Ka Waiata Ki a Maria

This is a Māori-language hymn about Mary, who said "yes" to being the mother of Jesus.

It was written by New Zealand Roman Catholic teacher, school-principal and kapa haka tutor, Rīhari (Richard / Dick) Puanaki (1949-2021), Ngāti Kahungunu. It was started in the mid-1980s, when he was doing missionary work Fiji as a seminarian, and continued development when he returned to New Zealand.

The hymn can be sung before and after chanting the Awe Maria, ie the Māori-language version of the traditional "Ave Maria / Hail Mary prayer - but this is optional and many performance versions, especially, do not include it.

No formal publications or hymn-book entries have been found. However the song is known in many New Zealand communities, Catholic and otherwise, and arrangements have been sung in various choral-singing competitions. Arrangements can be purchased from SOUNZ (links below).

It was first recorded on a cassette tape, Whetu : the First Decade, released in 1988 by Te Whetu o Te Rawhiti, (The Star of the East), under the South Pacific Recordings label. The song was shared with the wider world when New Zealand's National Youth Choir included it in the repertoire for a tour of North America in 1993/1994, and YouTube now shows it being sung in a variety of places.

It is set to an unnamed tune, also by Puanaki. This has a 4/4 time signature. In the key of D, the first few notes of the melody are DF A AA AA B GG_ with accompanying chords D / G / G.

Downloads

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Several versions are available for purchase from SOUNZ

Examples

Performance by a group of professional singers, guitar accompaniment

Small group with guitar, professional recording

Singer and band,professional recording, words on-screen, with English translation

Girls choir with guitar

Choir, unaccompanied

Large choir performance

Quartet with guitar

Band, reggae-style

Choir with brass band

Sports team dinner - unaccompanied

Lyrics

The lyrics are copyright so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available on this website. A rough outline is:

Ka waiata, ki a Maria,
Hine i whakaae.
Whakameatia mai,
Te whare takata.
Hine pūrotu,
Hine ngākau,
Hine rangimarie.
Ko te whaea,
Ko whaea, o te Ao.
Ko whaea, o te Ao.

Translation

Let us sing to Mary, The girl who said "Yes, let it be as you say, that I become the house of humankind.

A simple girl, a strong-hearted girl, a quiet girl.

The Mother of Jesus, and the mother of the whole world