reo Māori, Mātāmua ko te Kupu! will become a taonga of Māori knowledge and language.
He Mihi
Kāore e kore a rae ka puku, a manawa ka wera, a pihi ka tū i ngā kōrero, i ngā whakaaro o te tangata kotahi kua whakapetihia mai, kua whakawhāitihia mai ki konei. Hei aha atu māku, tāngarengare mai i konā tāngarengare mai ai, nōku anō ōku whakaaro, kei tēnā atu anō ōna, tēnā ōna, engari mena kua hia tohe mai, whakahē mai rānei, tētahi o te hunga kōrero i ngā kai o te kohikohinga kua takoto nei, ā kāti, kua ea te wāhi ki a au i tērā!
Ā tēnā, nā te aha au i kaha whai ai i te ao o te haka?
I a au i te kura o Kōkako i Waikaremoana, ka tīmata taku rongo i te pai o te haka me te waiata ā-ringa ki a au. I taua kura, whakaakona mai ai ki a mātou ngā waiata ā-ringa o te wā e waiata whānuitia ana e te motu me ētahi anō hoki o ā mātou ake waiata o ō mātou marae o Te Kūhā me Te Waimako. Ko au i tipu ake i Te Waimako, i te marae o taku whaea whāngai, ko Te Kūhā te marae o taku matua whāngai. Ko te kaiwhakaako i a mātou i te marae o Te Waimako, ko Mac Moses, e mōhio whānuitia ana ko Mēke.
Nā, i a au ka titiro whakamuri ki aua wā rā, he nui tonu ngā waiata a Tuini Ngāwai i te waiatatia e mātou, engari kāore hoki mātou i te mōhio nā taua wahine rongonui rā aua waiata e waiatahia rā e mātou heoi anō, i tō te tamariki āhua, he waiata.
Ka haere te wā, ka hoki mātou ki Waimārama, ki te taha Kahungunu o taku matua. Nā, kāore i paku rite a Waimārama ki Waikaremoana ā-reo nei, ā-tikanga nei, kāore hoki i kaha whai i te taha haka pērā i Waikaremoana rā. Ko ngā waiata i whakaakona mai i te kura nā ngā kaiwhakaako Māori, te nuinga he wāhine, ka haere mai ki reira whakaako ai i mua i te haerenga ki ngā whare takiura, ki reira āta whakaakona ai ki te whakaako. Ko rātou ngā kaiāwhina i ngā kaiwhakaako whai tohu.
Ko te nuinga o ērā i haere mai i ngā kura Māori pēnei i Hukarere me Te Aute, ā, whakaakona mai ana ki a mātou ngā waiata i ako ai rātou i te kura. Ko te nuinga kua ako kē mai au i Kōkako, nō reira he wā tōna ka tonoa mai au kia paku āwhina atu nā runga i taku mōhio kē ki te waiata i te whakaakona.
Ka haere rā au ki te kura tuarua Pākehā, ā, e rima tau ki reira kāore i tino whai i ngā mahi haka i aua tau rā. Whai mai i tērā ko aku tau i te whare wānanga me te whare takiura kia puta ai au hei kaiwhakaako ki roto i ngā kura tuarua.
He kapa haka i te whare takiura o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, engari kāore he pērā i Te Whare Wānanga o Wikitōria i aua wā rā. Ka noho mātou, ka puta te whakatau me whakatū he kapa motuhake mō te whare wānanga, ā, i te tūnga, ka noho ko Tā Eruera Tirikātene, ko te Minita mō ngā Mahi Ngahere, hei kaumātua mō mātou.
I whakakotahi ngā kapa e rua i ngā wā tū ai he hui nui pērā i te tau i noho tangata whenua ai Te Whare Wānanga o Wikitōria i te hui ā-tau a ngā akonga Māori o ngā whare wānanga o te motu i te tau 1958. Ko te kapa o Te Whare Takiura i kaha i te mea he wāhanga nō ngā whakaakoranga i a rātou te taha haka, engari i te whare wānanga kei te āhua tonu o te wātea mai o te tangata. Nā tēnei āhua, ka tohua ko au hei kaiwhakaako i ngā kapa e rua.
