Titiro kau nei ki waho
Ki te rae o Pūrehurehu rā
Ko te tuhimāreikura o oho
Ko whakapao i a karu
Rā pea koe kai ruka i te karetai moana
Te toroa awe nui e topa ana
E topa ana kē koe ki hea?
E topa ana ki te ara moana?
Tīkapa noa ana te kūrae o mahara
i te paiao pūkatokato kai Pukekura
Auraki ana a Piopiotahi
i te āwhā tūmatateka
He au waikamo e horoi i te mata
Me he roimata huatau ka rere ki Ōtākou
Ko Kupu, ko noho mū
Ko Takata, ko nehua
Kia hahua ai rāua e Tahu Pākiki
Kai te waha o te āpōpō
a Kupu e karawhiua e
Kai te huatau o te ākekokeko
a Takata e hōrapa ana
Nāu rāua i whakahoki
i te pepa
ki te arero
Ko te kaha uia te kaha
Arā te Tūtemakohu o ēnei rā
Arā te iti o Nukutauraro
Arā te rahi o Te Pahi
Ko te whare o Te Ruahikihiki
E wehi nei, e wehi nei
Ko tū koe te tū o te ikoa ko kawea
I whitikia koe e te whetū
I naua kē koe e te marama
Ka huri ki a wai ināianei?
E taku tahu, e taku Tahu
Ko haea te kahu o taku raki
Ka pēhea e tuia anōtia?
Ko tōia koe e Tahu Kumea,
e Tahu Whakaero
ki te tara o Poutūteraki,
ki te whare o Pōhutukawa
Unutai e, unutai e
Ko te wai anake, nā ko Ōtākou
Look out beyond Pūrehurehu. It is he, who caused the sky to turn red in the evening. It is he, who caused us to stare into the nothingness
Look out beyond Pūrehurehu. It is he, who caused the sky to turn red in the evening. It is he, who caused us to stare into the nothingness Perhaps it is you who glides over the choppy seas. The majestic albatross who there soars To where do you soar oh gallant one? Do you soar over the pathway to the sea? The headland of memories lies mourning Under the cloud of heartache at Pukekura Piopiotahi is buffeted by wild storms of anguish The tears that fall from my eyes are like the current that flows at Ōtākou Words once sat in silence Ancestors had been long dead and buried Until inquisitive Tahu resurrected you both Now those words fall freely from the mouths of our tomorrow. Those ancestors ensconced in the minds of our future leaders and spread further still. It was you who rejuvenated the stories of old and returned them to the mouths of the storytellers from the lost pages of history. When they ask who you are, we will answer There is the Tūtemakohu of today There is the heir of Nukutauraro There is the successor of Te Pahi Revered by the great house of Te Ruahikihiki You carried the name in the manner that befits the mana. The stars shone down upon you and so you were devoured by the moon Who do we turn to now? My love, my Tahu. My world has been ripped asunder. How will it ever be repaired? You have been taken from us by Tahu Kumea, by Tahu Whakaero, taken to the cavern of Poutūteraki, to the mansion of Pōhutukawa What has transpired? Only the waters of Ōtākou can now be heard
Tahu’s contribution and influence was immense in many spheres, not the least of which was He Waka Kōtuia. Through his research into the old Kāi Tahu manuscripts he brought the stories of the ancestors of Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe and Kāi Tahu to life, their words, their values, and their interactions with other iwi. In our own compositions we leaned heavily on Tahu and his research to bring an authenticity to our waiata and haka that is backed by those manuscripts. He was always on the end of a phone call, and always willing to help. He could pinpoint the manuscript or book that you needed to help round out the line, or thought, you were working on.
Through his research surfaced particular Kāi Tahu kīwaha, whakatauākī, kupu and structures that HWK proudly adopted as the language we use in all of our waiata and haka. Tahu thrived on those stories, on the personalities that came to light and and on finding out as much as he could about them and their motivations.
