HAERE MAI

The moment we were perceived, one of their women made a signal

to us, by holding up a red mat, and waving it in the air, while she
repeatedly cried out at the same time in a loud and shrill voice,
haromai, haromai, haromai, (come hither) the customary
salutation of friendship and hospitality.
John Nicholas, Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand, 1817

Calling the dead - Karanga

Haere mai rä Welcome

te ähuatanga to the representatives
i ö tätou mate tuatini,
of our many dead,
e haere mai! welcome!
Play this brief MP3 field recording.

Karanga are calls performed by women on the marae, usually to

welcome visitors.
This karanga was recorded on October 7, 1963, at the annual
celebration of the coronation of King Koroki at Turangawaewae,
Ngaruawahia. It was performed by a Waikato woman during a
pöwhiri, or welcome, for visitors from Ngäpuhi and Ngäiterangi
tribes.
The visitors are greeted as representatives of the tribes to which
they belong. As they approach, their hosts mourn for those on both
sides who have died, and especially those whose deaths have
occurred since the last such meeting took place.
Visitors then address the ancestral house, and farewell the dead,
and the chants become entwined
Haere mai rä e kui mai, e horo mä i te pö
Come old women, old men from the
underworld

Karanga rä te tupuna whare hi te kähui pani

Call, ancestral house, to those who mourn

Huhuingia mai rä o tätou mate hia tangihia i te

rä nei
Gather our dead to be wept over today
 Ki nga iwi e, karanga ä!
Call to the tribes!
For more details, see here. Karanga
Thanks to Mervyn McLean for permission to use his archive recording,and details from McLean and Orbell,
Traditional Songs of the Maori, 1975

Wecoming the living - action songs

The karanga for the dead clears a spiritual pathway between the hosts and the
visitors. The living guests can then be welcomed. There are many Maori songs
of welcome, most with similar ritual words. Here is one by Sir Apirana Ngata,
father of the action song.
Listen to The Ngata Memorial College in this 96 K MP3 sound clip of the 1st
verse (all three verses have the same tune).

Sir Apirana Ngata, 1920s

Haere mai Welcome

E nga iwi haere mai all iwi welcome
Mauria mai te aroha Bring forth your love
Ki te marae e to the marae.

Karanga ra Call us
ki nga ope tuarangi the visiting groups from afar
Kua eke nei
Ki te marae e te iwi e who have arrived
onto the marae, O people.

Kia ora ra Good health

Ki nga iwi e tau e to every iwi here
Mauria mai te aroha Bring forth your love
Ki te marae e to the marae.
Kia ora. Good health.

Ngoi Pewhairangi & Dalvanius Prime, 1985

As sung by Cara Pewhairangi and the Patea Mäori Club.

From the 1985 Dalvanius Prime/Ngoi Pewhairangi production Poi-E The
Musical.
Cara is Ngoi Pewhairangi's grandaughter.
Listen to this 168 K MP3 sound clip of a line of the chorus (all four lines are
the same) and of the 1st verse (all three verses have the same tune).

Haere mai, nau mai, e ngä Welcome, welcome to all Iwi

iwi e Welcome, welcome, to all Iwi
Haere mai, nau mai, e ngä
iwi e

HAERE MAI, haere mai, WELCOME, welcome

E NGÄ IWI, HAERE MAI TO ALL IWI, WELCOME
Mauria mai Bring forth
Te aroha ki te marae e. 1 Your love to the marae.

KIA ORA RÄ, kia ora rä,
KI NGÄ OPE TÜÄRANGI
Kua eke nei 3 FROM AFAR
Ki töu marae, e te iwi e.
KARANGA RÄ, karanga rä,
KI NGÄ OPE - E TAU NEI -
4
Kua eke nei
Ki töu marae, e te iwi e.
2 BID GOOD HEALTH, good health
TO THE GROUPS WHO HAVE TRAVELLED
who have arrived
onto your marae, 0 people.
CALL OUT, cry out
TO THE VISITING GROUPS ASSEMBLED
HERE -
who have arrived
onto your marae, 0 people.

Haere mai, nau mai, e ngä Welcome, welcome everybody

iwi e Welcome, welcome everybody
Haere mai, nau mai, e ngä Good health
iwi e
Kia ora rä.
Notes

1. The words "te aroha" are sung as "t'yaroha."

2. The words "kia ora" are sung as "kya ora."
3. The words "kua eke nei" are sung as "kwa e-ke nay."
4. Rikihana has "e tau e" but on the Pewhairangi CD track they sing "e tau nei"

Inia te Wiata, 1966

The song is possibly older than this, but I found this on Inia te Wiata's Waiata Mäori,
a festival of Mäori song
Listen to operatic bass singer Inia te Wiata and the NZ Maori Theatre Chorus in this
1966 recording, which has recently been re-released on CD by Kiwi Pacific
International (Wellington CD SLC 225).
This is a brief 204 K MP3 sound clip of the 1st verse.

