He Whakatau
E mahara iho ana, he waka ka urutomo;
He ika rere ki Hikurangi rā ia.
Haere e ngā mate, haere atu koutou i te huanui, i te ara kua papatauria e te tapuwae kauika tangata. Takoto mai koutou i te urunga e kore e nekehia, i te moenga e kore e hikitia.
Kua ngaro ngā waha kōrero, ngā kaihautū o ngā marae maha, kua whakangaro atu i te ara e kore e titiro whakamuri mai anō.
Ehara rā i te kākahu hou te kākahu o aituā, he mea i uhia ki te ao i te horahanga mai o te takapau i whakamamaetia ai tō te tangata whānautanga mai ki tēnei ao. Haere, haere, haere whakaoti atu koutou.
Ki te matua, ki a Hōri Mahue, takoto mai koe me ō whanaunga maha i Tūrangarāhui. Ko Maraea rāua ko Hamuera Ngārimu ērā, tō whakaruruhau, ko Maraea Te Kawa tērā, tō kōkā. Ka anga atu ngā kamo ki a Rongomaiwahine, hoki mai ki a Ngai Tāmanuhiri me Te Aitanga ā Māhaki. Ka piki taku titiro ki Tāmaki Makaurau ki te mokopuna, a Margaret Mary, e takoto mai rā i Māngere; huri whakamuri anō, ko Whareponga, te kāinga tāngata tērā. Whakahokia atu te mahara ki Te Pahī, ki a Makarīni Tānara, tō matua. Mai i a Tuterangiwhiu i runga o Porourangi Whare ka anga whakarunga ki Puputa, ki a Tā Apirana Ngata mā. Hai whakamaumaharatanga tēnei pukapuka ki a rātou o te whānau, o te iwi kua ngaro atu i a tātou i tēnei wā.
Hai whakatau anō hoki ki a koutou, ngā mana whakahirahira o te motu, ā, ki ngā hoa mahi hoki o te Komiti Ārohi, mō te pukumau ki te mahi, te pūmau ki te kaupapa me te aroha, tētahi ki tētahi. He mihi atu tēnei ki a koutou katoa mō ngā tau tino maha e mahi ana, nā, kua rite te taonga nei i te ika rere, mai i te tihi o Hikurangi Maunga, horapa ana ki te ao.
He puna wai e utuhia, he wai kei aku kamo.
Te pua korau e ruia, e tipu i te waru.
(Nga Moteatea 134 )
Whai Ngata
I thought the canoe was securely moored,
But it became like a flying fish to Hikurangi.
Firstly, a tribute to those cherished ones who have departed from the path followed by the living and who sleep on the pillow that moves not, and the bed that cannot be carried away. The great orators of our many marae have taken that pathway from which no backward glances are possible.
The cloak of mourning is not new to us, it was pre-ordained for men and women from our first dawn.
To Hōri Mahue, who lies buried at Turangarahui with his many relatives, his mother, Maraea Te Kawa, and parents-in-law, Maraea and Hamuera Ngārimu; to Rongomaiwahine, Ngai Tamanuhiri, and Te Aitanga ā Māhaki; to his grandaughter, Margaret Mary, who lies in the Mangere Cemetery; to his father, Makarini, at Te Pahi, and to his grandfather, Sir Apirana Ngata, and many others who lie at Puputa, this dictionary is dedicated.
I also pay tribute to the mana in which all other tribes in the land are held and to our colleagues in the Arohi or Working Committee, whose hard work and dedication through the years has enabled this work to be completed. I am indebted to them for the loyalty and love they have shown, not only to my father as a colleague, but also to my mother.
To the Ministry of Education, and especially Learning Media, my eternal gratitude for the foresight and the courage to see such a work through, enabling it, like the flying fish from the summit of Hikurangi, to take off for all points of the compass.
Like the spring well are the tears from my eyes,
Like the nectar shaken free, in the summer breeze.
(Nga Moteatea 134)
Whai Ngata