Te Hokinga Mai

He mea kohikohi ēnei kōrero e Paraone Gloyne. I waiata tuatahitia tēnei waiata e te kura o Pakipaki hei whakanui i te hokinga mai o Te Māori i tawhiti i ngā whare tongarewa whakatiketike o Amerika. Nā wai rā ka rangiwhāwhā haere, me te aha, ka mau tonu hei waiata kaimanawa puta noa i te ao Māori, ā, mohoa mai nei. 

Ko ngā kupu o te whiti tuatahi nō te waiata tangi ‘Kāore te Mokemoke’ nā Harehare, nō Ngāti Manawa.  Nā Pā Max Mariu ngā kupu ake, nā Te Taite Cooper te rangi. E ai ki a Te Taite i whānau mai te rangi i te tuatahi ka tāpiringia ai e Pā Māriu ngā kupu. Ko Tom Higgins te tumuaki o Pakipaki i taua wā, nāna i whakaae kia whakaakona ngā tamariki  nāna hoki pea te whakaaro ki te waiata a Harehare i te mea nō Ngāti Manawa a Tom.

This song debuted at Pakipaki School during the 1986 celebration concert for the return of the Te Māori exhibition after its journey to some of America’s most prestigious museums (re-branded ‘Te Hokinga Mai’ in Aotearoa). It has become a widely known and favourite composition throughout Māori communities. 

The words of the first verse has its origins in the traditional lament ‘Kāore te Mokemoke’ by Harehare of Ngāti Manawa. The main body of the composition is by Bishop Max Mariu, and the tune is by Te Taite Cooper. Tom Higgins, of Ngāti Manawa, was principal of Pakipaki School at the time the students first learnt it and it is thought he encouraged the inclusion of the words used from the lament by Harehare of Ngāti Manawa.

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