Hekenga Mai
This waiata can be used as a waiata tautoko to support a speaker from Wakatū or Kono.
Ko ngā hekenga mai
O ngā tupuna i ngā tau o te tahi mano waru rau e i [1]
Te Heke Mai i Raro [2]
Te Heke Tātarāmoa [3]
Te Heke Hauhauā [4]
Te Heke Niho Puta [5], "Kua patua noatia taku niho puta mō te ruranga [6]."
Hei aha! [7]
Te Heke Whirinui [8]
Te Tukituki Aruhe [9]
Te Heke Niho Mangō - te mana o te whenua!
Te Heke Tamateuaua
Ko ngā uri o ngā Hekenga e tu atu nei e i a!
Italicised sentence sung by the kaea (waiata leader).
Bold emphasised by the tāne (males) in the group.
Explanation of the lyrics:
[1] These are the ancestral migrations of Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama and Te Ātiawa in the 1800s.
[2] Te Heke Mai i Raro – 1820. The Migration South. Beginning in Kawhia with over 1000 tupuna. The first stage was to Taranaki. Important migration for Ngati Koata, Ngati Rarua, Ngati Tama and Te Atiawa.
[3] Te Heke Tataramoa – 1822. The Migration of the Bramble Bush. From Kawhia to Kapiti. Named for the hardships on the journey.
[4] Te Heke Hauhaua – 1823. The Migration of Scorn. Important migration for Ngati Tama, Ngati Koata and Ngati Rarua travelling from their homelands to Kapiti and Waekanae.
[5] Te Heke Niho Puta – 1824. The Migration of the Boars Tusk. Migration started in Waitara with many Te Atiawa. Major battles fought and won at Patea and Waitotara.
[6] Te Heke Niho Puta was betrayed by the Iwi Nga Rauru at a pa called Ihupuku. Pretending to offer sanctuary, they attacked the people in the night. This phrase was the signal to begin the slaughter and means, “My pig with tusks has long since been killed for the guests." Most escaped and the migration continued south as far as Wellington.
[7] Hei aha! Reference to the failure of Nga Rauru to defeat the Heke.
[8] Te Heke Whirinui – between 1821 – 1826. Migration of the Fine Mats. Iwi record different dates for this migration. Whirinui is a reference to the large twisted weaving on the edges of the people's mats. Important heke for Ngati Koata and Te Atiawa.
[9] Te Tukituki Aruhe – 1827 – 1829. The battles of the Fernroot Pounder. A series of skirmishes in Te Tau Ihu, named after a threat to the people of the Heke, that if they crossed into Te Tau Ihu, their heads would be mashed with a fernroot pounder. Battles were fought in Queen Charlotte, Kenepuru and Pelorus Sounds, Wairau and Nelson.