Ka Waiata Ki a Maria

“E kore e pahawa i ēnei whārangi ruarua nei te nui o tō ātārangi nāna nei i whakamarumaru te tini me te mano, reanga atu, reanga mai. Engari tērā te ātārangi o te Atua te whakamarumaru nei i a koe, ināianei, ā haere ake nei. Moe mai rā i te mate pukupuku-koretanga o te pō, e te pāpā, e te poutokomanawa o Te Whare o Puanaki. Ko te aunga o te moe ki a koe”‍

Nā Hēnare Te Aika-Puanaki

I titoa e Richard Puanaki te waiata nei i ngā tau 80. Ki tana whānau, ko Dick, ko Rīhari rānei tana ingoa karanga, waihoki, ko ngā kōrero mō tēnei waiata i takea mai nō Rīhari e mahi atu ana i tana mīhana whakapono ki Whītī. Nōna e noha ana ki reira ka ihiihi tana ngākau i a ia e peita ana i a Maria i tētahi hinonga whare karakia. Heoi anō, nō te hui whakangahau a tana kapa kaingākau, arā, a Te Whetū o Te Rāwhiti, ka whānau mai a ‘Ka Waiata ki a Maria’.

Kāore i ārikarika tā Rīhari hoatu ki tana whānau, ki ana hapori, ki ngā kaupapa huhua anō hoki. Ko ia hoki tērā, atu i te kaitito waiata, he whetū kiriata, he kaiako, he tumuaki, ā, i tata tana tū hei pirihi mō te Hāhi Katorika. Ko ō Rihari uara, ko tōna anō whakapono hoki, i takea mai i te roanga o tana whai i te Katorikatanga, ko tana ōhākī he mea tuku iho e ia hei kawenga ake mā tōna whānau ki te āpōpō.

‘Ka Waiata ki a Maria’ was composed by Richard Puanaki in the mid-1980s. Affectionately known to his whānau as Dick or Rīhari, the story of this waiata began when Rīhari served on a faith mission in Fiji. During that time, inspiration struck him while he was painting Mary for a church project. However, it was not until he returned home to Aotearoa, amidst a social gathering with his beloved kapa haka Te Whetū o Te Rāwhiti, that ‘Ka Waiata ki a Maria’ was truly born.

Rīhari gave boundlessly to his whānau, communities, and many causes. To add to his accolades as a composer he also acted in films, was a kapa haka tutor, a teacher, a principal and almost became a priest of the Catholic Church. His deeply held values and convictions, rooted in his lifelong commitment to the Catholic faith, form an enduring legacy that his whānau proudly continue.