Karakia & Waiata

RECE 2026 Participant Information
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Karakia

Karakia can be roughly translated as incantations or prayers.  They are used for many purposes as part of tikaka Māori (Māori traditions and the way things are done). During the conference we will use karakia to welcome each day, bringing us into this place together for shared learning and conversation.  We will also take a moment at the end of each day to come together, share a karakia and waiata (see below) to send us on our ways into our evening activities.  

Below are some karakia we will likely be using along with their general translations.  Click here to find recordings for some of these karakia on this website that will help you with correct pronunciation.  
​
Ka Haea Te Ata 
Ka haea te ata
Ka hāpara te ata
Ka korokī te manu
Ka wairori te kutu
Ko te ata nui
Ka horaina
Ka taki te umere o kā tamariki 
Ka Awatea! 

​Before the dawn
The first rays of light
The birds awake
They open their beaks
Dawn breaks
Light scattered (invades) everywhere
(Bird) calls and singing (fills the air)
The dawn (arrives)
Tūtawa mai i ruka
Tūtawa mai i runga
Tūtawa mai i raro
Tūtawa mai i roto
Tūtawa mai i waho
Kia tau ai te mauri tū,
Te mauri ora ki te katoa
Haumi e, hui e, tāiki e


​Come forth from above,
below, within,
and from the environment
Vitality and wellbeing for all
Strengthened in unity
Tukua te wairua 
Tukua te wairua kia rere ki ngā taumata
Hai ārahi i ā tātou mahi
Me tā tātou whai i ngā tikanga a rātou mā
Kia mau kia ita
Kia kore ai e ngaro
Kia pupuri
Kia whakamaua
Kia tina! TINA! Hui e! TĀIKI E!


​Allow one’s spirit to exercise its potential
To guide us in our work as well as in our pursuit of our ancestral traditions
Take hold and preserve it
Ensure it is never lost
Hold fast.
Secure it.
Draw together! Affirm!
Karakia mō te kai - Karakia to say over food
Nau mai e ngā hua
o te wao
o te ngakina
o te wai tai
o te wai Māori
Nā Tane
Nā Rongo
Nā Tangaroa
Nā Maru
Ko Ranginui e tū iho nei
Ko Papatūānuku e takoto nei
Tuturu whakamaua
Kia tina! TINA! Hui e! TĀIKI E! I
Welcome the gifts of food
from the sacred forests
from the cultivated gardens
from the sea
from the fresh waters
The food of Tane
of Rongo
of Tangaroa
of Maru
I acknowledge Ranginui who is above me, Papatuanuku who lies beneath me
Let this be my commitment to all!
Draw together! Affirm!
Kia hora te marino
Kia hora te marino
Kia whakapapa pounamu te moana
Hei huarahi mā tātou i te rangi nei
Aroha atu, aroha mai
Tātou i a tātou katoa
Hui e! Tāiki e!

​May peace be widespread
May the sea be like greenstone
A pathway for us all this day
Let us show respect for each other
For one another
Bind us all together!
Unuhia, unuhia
Unuhia, unuhia, 
Unuhia ki te uru tapu nui
Kia wātea, kia māmā, te ngākau, te tinana, te wairua i te ara takatū
Koia rā e Rongo, 
whakairia ake ki runga
Kia tina! TINA! Hui e! TĀIKI E!



Draw on, draw on,
Draw on the supreme sacredness
To clear, to free the heart, the body and the spirit of mankind
Rongo, suspended high above us (i.e. in ‘heaven’)
Draw together! Affirm!

Waiata

In tikaka Māori, waiata are songs that are sung for a variety of reasons.  Some of these include openings and closings of days, events or meetings; to show gratitude and appreciation; to tell stories; and as lullabies (oriori) to children to tell them of their whakapapa (genealogy).  Waiata will be used throughout the conference in many different ways.