Ka puta mai au i te whare wānanga me taku tohu kaiwhakaako, ka haere ki taku mahi tuatahi i te kura tuarua o Taumarunui, ā, i rua tau au ki reira. I a au i reira, ka tonoa mai au kia āwhina i te wahine nei, i a Maramena Rangi i roto i āna mahi whakaako haka. Ka tū te kapa ko Te Rangatahi, ā, ko te nuinga o ngā kaihaka nō roto mai i te kapa o Ngāti Hauā, he kapa tū ai ki ngā mahi whakataetae i te Hui Aranga a te hāhi Katorika i ia tau.
Ko Maramena nō Te Arawa, ko tana tāne nō roto mai o Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Kātahi nā te wahine tau ki te haka, ā, i waenganui i ngā tāne ko Bob Jones, ko te tama whāngai a Pei Te Hurinui, kia haka nei ka tino rangona te wana.
He kapa i tū i runga noa i te hiahia hui tahi he haka te mahi, ā, ngahau ana tērā te noho koirā te whāinga matua. Ko ētahi o ngā waiata nāku i whakaako, ā, ko ētahi nā Maramena me te hunga mai o Ngāti Hauā. E kore e wareware i a au te manaaki mai, te whakarangatira mai a ngā iwi o Taumarunui i a au i reira, waimarie rawa atu ana au.
Ko te tino whāinga mai i a au, ko te reo; ehara hoki taua kāinga rā i te kāinga kōrero Māori i aua wā rā, ā, koirā anō hoki te whāinga mai i a au i te whare takiura me te whare wānanga, engari anō a reira, i autaia tonu te tokomaha o te hunga kōrero Māori, engari ko te nuinga kāore kau.
Atu i Taumarunui ka haere au ki Rānana, ā, ko tōna āhua waru tau nei au i reira ka hoki mai. I a au i reira ka haere mai ētahi o tētahi rōpū i tū ki reira i ōna wā, engari kua kore kē i a au i tae atu ai. Ka hui tahi mātou, ka whānau mai ko Ngāti Rānana, e tū tonu nei. Noho ana ko au anō te kaiwhakaako, ko te reo anō te take. He nui ngā mea tau ki te haka, engari kāore he reo.
I ōku tau i reira, i kaha mātou ki te whakatuwhera i ngā kūaha ki te hunga pīrangi kuhu mai, ā, nui ana a Pākehā mā i uru mai. I te āhua o tērā momo kapa, ka haere mai ētahi, ka ngaro atu ētahi, ā, i ōna wā eke kē ana ki te toru tekau mā rima ki te whā tekau nei, ā, he wā anō waimarie inā ka eke ki te tokowaru tāngata. Ko te kairakuraku he Pākehā nō Rotorua, ā, me tino mihi tōna mānawanawa me te pai o tana mahi!
Ka hoki mai rā au ki te wā kāinga, ki tētahi kura tuarua i Kirikiriroa, ki Fairfield College. I a au i reira, ka tōia atu au e Wī Huata ki tana kapa, ki He Toa Takitini, ā, ko te tau ko 1969. I te tau 1970, ko te pōwhiri a te ao Māori i Te Whare Ariki o Kuini Irihāpeti Te Tuarua i tū ki Tūranga. Kāore au e toai i konei i ngā kōrero mō taua hui rā, engari kei roto i ngā tuhinga ka whai mai nā reira ka waiho ki reira.
I te tau 1972, ka tū te kapa o He Toa Takitini ki ngā whakataetae o te motu, arā, ki te Polynesian Festival, i Rotowhio i Rotorua. Kāore i eke i a mātou, ka mutu kotahi wiki noa iho e haratau ana ka whakateka ki te tū! Heoi anō, nā te mea he tangata tino whakapono a Wī Huata haere atu ana mātou i runga i te whakapono, kaua i te tau, i te pai ki te haka!
I a au i Fairfield College, ka tonoa mai au kia whakaako i tētahi karaehe reo Māori i Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato. Ka toru tau tērā mahi, ka pūmau te tūranga i whakawhiwhia mai ki a au e Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato i te tau 1972. Ka noho au ki reira ā tae noa ki te paunga o te tau 1987.