He was also a whanaunga and uncle to many in the group and he loved the fact that his young nephews and nieces were growing the same kind of passion and fervour for these stories that he had. The fact that they were revelling in the telling of these stories as much as he did, that they used those whakataukī, those kupu, made reference to those stories in their kōrero and karanga was in some sense the next step forward for the 20 or so years that he spent, largely on his own, with these stories. That next level of spread happening, not just through HWK, but also through those rangatahi and whānau who attended kaupapa such as Kura Reo Kāi Tahu and Kura Reo Rakatahi, two programmes that HWK either helped to lead, in the case of Kura Reo Rakatahi, or support.
He enjoyed debating the stories, debating the meanings of kupu or sentences that he’d found ambiguous. Although this only happened sporadically he was looking forward to that kind of debate with the next generation, to see what their inqusitiveness might uncover, what new eyes and new perspectives might reveal. Unfortunately the opportunities for this were few and far between due to his failing health.
Although his death was not a shock to those close to him and to his whānau it was devastating nonetheless. Our members, who are also his whanaunga, held important roles over the three days that he laid in state. Kiliona and younger brother, Waikahutia laid the taki, to bring him on to the marae. Tūmai, Kiliona, and Kiringāua all spent time on the paepae and in some pōwhiri were the only welcoming voice from Ōtākou to their manuhiri. Paulette is one of the main kaikaranga and cultural leaders helping to manage the paepae for Ōtākou and Komene was given the honour of reciting the final karakia to send Tahu’s wairua to Hawaiki and lay his body to rest with Papatūānuku. On the final day, 38 of our HWK whānau turned up to help lay Tahu to rest, with the haka and waiata that he had gifted to us and to help support Ōtākou to feed and honour those who had come to farewell Tahu.
For our rakatahi, whose only experience with Māoridom is through HWK, even for those whose whānau are well connected with their Māoritanga, Tahu’s tangi was an important event. Often our rakatahi get caught up with our week to week practices, with our focus on competition performance and they don’t connect that to their cultural practices. Those that didn’t know Tahu certainly felt the emotions from those who did. As Tahu was being brought in to the urupā, the kapa lined the pathway to haka him in to his final resting place. At this point the message was given, that all the practices, all the time and energy, the tears and sweat that we gave through the year to ‘kapa haka’, that this is where it counts. It’s not about winning competitions, it’s about practicing our tikanga, it’s about being Māori, and there is no greater, no more important time to give your best than when you are farewelling a great leader.
Nō reira e Tahu, e moe. E moe koe i te moe tē oho. E moe koe i te māramatanga e ora tonu ana āu kupu. E moe koe i te whakaaro hāneanea e kore e noho huna anō ērā kōrero nāu i hura, ka pāorooro kē i ngā pari o ia whakatipuranga, o ia reanga. E moe koe i te urunga whakamānawa kua whakatakahia mōu e tō iwi, e ō hoa, e mātou nei hoki.
Ki a koutou Megan, Rīpeka, Tīmoti, Tūkitaharaki e noho tārewa tonu ana tā mātou utu ki tō tangata i te huhua o ngā hua kua puta mai ki a mātou i a ia. He puna aroha e kore rawa e waimeha, he puna mihi e kore rawa e mimiti.
The following waiata Tahu wrote, some for us specifically and others for his hapū at Ōtākou but all performed by He Waka Kōtuia.
· Te Whare o Te Ruahikihiki - Oriori - Ngāi Tahu migration in to Ōtākou.
· Hākuiao - Waiata-ā-ringa/Poi - Female influence on the Ngāi Tahu migration stories.
· Tēnei tō Tairoa - Haka Pepeha - A haka that outlines the Ōtākou tribal takiwā
· Takoto mai ki taku whare - Oriori - Outlines the connections between Kāi Tahu, Ngāi Kahungunu and Rangitāne.
· Te Tokoono ā Hemo - Whakaeke - Outlines the connections between Kāi Tahu and Ngāti Porou
Maru Kaitātea- Whakaeke-Outlines the connections between Kāi Tahu and Ngāi Kahungunu, through Maru Kaitātea.
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