Karakia and Waiata
Throughout our Hui, karakia and waiata will help us come together, share kai, support one another and close our time with care.
The karakia and waiata included in this section are the ones we will learn and practice together during the Hui. Through repetition, we hope to build confidence and familiarity with this shared repertoire, so that you can carry these words and waiata back to your own emergency departments.
You are invited to follow along, listen, join in where comfortable, and return to these words throughout the Hui as part of our shared experience.
Karakia hei timata - Opening karakia
Listen to this karakia here.
Karakia to seek blessings of the day
Tenei te ara o Ranginui e tu iho nei
Tenei te ara o Papatūānuku e takoto nei
Rarau te tapuwae o Tane ki waho
Poroporoake te po
Nau mai te ao
Haria mai te whitinga o te rā
Haumi e
Hui e
Taiki e.
Help Finding Information Online
This is the pathway of Father Sky above us
This is the pathway of Earth Mother below us
Allow the soles of Tane to settle in the distance
Farewell to the night
We welcome the day
Bring on the warmth of the sun
Here we are, gathered as one
Together.
Nau mai e ngā hua e hora nei
O te wao
O te ngākina
O te wai tai
O te wai Māori
Nā Tāne
Nā Rongo
Nā Maru
Ko Ranginui e tū nei
Ko Papatūānuku e takoto nei
Tūturu whakamaua kia tīna
Tīna
Haumi ē, tāiki ē.
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We welcome this food that is laid before us
From the forest
From the gardens (cultivated)
From the sea
From the rivers
From the Atua of the forest
From the Atua who oversees cultivated foods
From the Atua of the sea
From the Atua of the fresh water
We acknowledge The sky father
And Mother earth
Let this be so (secure this tightly)
Absolute
Be united.
Unuhia, unuhia
Unuhia ki te uru tapu nui
Kia wātea, kia māmā
Te ngākau, te tinana
Te hinengaro ki te ara takatū
Koia rā e Rongo
E whakairia ake ki runga
Kia tīna! Tīna!
Haumi e, hui e, tāiki e.
Help Finding Information Online
Draw on, Draw on
Draw on the supreme sacredness
To clear, to free,
The heart, the body
And soul, our pathway is prepared
Lo, there is peace
Suspended high above – manifest!
Draw together and affirm.
Nau mai haere mai (Tune to Welcome to My World)
This waiata is upbeat and intended to create a welcoming vibe within a hui. It can be sung to a new person or group entering the environment, or merely to reinvigorate the mood after a heavy session.
Nau mai haere mai
Tātou e hui nei
Kia whiwhi pono ai
Ki tēnei karanga.
Kapohia rā
Ngā kupu oranga
Kia tū māia ai
Hei kawe kōrero.
Horahia e te iwi
Te kaupapa tuku iho
Horahia e te iwi
Te arohatanga auē.
Kapohia rā
Ngā kupu oranga
Kia tū māia ai
Hei kawe kōrero.
Welcome to those gathered to gain insight into the call of today.
Grasp onto the words of life-giving strength
To carry the message
The people will share the traditions of old
The people will also spread love
Grasp onto the words of life-giving strength
To carry the message
Ma te Kahukura
Composed by Hohepa Tamehana for theatre, this waiata tells the story of Roimata, who takes feathers from her cloak and binds them to a manu (bird) to help it fly.
Mā te kahukura ke rere
Te manu
Ka rere koe
Ka tae atu ki te taumata
Whakatau mai rā e
Mau ana taku aroha
Whai ake ki ngā whetū
Rere tōtika rere pai
Rere runga rawa rā e.
Mā te kahukura ke rere
Te manu
Ka rere koe
Ka tae atu ki te taumata
Whakatau mai rā e
Mau ana taku aroha
Whai ake ki ngā whetū
Rere tōtika rere pai
Rere runga rawa rā e.
Rere tōtika rere pai
Rere runga rawa rā e.
Take flight like the bird that is adorned
with the colours of the rainbow
Soar high towards the heavens
And as you arrive at the pinnacle of your
destination, this is where you may rest.
Cloak yourself with my love
And follow the pathway to the stars
Fly straight, fly true
Soar high towards the heavens.
Whakataka te hau
This is a beautiful waiata founded on a karakia that can be traced back nearly a thousand years. This karakia was recited in navigational ventures utilizing the elements of the weather and stars. These days, it is generally offered as a karakia to open meetings but can be called at any time – calm the nerves, lift the spirit… any time.
Whakataka te hau ki te Uru
Whakataka te hau ki te Tonga
Kia mākinakina ki uta
Kia mātaratara ki tai
E hī ake ana
he atākura
He tio
He huka
He hauhū
Tīhei mauri ora
Waiata to Learn
Piki mai kake mai
This waiata is a modern reflection of a waiata okawa in terms of its rhythm and rangi. It was written back in the day when Maori TV first came to prominence, as a karanga to begin the news. But as the words suggest it can be sung as a ‘call to action’.
(Kaea) Piki mai kake mai
(Katoa) Whakarongo
ki te tangi a te huia,
huihui mai tatou
whitiwhti korero
whiua ki te ao e.
(Kaea) Hei matakitaki, hei whakarongorongo.
(Katoa) Ma te tini me te mano e.