Kaua rā e huri noa
Composer
Ngoi Pēwhairangi
1921 – 1985
Born Te Kumeroa Ngoingoi Ngawai on 29 December 1921 at Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast of the North Island, she was known affectionately as Ngoi. Ngoi was the eldest of five children of Hori Ngawai of Te Whanau-a-Ruataupare of Ngāti Porou of Tokomaru Bay, and his wife, Wikitoria Te Karu, of Ngāti Koi in the Hauraki region. Ngoi was raised in the Ringatu faith by her relatives Huka Pohaera and Raiha Kamau at Waiparapara. Her father, who worked as a labourer, was a minister of this church and an advocate of the Kotahitanga movement, which Ngoi herself later supported.
Songs by this composer
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Ka noho au i konei
This waiata-ā-ringa was composed at Ngoi’s home when, after a long day working in her garden, Ngoi took shelter under a tree and watched her son Terewai, and her...
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Whakarongo
‘Whakarongo’ is a waiata-ā-ringa by Ngoi Pēwhairangi. It is one of Ngoi's most famous compositions and incorporates her beliefs and methodology on teaching te reo Māori....more
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E tū tautoko noa
The waiata-ā-ringa ‘Tō Reo Karanga E’ was composed for the opening of the dining room at Mataura in the South Island in the mid-1980s. Ngoi’s hapū, Te...
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Kaua rā e huri noa
Lyrics
Kaua rā e huri noa
Kaua hei whakahāwea
Mā ō mahi ka kitea koe
E te ao, e tō iwi Māori
Kua puāwai rawa ngā purapura e
I ruia mai i ngā wā o tua whakarere
E toro nei ngā kāwai taura tangata
Hei hono i te aroha o ō tāua tīpuna
Te mana, te wehi – Aue!
Awhitia ngā taonga
Kei memeha kei ngaro
Kei tūkinotia e te ao
Puritia tō mana
Kei riro e
Kia mau, kia mau, auē