Kia paku kōmuri nei te kōrero. I te tau 1974, ka tāia te kawa o te whare o Tūwaerea i te marae o Hui-te-Rangiora i Kirikiriroa, ā, ko te kapa whakatau i te hunga whakaeke, ko Te Iti Kahurangi. Nā, ko tērā kapa he kohikohinga tāngata hiahia tūtaki noa he haka te mahi, ka mutu ko ngā wāhine he taipakeke tonu, he wāhine haka i ōna wā, engari nā ngā āhuatanga o te wā kua roa e kore e haka ana ka hiahia nei ki te huihui koirā te mahi. Ka noho ko au anō te kaiwhakaako.
Nā Te Arikinui, nā Te Atairangikaahu te kawa i tā, ā, i taua rā rā, ka tono mai ia mena ka whakaae au kia haere ki te paku āwhina i a Taniwharau kapa e haratau ana ki te haere ki Whangārei, ki ngā whakataetae o te motu i tū ki reira i te tau 1975. Kua mārō kē te haere o ngā mahi a Taniwharau, ka whakaaro au he whakapōrearea noa iho tāku, engari i reira kite ana au i tā Waikato whakatika, whakaako anō i a ia. Ko te hunga tohutohu he kaihaka nā Te Puea, nā reira pai ana te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero i puta me ngā whakamārama o ētahi o ngā waiata.
Kia hoki ake ki Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato. Kāore he kapa haka ake a te whare wānanga, engari he kapa i te whare takiura; ka tonoa mai au e Wī Huata māku tērā kapa e āwhina, e whakaako. Ko te nuinga o ngā tamariki i haere mai i ngā kura Māori, nō reira kua taunga kē ki te haka; ko te mate nui kāore he reo o te nuinga.
He nui ngā akonga o te whare takiura haere mai ai ki ngā whakaakoranga o te whare wānanga, ā, ka haere te wā, ka toko ake te whakaaro i a rātou kia tū he kapa motuhake mō te whare wānanga. Nā, ka tū ko te kapa o Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, ka noho ko au te kaiwhakaako. Kei ngā tuhinga nei te roanga atu o aku kōrero mō tēnei kapa.
I te paunga o te tau 1987, ka haere au ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara ki te whakatū i Te Kōmihana Reo Māori e kīia nei ko Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori i ēnei rā nei. Ahakoa aku tau i reira, i haere tonu te kapa, ā, nō te tau 2005, ka whakamoea. Hoki tonu mai ai au i Te Whanganui-a Tara ki ngā harataunga a te kapa.
I a au i Kirikiriroa, ka whakaterea te waka o Te Ahurei o Tūhoe, ka whakakao mātou i a mātou, i ngā uri whakaheke o Tūhoe i Waikato e noho ana, i ngā wāhi tata mai anō hoki e taea ai te haere mai ki ngā harataunga, ka whānau mai ko te kapa o Tūhoe ki Waikato. Kāore i aukatia mai ki ngā uri noa iho o Tūhoe, engari tukuna ana kia uru mai ko ngā hunaonga, ko ngā taokete, ko ngā hoa, engari me whai rātou katoa i ā Tūhoe tikanga, ki te kore i pai ki tērā hei aha i whaiwhai mai ai.
Ko ēnei kapa e rua ko te reo Māori te reo o te kaiwhakaako, arā, i te kapa o Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato me te kapa o Tūhoe ki Waikato. Nō te tangata haere mai anō tōna mate ki te kore i mārama mai, waiho atu ana mā ētahi atu o te kapa ērā e āwhina i ngā wā o te kore mōhio.
I taea ai ngā kapa e rua te whakaako, te whakahaere, tū ai te ahurei i ia rua tau, nā reira ka āhua māmā i tērā. I noho ko au anō te kaiwhakaako, me te kaha āwhina mai anō a ētahi atu i ōna wā.
Ko te tino kaupapa he whakaako i tā Tūhoe tū, i tā Tūhoe kawe i te waiata, i te haka, i ngā tikanga, me te ako anō i ngā haka me ngā manawa wera ake a Tūhoe kia mau ai. Ko te tino ū ki ērā te whāinga, kia mōhio ai ngā uri o waho atu i Te Rohe Pōtae o Tūhoe me aha ka hoki mai ana ki ō rātou ake marae, he whiriwhiri anō hoki i te taukaea o te matemateāone kia noho renarena tonu ai, i te mea kaha ana te marara o te iwi ki wīwī, ki wāwā. Noho ana ko te ahurei hei tō mai anō ki te wā kāinga, atu rā i ngā mate whawhati tata.