Below are some waiata - some with links to recordings to help you learn the melodies.
E tū kahikatea
E tū kahikatea
Hei whakapae ururoa
Awhi mai awhi atu
Tātou tātou e 
 
E tū kahikatoa
Kare kau e hinga
Awhi mai awhi atu
Tātou tātou e
 
E tū Pūriri
Toha ra o peka
Awhi mai awhi atu
Tātou tātou e ​
Special note: This waiata was originally written on the occasion of a national ECE convention held in Ōtepoti Dunedin in 1979(?). Click here for a recording of the first verse.
Stand like the kahikatea (tree)
To brave the storms
Embrace and receive
We are one together
 
Stand with vigour
You Will not fall
Give and receive help
We are one together
 
Stand like the Puriri
And reach out your branches
Embrace and receive
We are one together
Ehara i te mea
Ehara i te mea
Nō ināianei te aroha 
Nō ngā tūpuna
i tuku iho, i tuku iho. 
 
Te whenua, te whenua 
Te oranga o te iwi
Nō ngā tūpuna
i tuku  iho, i tuku iho. 
 
Whakapono, tumanako 
Te aroha ki te iwi;
Nō ngā tūpuna
i tuku iho, i tuku iho. 
The slower, multiverse version. Click here to hear a local children's choir singing this waiata as we generally do. 

It is not something
of recent times, love
but by the ancestors it has been passed down, passed down.
 
From the land, the land
comes the wellbeing of the people; by the ancestors it has been passed down, passed down. 
 

​Faith, hope
and love to the people;
by the ancestors they have been passed down, passed down.
Nā te korekore
Kaea/Caller: 
Ki te whai ao
Ki te ao mārama
 
Nā te korekore
I takea mai i te pō 
Te kitea 
Te pō tangotango 
Te pō whawha 
Te pō namunamu 
Ki te whai ao
Ki te ao mārama
This is the waiata written for Te Kura Ākau Taitoka College of Education.  Click here for a video performance from our Waihōpai Invercargill campus.

Out of the nothingness
Came the base of darkness
Things happened (energy, fusion) 
within the Creation of light 
The taking
Feeling the first sliver of light 
To the dawning and then 
To the world of light
Purea nei 
Purea nei e te hau
Horoia e te ua
Whitiwhitia e te rā
Mahea ake ngā pōraruraru   
Makere ana ngā here
 
E rere wairua, e rere
Ki ngā ao o te rangi
Whitiwhitia e te rā    
Mahea ake ngā pōraruraru
Makere ana ngā here,
Makere ana ngā here
Based on a Ngā Puhi whakatauki and developed into a waiata by Henare Mahanga of Ngati Hine, modified by Hirini Melbourne.  This is a good waiata to cleanse emotions during difficult times. Click here for a recording. 
Scattered by the wind
Washed by thee rain
And transformed by the sun,
All doubts are swept away
And all restraints are cast down.
 
Fly o free spirit, fly
To the clouds in the heavens,
Transformed by the sun,
With all doubts swept away
And all restraints cast down.
Yes, all restraints are cast down.
Tūtira mai
​Tūtira mai ngā iwi, tātou e
Tūtira mai ngā iwi, tātou e
Whāia te māramatanga, 
me te aroha - e ngā iwi! 
Kia tapa tahi, 
Kia kotahi rā 
Tātou e (Repeat) 
Tā-tou tā-tou e!! Hi aue hei !!! 
Click here for (a correct) recording of this national favourite. 
​Line up together people All of us, all of us
Stand in rows people All of us, all of us 
Seek after knowledge
and love of others - everyone 
Think as one
Act as one
All of us, all of us 
All of us, All of us!! Hi aue hei !!!
Ka tahuri au
Ka tahuri au
Ka kite ake rā 
Ngā tōmairangi 
E heke ana mai 
 
Ki runga o Aoraki e 
Tau iho ki runga 
Ngā mokopuna nei 
 
He whakatipuranga
Nā Tahu Pōtiki
Ngā mokopuna
Nō Te Waipounamu e 
Nō Te Waipounamu e, te iwi e. ​
This waiata has special meaning for Kāi Tahu iwi as it speaks to whakapapa, traditional lands, and ancestors
As I turn, 
I see 
the mist maiden 
as she lowers her veil 
 
Upon Aoraki 
it settles, descending down upon 
his mokopuna 
 
The descendants 
of Tahu Pōtiki
The descendants 
of Te Waipounamu 
We are the people of Te Waipounamu.


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