Toi Tu Te Hoe

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Toi Tu Te Hoe (15th century) 
anonymous
This is one of the legend-poem poi chants of Taranaki women, a traditional paddling song handed down for six centuries, the chant of the commander of the Aotea voyaging waka to his crew on the voyage from Ra'iatea Island in the Eastern Pacific up to Aotearoa.

Ko Aotea te waka,
Ko Turi tangata ki runga,
Ko Te Rōku-o-whiti te hoe.
Piri papa te hoe!
Awhi papa te hoe!

Toi tū te hoe!
Toi rere te hoe!
Toi mahuta te hoe!
Toi hapakapa te hoe!
Kai runga te rangi.

Ko te hoe na wai?
Ko te hoe na Te Kahununui;
Ko te hoe na wai?
Te hoe na Te Kahuroroa.
Ko te hoe na wai?
Ko te hoe nō Rangi-nui-e-tu-nui.

Tena te waka,
Ka tau ki Tipua-o-te-Rangi,
Ki Tawhito-o-te-Rangi,
Nga turanga whetu o Rehua.
Hapai ake au
I te kakau o taku hoe,
I Te Roku-o-whiti.

Whiti patatō,
Rere patatō,
Māmā patatō.
Te riakanga, te hapainga,
Te komotanga, te kumenga,
Te riponga, te awenga
A te puehutanga
O te wai o taku hoe nei.

Kei te rangi, hikitia!
Kei te rangi, hapainga,
Kei te aweawe nui nō Tū!

Tena te ara ka totohe nui,
Ko te ara o tenei ariki,
Ko te ara o tenei matua iwi,
Ko te ara o Rangi-nui-e-tu-nei,

Nguha te kakau o taku hoe nei,
Ko Kautu-ki-te-Rangi.
Ki te rangi, hikitia;
Ki te rangi, hapainga;
Ki te rangi tu torona atu,
Ki te rangi tu torona, mai.
Ki te rangi tu te ihi,
Ki te rangi tu te kōkō,
Tu te mana, tu te tapu,

E tapu tena te ara,
Ka totohe te ara
O Tane-matohe-nuku,
Te ara o Tane-matohe-rangi,
Ko te ara o Te Kahu-nunui,
Ko te ara o te Kahu-roroa,
Ko te ara o tenei ariki,
Ko te ara o tenei tauira,

Tawhi kia Rehua,
Ki uta mai, te ao mārama!

E Rongo-ma-Tane!
Whakairihia!


This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.