Matāra by Whiti for the death of Wairua

Item — crate: R043838645, Reel: 5000027019580

Identifier: AMPS 2022/48. Item McL 1033

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

First lines begin: "I takina kei te tautara ki Motu | Kōkako whā taea te tikitiki ka tū"

Dates

1972-05-21

Creator

From the Collection: McLean, Mervyn (1930-2022) (Person)

To request or comment

To request access to items in this collection, or to provide comment or corrections, please complete the following: Archive of Māori and Pacific Sound request form

Restrictions

Restrictions appearing in the collection were placed by the performers at time of recording. Usually the restriction limits access to members of particular iwi or hapu.

These items may sometimes be referred to for scholarly purposes but may not be copied or published in any form without the explicit release by the appropriate tribal authority.

Biographical / Historical

The performer says that one of his ancestors, Wairua, had been slain by a warrior from another tribe. Seeking vengeance as payment for the death, his sister came east from Hokianga to ask a man named Whiti to do battle to repay the death. Whiti accepted and this chant, a call to arms, resulted. Wairua died at Motukiore. Places where battles occurred along the coast are mentioned in the text.