Whakaritea ai kia kotahi te waiata me kawe te katoa o ngā kapa whakataetae kia mau pai ai taua waiata, taua haka, taua manawa wera, aha kē rā rānei, mō te tūpono tūtaki noa ki te marae o iwi kē e kotahi ana te waiata, te haka, te manawa wera e taea ana e te katoa. Ka pēnei te tangata ka ōrite te kawenga o te waiata, he aha hoki, ko Tūhoe rā hoki! Ka haere mai tēnā kapa me tāna paku raweke i te rangi, tēnā me tāna, mea rawa ake kua hia kē nei ngā rangi o te waiata kotahi!
Ka tohutohuhia mai mātou o Tūhoe e Te Rangihau kia kaua te pēnei, kia kaua te pērā nā te mea, ā, e mau tonu nei ērā whakaakoranga. Ko te mate o te tangata he waingōhia te whakaawetia mai ōna e tangata kē, e whakaaro kē, e tikanga kē ki te kore e tū i tā te toka moana, ka ū ki tāna i whakapono ai, ki tāna kua whakaakona mai e ōna kaiwhakaako me ngā whakamārama anō i te taha. He tere te whakawaia o te Māori e ngā āhuatanga hou i tana whakaaro, pōhēhē kē rānei, ka wana ake, ka tau ake inā pērā. I wā rātou nei hoki!
Kua roa au ki te nohonga o te kaiwhakawā me taku tino mōhio ki te uaua, ki te hōhā o tērā mahi mena kāore te kapa tū mai i te eke ki ōna taumata e taea ai te āta whakawā. Ki a au nei, kua kore i tukuna te kaiwhakawā kia mahi i tāna mahi, engari kīia mai ana kaua e heke iho i te mea nui ahakoa te tino hē nei o te kapa. Haere mai ai ngā kapa kia whakawātia, nō reira, e ngā kaiwhakawā, whakawātia! Nā, ko aku titonga kei roto i ngā tuhinga ka whai mai, nā reira ka waiho ki reira hei whakawā mai mā te tangata.
Kua whakaraerae nei au i a au anō ki ngā karaepaepatanga kupu mai a Ngāi Whakahē mā, a Ngāi Whakatakē mā, engari e pai noa iho ana tērā ki a au, ki te kiri e uka ana, e matatengi ana anō hoki! Ko tāku kē e mea nei, kāore au i haere noa mai i te rori ka tītai noa i aku whakaaro ki te takiwā, engari e whai noa ana me kore e tūpono he paku āwhina kei roto!
E rua ngā mahi kāore i āta tirohia, arā, ko te haka me te poi. Kāore ōku nā paku mōhio ki te poi, engari e mōhio ana au he aha i pai ake ai te poi a mea kapa i tā mea nā runga tonu o te ātaahua mai ki a au, ki te kūare. Kāore e kore ka kīia tēnei kōrero āku he pāpaku, engari kei te huri tonu, te pakopakō tonu, me te tau o ngā wāhine e poi mai rā. Ki a au nei, o te katoa o ngā mahi ā-rēhia, ko te poi kei te ora rawa atu, engari ahakoa whakamīharo ki te rere ki hea noa iho nei, tū mai ana he kapa mōhio ki tāna mahi, tere tonu ana te kitea o te tohungatanga o taua kapa ki tāna e mahi mai rā.
Kei te nui ngā kōrero mō te haka kua takoto i te pukapuka a Tā Wira Gardiner me tērā a Tā Tīmoti Kāretu, nā reira i whakaarotia ake ai kia waiho tērā ki rahaki. Kei te kaha te haka i roto i ngā whakataetae, me te rangona o te wana me te ihi i te nuinga o te wā, engari kei konā anō ōna kapa mutunga kē mai nei o te maroke, o te wana kore. Heoi anō ki te kore ērā o tērā momo, kua kore i kitea he whakaihuwaka, nē hā?