Haere mai, haere mai Welcome, welcome

E ngä iwi e haere mai all the tribes welcome
Ki runga o te marae onto the courtyard
Hui mai tätou katoa all of us gathered here.
E hine mä, e tama mä Young women, young men
Hapainga to mana Mäori e uplift your Maori prestige
 to float on high
Kia rewa runga rawa
I a ha ha
I a ha hä
All the tribes
E ngä iwi e
Welcome welcome.
Haere mai, haere mai.
First one then later three weapons
Tahi miti toru e
Tae te marumaru
as a protection for
Whare tapu teitei
the lofty sacred house
Te ao korowhiti
known throughout the world
Tenei au e te tü hawerewere
This be I standing alert
Te ao wahine
noticed by all women
Rü rü täwhai täwhai
and all things tremble.
Notes
Usually the Haere mai verse is sung, then repeated raised one key up, then the Tahi
mihi chant performed as a contrasting bridge, then finished with the Haere mai verse
again.
Rikihana says in his book Waiata Maori that the precise meaning of
the Tahi mihi chant unknown, but that one informant told him it
could be a "waiata whaiwhaia," a chant used to cast a spell which
keeps enemies away.
Rikihana draws attention to the song Pä Mai written in Hawkes Bay
to encourage young men to enlist in the Army in World War 2, which
includes the first four lines of the same chant.
Play this 144 K MP3 1999 pop version of Pa Mai, by Maisey Rika.
Pä mai tö reo aroha Your voice of love reaches
Ki te pä o (. . . . . . ) the army base of (an area significant to you)
E ngä iwi o Aotearoa People of new Zealand
Haere mai, haere mai. Come hither, come hither.

Tahi miti toru e First one then later three weapons

Tae te marumaru as a protection for
Whare tapu (topa?) teitei the lofty sacred (soaring) house
Te ao korowhiti known throughout the world
Haere mai, haere mai. Come hither, come hither.

Titiro ki nga hoia Look at the soldiers

kua wehi nei departing from us
Aue te aroha me te mamae alas the love and the pain.
E nga iwi o Aotearoa To the people of New Zealand,
Kia kaha kia manawanui Be strong, be patient

Sam Freedman, 1952

Freedman's song was designed to welcome tourists, with an "doodly-doo, doodly-

doo," echo-the-leader style of tune which was popular in the 1950s, (Ha E Re Mai -
"Ha Airy My," Ev'rything is ka pai -"Ev'rything is k'pie") and with a few phrases of
Maori well-known to Pakeha of the time, haere mai, ka pai (good), pai kare ("by
golly").

Published in 1952, it was perhaps written to welcome Queen Elizabeth II who had just
been crowned, and who was scheduled to do a Royal Tour of New Zealand in 1953
("Throughout the land, we want to shake your hand").
1. Ha-ere Mai!
 Ev'ry-thing is ka pai!
You're here at last,
You're really here at last.

2. Ha-ere Mai!
Not a cloud in the sky,
To coin a phrase,
This is the "day of days".

Bridge.
You're welcome as the sunshine,
You're welcome as a king!
Pai kare! This is one time
We'll really have a fling!

3. Ha-ere Mai!
Ev'rything is ka pai!
Throughout the land,
We want to shake your hand,

Coda.
Ha-ere Mai!
We're proud of you, that's why.
Ha-ere Mai!
Ha-ere Mai!
And here is the sheet music.

Maori Lyrics by Sam Kareti

Kareti's less well-known lyrics for Freedman's song are written in simple Maori
phrases, to greet Maori guests. It should be sung more slowly and with more feeling
than the English version.
1. Ha-ere Mai! Come hither
Te manuhiri e! visitor!
Kua tae mai koe, You have arrived
Ki te tautoko e. to give (your) support.

2. Ha-ere Mai! Come hither!

Tena ra koe e hoa. You are here friend.
Ka nui te koa Great is the happiness
Te kitenga i a koe at seeing you.

Bridge.
Mauria mai te aroha Bring love
Me nga aitua e in these troubled times.
Kia tangihia e tatou We are all weeping
Kia ea ai nga mate that the dead may be satisfied.

3. Ha-ere Mai! Come hither,

E manaaki nei e you have bestowed prestige on us.
Matou i a koe We say to you
No reira kia ora once again "Kia ora."

Coda.
Ha-ere Mai! Come hither!
Nau mai ra e hoa! Welcome friend!
Ha-ere Mai! Come hither!
 Ha-ere Mai! Come hither!

Räringi - Waiata - Käingä

Song List - Other Maori Songs - Home
Page made March 25th 2003, for Thea Daniel, who left her marae 16 years ago to migrate
to Australia. Tidied up 27 June 2003. Freedman song added 13 July 2003.