E mahara iho ana, he waka ka urutomo;
He ika rere ki Hikurangi ra ia.
Haere e nga mate, haere atu koutou i te huanui, i te ara kua papatauria e
te tapuwae kauika tangata. Takoto mai koutou i te urunga e kore e nekehia, i te
moenga e kore e hikitia.
Kua ngaro nga waha korero, nga kaihautu o nga marae maha, kua whakangaro atu
i te ara e kore e titiro whakamuri mai ano.
Ehara ra i te kakahu hou te kakahu o aitua, he mea i uhia ki te ao i te horahanga
mai o te takapau i whakamamaetia ai to te tangata whanautanga mai ki tenei ao.
Haere, haere, haere whakaoti atu koutou.
Ki te matua, ki a Hori Mahue, takoto mai koe me o whanaunga maha i Turangarahui.
Ko Maraea raua ko Hamuera Ngarimu era, to whakaruruhau, ko Maraea Te Kawa tera,
to koka. Ka anga atu nga kamo ki a Rongomaiwahine, hoki mai ki a Ngai Tamanuhiri
me Te Aitanga a Mahaki. Ka piki taku titiro ki Tamaki Makaurau ki te mokopuna,
a Margaret Mary, e takoto mai ra i Mangere; huri whakamuri ano, ko Whareponga,
te kainga tangata tera. Whakahokia atu te mahara ki Te Pahi, ki a Makarini Tanara,
to matua. Mai i a Tuterangiwhiu i runga o Porourangi Whare ka anga whakarunga
ki Puputa, ki a Ta Apirana Ngata ma. Hai whakamaumaharatanga tenei pukapuka ki
a ratou o te whanau, o te iwi kua ngaro atu i a tatou i tenei wa.
Hai whakatau ano hoki ki a koutou, nga mana whakahirahira o te motu, a, ki
nga hoa mahi hoki o te Komiti Arohi, mo te pukumau ki te mahi, te pumau ki te
kaupapa me te aroha, tetahi ki tetahi. He mihi atu tenei ki a koutou katoa mo
nga tau tino maha e mahi ana, na, kua rite te taonga nei i te ika rere, mai i
te tihi o Hikurangi Maunga, horapa ana ki te ao.
He puna wai e utuhia, he wai kei aku kamo.
Te pua korau e ruia, e tipu i te waru.
(Nga Moteatea 134 )
Whai Ngata
I thought the canoe was securely moored,
But it became like a flying fish to Hikurangi.
Firstly, a tribute to those cherished ones who have departed from the path
followed by the living and who sleep on the pillow that moves not, and the bed
that cannot be carried away. The great orators of our many marae have taken that
pathway from which no backward glances are possible.
The cloak of mourning is not new to us, it was pre-ordained for men and women
from our first dawn.
To Hori Mahue, who lies buried at Turangarahui with his many relatives, his
mother, Maraea Te Kawa, and parents-in-law, Maraea and Hamuera Ngarimu; to Rongomaiwahine,
Ngai Tamanuhiri, and Te Aitanga a Mahaki; to his grandaughter, Margaret Mary,
who lies in the Mangere Cemetery; to his father, Makarini, at Te Pahi, and to
his grandfather, Sir Apirana Ngata, and many others who lie at Puputa, this dictionary
is dedicated.
I also pay tribute to the mana in which all other tribes in the land are held
and to our colleagues in the Arohi or Working Committee, whose hard work and dedication
through the years has enabled this work to be completed. I am indebted to them
for the loyalty and love they have shown, not only to my father as a colleague,
but also to my mother.
To the Ministry of Education, and especially Learning Media, my eternal gratitude
for the foresight and the courage to see such a work through, enabling it, like
the flying fish from the summit of Hikurangi, to take off for all points of the
compass.
Like the spring well are the tears from my eyes,
Like the nectar shaken free, in the summer breeze.
(Nga Moteatea 134 )
Whai Ngata
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