A waiata for Jacinda
Aspine-tingling waiata inspired by the words of our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been written by kauma¯ tua Don Te Maipi.
Recorded at Ka¯ piti College last week, Koro Don was inspired near the end of lockdown as he heard Ardern talking about how the coronavirus was like a smouldering fire.
So moved by her words, he has written and recorded a waiata with people from Hora Te Pai and nga¯ pakeke o Ka¯ piti in the hope that she will see it.
“Jacinda’s words are the heart of our waiata,” he said.
“I heard Jacinda talking, about three weeks into lockdown, about how this virus is like a smouldering fire.
“It made me remember how my old people, my ancestors, would sit around a smouldering fire to work out any problems they had and that gave me the idea to write this waiata.
“I thought everyone of us has a iho matua [wellbeing] and if our wellbeing is strong we can survive anything, which I think we have seen in New Zealand as we have done better than anyone else in the world,” he said.
The waiata talks of lighting our pa¯ kai ahi, a fire place with a protective screen, against the virus.
“We light it and we’re sitting behind it and if it comes at us we are protected.”
Taking on board what Ardern and Dr Ashley Bloomfield said, Don writes, the virus is like a smouldering fire and it could light up anytime again, so we have still got to be careful, stay at home, and by staying at home we can put out this fire.
“She also tells us to be strong, to stay safe so we can smother this fire with ashes, smother that smouldering fire.
“Lastly, manaakitanga - embrace each other, be kind to each other, love each other.”
Finishing it off with a gripping haka, “to give love is to receive love” is the message.
“Clear this virus above, below, within, without. Then we will return to the level where we were before this virus began.”
Inspired by the words of the Prime Minister, Koro Don said all he has done is put what she has said into te reo Ma¯ ori.
“The words were hers, and I took them on board as a kaupapa.”
“I’m not the best at English, but I’m not so bad at Ma¯ ori,” he said - an understatement, as Ka¯ piti News witnessed his beautiful translation put to music.
Written overnight, “As our old people said, if you have to write a song in Ma¯ ori, it’s not you that’s writing, it’s your spirit.
“When you write it you just go along with your spirit.
“The only thing my old people said was ‘never change the words’.
“You can change the tune but not the words because the words are coming from your heart.”
While he does not credit the words as his own, they flowed from his spirit as he sat down, put them into a beautiful translation, and is now sharing them as a thank you to Ardern for encouraging us be strong and keeping us safe.
“They’re her words and it’s got a good message in it.”