Tangi ki te Marama

Tangi ki te Marama Even as I wrote the song Cry to the Moon I had a feeling it could translate well into Maori. It’s a simple waltz about expressing grief. Originally I wrote it for my niece’s new puppy, who howled every time her beloved owner went out and left her behind. But I soon realised that it could apply to any kind of loss.

Currently in NZ, there’s a move to get as much spoken and sung Māori language into the community as possible. This comes as a reaction to previous generations when children were actively punished for speaking their native language at school. As a result, when they became adults, they discouraged their own children from learning Māori.

The pendulum has now swung the other way, and children encounter Māori language and song as part of the mainstream education process. There are even popular television programmes following mainstream NZ musicians as they learn and perform new versions of their hits in te reo Māori.

Our Prime Minister Jacinda Adern has announced that NZ will introduce a new public holiday that recognises the Māori world. It is called Matariki, sometimes referred to as the Māori New Year, which occurs when a star constellation (also known as Matariki, the Pleiades or The Seven Sisters) rises in mid-winter each year.

Matariki is also a time to remember those who have died and celebrate those still living.

Aio Gilvray-Te Hau was the first person I contacted about the idea of translating Cry to the Moon into Maori. I first met Aio when she was eight, and I was staying with her family in Gisborne, on the East Coast of NZ. She is now a fully-fledged teacher, specialising in Maori language and performance. And so Tangi ki te Marama began to take shape.

Aio Gilvray-Te Hau

I didn’t feel confident singing in Māori myself, so reached out to Siu and Leah from Loopy Tunes. I hadn’t ever met the talented sisters, but they are part of the friendly Kiwi Kids’ Music community. Loopy Tunes was about to start a massive project recording 100 children’s songs in 10 Pasifika (Pacific Island) languages. Even so, Siu and Leah graciously accepted my invitation to sing Tangi ki te Marama, and they did it beautifully.

Siu and Leah from Loopy Tunes

Best wishes for Matariki, which is celebrated this year from 19 June to 11 July.