Merata Kawharu - Tahuhu Korero: The Sayings of Taitokerau

I tpaea tnei pukapuka hei whakamaharatanga ki ku mtua. Dedicated to the memory of Mum and Dad.

Ka kohukohu ki te rangi, ka kohukohu,
Tangi ana te aweawe.
Ka kohukohu ki te whenua, ka kohukohu,
Tangi ana te kirikiri.
Ttoko mpuna, huaki rere.
E rere ai t tapuwae,
E nguha ai t tapuwae,
Tr t tapuwae ka rumaki, i hh!
Ko te tapuwae o T, hkoia te whet ,
Ko te tapuwae o T, hkoia te marama.
E rere, e rere .
Whia, whia, kia toa r .

Koutou ng mtua, ng tpuna i te p, n koutou nei nei pepeha i waiho mai hei ptaka whakaaro, hei rahi i a mtou, i ng maramara, i ng uri whakatupu o Taitokerau, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai. Kti m koutou.

Ko te nuinga o ng tngata e phh ana e rite ana te pepeha ki te whakatauk. Khore, ar k atu te whnuitanga o te pepeha i te whakatauk. I roto i te pepeha ko te wairua hihiko, whakahh, te ihi, te wehi, me te wana hoki o te reo Mori. Ko te pepeha e krero ana m te hua noho o te Mori o nehe, , mau katoa mai ng whakaaro atu i te tikanga ki te pakanga tae atu ana ki te hua o te rangi. Tae noa mai ki tnei w e waiatatia ana, e krerotia ana nei pepeha ki roto i ng whaikrero o tn tangata, o tn hap, o tn iwi i roto o te Taitokerau.

Ko tnei momo reo e tino rerek ana ki te reo marae, krero hoki o tnei w. Mutu ana pea i roto i te whakamoritanga o te Paipera Tapu tnei momo reo te krerotia, te kitea. Engari, ahakoa tn, ko te nuinga o nei pepeha e whai tohutohu, e whai ngako ana m ng whakatupuranga o tnei r, tae atu ana ki ng uri horekau kia whnau noa mai ki te ao troa.

E mihi atu ana ki ng roro me ng ringa i tahuri atu nei ki te whakatika, whakawhnui hoki i te pukapuka tuatahi, kia mau mai ng pepeha i mahue ki waho o tr, , kia hngai hoki ng kupu kura nei ki ng mhuri kauri, ttara haemata o nei r.

M Io-taketake, Io-wnanga, Io-matangaro, te Whi Ngaro hoki, koe, koutou, ttou, me nei pepeha, e manaaki, e tiaki kia puwai ki te ao whnui.

Tihew mauri ora!

Nku iti nei

Erima Henare

Mist hangs in the heavens,

And the spirits weep.

Mist hangs over the land,

And the sands resound.

Propelled by grief, an attack flies out.

Swift your foot,

Fierce your footfall,

Your step that overwhelms, ahaha!

The footfall of T, and shine the stars,

The footfall of T, and rises the moon.

Speed on! Speed on!

Pursue! Pursue! Courage!

Elders and ancestors who have gone to the night, you who left us these sayings as archive of your minds and to guide us, your offspring and descendants in Taitokerau, sleep on, sleep on, sleep on. I leave you here.

Most people are mistaken in thinking that a pepeha is the same as a whakatauk. This is not so, for there is a greater breadth to the pepeha than to the whakatauk. In the pepeha there is a lively and proud spirit, and there is the power, awe and fineness of the Maori language. Pepeha speak of the nature of Maori life in ancient times and capture the thinking from those times about matters as diverse as the customs of battle and of the heavens. Yet up to this day these pepeha have continued to be quoted in songs and speeches by individuals and tribes in Taitokerau.

The language of pepeha is very different from the language used on the marae and in the talk of our time. It is only perhaps in the interpretation of the Holy Bible that this kind of language is spoken and read. All the same, most of these pepeha have advice and riches for the generations of today and for the descendants yet to be born into our long-standing world.

I acknowledge the minds and hands that set to work to correct and expand the first publication, and to bring in other pepeha not included there, so that these precious words are available to the young, the kauri saplings and strong-growing ttara of today.

May Io-the source, Io-fount of knowledge, Io-invisible, and the Departed, care for you, all of us, and these pepeha protecting them so that they will flower for all the world.

The first cry of the child at birth!

Erima Henare

H E M AIMAI A ROHA

Ko nei krero n rtou m, ng mtua tpuna, tat mai ki ng mtua o nianei. I whakaara ake nei krero o neher, ng whakaahua o ttou maunga whakah, ng awa, ng moana, me ttou marae, ttou hap. Hei kkahu i ng hap whakaaro o te ao troa. Hei whriki m te whakatakoto i te ia o te krero.

Kei te maringi tonu ng roimata o te whnau, o te iwi Ngpuhi-nui-tonu. Kei te whiowhio tonu te reo oriori o Twhirimtea i ng poutokomanawa o te whare tapu o Ngpuhi-nui-tonu. N reira e moe, e te rangatira, T Hugh. Kei te ngng tonu te reo o Rongo i ng ngeri. Ka tangi tonu a te ruru i t hokihokinga atu. E rapu ana i te ara tika m ttou katoa.

N reira e moe mai kourua, te taokete Hugh, te tuahine Freda.

Renata Tane