Kia paku hoki noa ake nei aku kōrero ki ngā haka a te hunga haere ki ngā momo kura tuarua pērā i tērā i kuraina nei au. E mihi rawa atu ana ki te hiahia ki te haka, me te take i hiahia ai ki te haka, arā, he whakatumatuma, he eneene riri ki te ito, ki te kura e whakataetae atu nei rātou, kia tū mai hoki ko ērā ki te haka mai, ka haere ai ko te tākaro me te haka. Tauwhāinga mai ana, tauwhāinga atu ana. Ko te mātāmua o ngā rōpū hutupōro o te motu nei kei te waimarie i a Tā Derek Lardelli hei kaitito i tā rātou haka me te āta whakamārama atu he aha te tikanga o tā rātou e haka ana. Neke atu ana i te kotahi rau tau tēnei rōpū e haka ana, mai i ‘Tau ka Tau’ ki ‘Ka Mate’, ki te titonga a Tā Derek Lardelli, mai i te tino kūare ki tōna māramatanga o te wā nei. Ko te mea nui, kua autaia tonu te haka mai, ā, kua whakakoretia te peke kurī noa iho i te otinga o te haka. He tohu tērā e hiahia ana kia tika, me taku mihi ki tērā whakaaro.
Ko te nuinga o ēnei momo kapa haka, me ētahi tonu anō hoki e haka mai ana i ngā atamira o te tātāwhāinga, kāore i te mārama te puta mai o te kupu, nō reira piere nuku ana tērā te whaiwhai haere i te kupu e taka mai ana i ō rātou waha. He wareware, he kore tonu rānei i mōhio, he kore tonu kē rānei i kīia atu e te kaiwhakaako, e te kaitohutohu, ko te kupu anō kei mua i ngā mea katoa.
E kore au e hōhā ki te whakaputa i tērā kōrero, ko te kupu te mea nui, nō reira ko tērā kia pūratarata, kia mātau mai ai te hunga whakaoko ki tāu e hiahia ana ki te whakatakoto ki mua i ō rātou aroaro. Ki te kore hoki, he aha te hua o tāu e haka nā, ka pēnei i tā Te Heketū i kī ai, kua rite ki te tītoi – ko koe anake kei te rongo i te reka!
He tangata au nō te momo hōhā kore i te mātakitaki haka, engari me āhua pai mai anō hoki te kapa tū mai ki mua i a au e rongo ai au i te pārekareka mai i taua kapa rā. Inā tū Māori noa mai, pērā i ngā ringa wera o runga i ō tātou marae, ko te painga atu tērā; haere ana te ringa, haere ana te waewae, puta ana tōna anō wana, engari e haka mai ana i te ngākau mihi i te taenga atu, i te wehenga mai rānei i te marae. E haka ana mō te mana te take, te mana o te marae, te mana o te iwi o taua marae rā.
Kāore pea he whakarangatiratanga i tua atu i tērā o te noho hei kaupapa waiatatanga, hakatanga, pāteretanga rānei mā tētahi kapa!
Ko te rangatiratanga ka ahu mai i te nohonga o te tangata ki te kimi kupu e hāngai ana, e whakamānawa ana, e pāikeike ana i te tangata. Whakamīharo ana au ki te nui o ngā waiata kua titoa i roto i ngā tau mō ōna āhuatanga katoa, ā, e titoa tonutia nei ka ara ake ana he āhuatanga e whakaarotia ake ai me whakanui ki te waiata, ki te haka, ki te ngeri, ki te waiata ā-ringa rānei. Mā te ngaro rawa pea o te reo e mutu ai tērā mahi, te tito.
Ka pātai pea te hinengaro o te hunga ka tirotiro i ngā kōrero o runga ake nei, he aha i whakatakotohia mai ai? Me kī, ko tāku tātai tangata tēnei o roto mai i te ao haka i taea ai e au ōku nā whakaaro te whakaputa, āku nā kupu te whiu. Kua noho kē au hei tātātanga mā aku kaumātua, mā ngā tohunga o ia mahi, nō reira kia aro nui au ki tā te korekore i opa mai ai, engari mō tēnā!
Me kāti ake rā i konei, kua nui te kōrero kua takoto, ko te kōingo ia o te ngākau, ka paku whaihua ki te hunga aro nui ki te ao o Tāne-rore, o Hine-mārekareka, o Hine-te-iwaiwa.
‘He tai nā te rākau e taha i te rākau, ko te kupu makere ia mā te kupu anō e ngaki.’
Hope you enjoyed this preview. Borrow a copy from your nearest library, treat yourself and buy a copy from your local bookshop or gift it to somebody special.