Hine e Hine

He kaitito waiata, he manu tīoriori i whānau mai i Tokomaru i te tau 1968. Hei ngā tau 1900 i haere atu a Te Rangi Pai ki Ingarangi ki reira whakangungua ai ki ngā mahi waiata. E ai ki te titonga tōpū taketake nei e kī ana ko ‘A Māori Slumber Song’ i titoia te waiata nei i te takiwā o te tau 1907. Nō Iwa Skerrett te reo pekerangi, ā,  i waiata i te waiata nei i te takiwā o ngā tau 1909-1910 i ngā haerere haere o tā Maggie Papakura tira waiata ki Ahitereira me Ingarangi. Nā wai rā ka horapa haere te waiata. ‍

‍Mō te taha ki te tito i ngā kupu me te rangi, i whakaaweawetia a Te Rangi Pai e ngā riri tara-ā-whare i wheakotia e ia i taua wā, he waiata oriori tēnei e māuru ake ai te pōuri, kia puta rā anō te tangata ki te whaiao ki te ao mārama.‍

‍Te Rangi Pai Fanny Rose Howie nee Poata was a mezzo soprano to contralto and went by the stage name Princess Te Rangi Pai. In 1900 she traveled abroad to study concert oratorio and ballad singing. 

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This waiata was popularised around 1909-1910 by Princess Iwa Skerrett (Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe Waitaha) a contralto singer who traveled throughout Australia and Europe with Maggie Papakura’s concert party as the lead singer. Her name is mentioned in the original musical score pictured above.

‍‍The composition itself is reflective of some of the turmoil Te Rangi Pai experienced at the time when the song was written. It is a lullaby written to soothe sorrows, to dispel darkness and to allow anyone who may be experiencing hardships to emerge into the world of light.