'Takoto ai to marino, horahia i waho na' he waiata

He Waiata Aroha.

A song, composed by a person whose friend had been taken prisoner by Hongi Hika, at the River Thames, in 1823.


Takotomai to marino, Horahia i waho na;
Hei paki omanga Mo Waowaotupuni.
Noku te wareware, Te wai rangi au,
Te hukanga wai hoe, Nau, e Ahurei!
Kai tonu ki te rae, Ki Kohirae; Marama te titiro,
Te puia i Wakaari. Kei te ruru tonu mai,
Ka wehe te marino! Hei kawe i a koe,
Te pou o te kupenga. Na Taramainuku,
Kowai au ka kite. Kurehu ai te titiro,
Ki Moehau raia. Me kawe rawa ra,
Hei hoko paura; Ki tawiti riro ra, Ki te ketunga rimu.

Smooth is the sea, Spread out in open space; Fair and clear For Waowaotupuni to run. The forgetfulness is mine, That I do not follow, In the splash of the oar, Of thee, O Ahurei! With the eye to the point, Even to Kohirae; From whence can be seen The steam on Wakaari. How fine and how calm, How smooth and how fair! To carry you, To the post of the net. Of Taramainuku, A stranger to me. The sight has become dim, By looking at Moehau. He is taken to extreme distance, To buy powder; Yea, to extreme distance, From whence the sea-weed is broken up.

Te Ika-a-Maui by Richard Taylor, pp. 142-143 (Wertheim and Macintosh, London, 1855)










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