Karanga Rā: He Whakamārama
Composed by Sir Monita Delamere, the mōteatea Karanga Rā was first sung by the Tribunal at Te Reo Mihi (Te Hiku o Te Ika) Marae, in Te Hapua, in December 1986 for the inquiry into the Muriwhenua Fishing Claim (Wai 22). The Muriwhenua Fishing Tribunal was presided over by then Chief Judge Edward Taihākurei Durie, with Manuhuia Bennett, Monita Delamere, Georgina Te Heuheu, and Bill Wilson as panel members. You can hear Karanga Rā play on the Homepage by clicking the speaker icon below.
Karanga ra, e Rata
Te hiku o te ika e
Whakaripo ake nei e
Tenei a Tai
Whakamana te Tiriti e
Te ope nei e
Tainui e
E tama Rawiri
Paora e
Whakaterehia ra
Maranga mai
Te iwi ohoake ra
Tauiwi tahuri mai e
Whatungarongaro
Toitu te whenua e
The clarion voice of Rata calls
The movement in the tail of the fish responds
In our midst we now have Tai
Now is the time to give strength to the Treaty
Here too is the ope, all members of the Tribunal
Tainui (Koro, Minister of Maori Affairs)
Rawiri (David [Lange], Prime Minister) and
Paora [Paul Reeves] (the Governor-General)
Through you, this fish can swim
Maori people rise and be vigilant
Tau-iwi (Pakeha and others)
The time is now to face each other
As the light of the eye and the life of things living
fade from sight,
only the land is seen to remain,
constant and enduring
In its report, the Muriwhenua Fishing Tribunal explained the meaning and significance of Karanga Rā:
- Our waiata pays tribute to the Honourable Matiu Rata, principal claimant, son of Te Hapua and father of the Tribunal.
- [Rata] become Minister of Maori Affairs, and while he was in office, the Tribunal was established and its current chairman, Taihakurei (Chief Judge Durie), was appointed to the Maori Land Court.
- In the time honoured way, we acknowledge Matiu, our chairman [Taihākurei], ourselves, and then our task to uphold the Treaty.
- The waiata builds upon the traditional image of the fish.
- Whakaripo ake nei e ... Look to the surface of a placid sea. A ripple that breaks an otherwise calm, tells of a movement below.
- Unity of movement is important in any creature, and so our waiata calls upon the people of our country [Maori and Pakeha] to face one another, not to turn away, or to stand apart
- Remembering our own short time on earth, and that while we pass on, it is the land that endures.[1]
[1] Muriwhenua Fishing Report, 1988, pages ix-x.