Ask to use material, get more information or tell us about an item
The programme opens with theme music and an introduction by announcer Wiremu Parker.
This is the final programme of the year. In it, we look backward, not into the immediate past but to some twenty years or so ago, when the late Sir Apirana Ngata recorded the stories of some of the better-known chants and haka.
To hear their great leader's voice again will be a great thrill to those who knew and loved him and the stories he tells of the songs and the chants, no less than the songs and chants themselves, will be of great interest to all those who love things Māori.
(The original performances and Sir Āpirana's commentaries were recorded in the 1930s-1940s and are held in the sound archives collection.)
He speaks first of the well-known canoe-hauling and welcome chant, "Toia mai te waka."
Next, the haka of Te Rauparaha, " Ka mate, ka mate". Sir Apirana recites the haka himself and recalls how it was used by the Māori Battalion in Crete during World War II. Followed by a recording of the haka being performed by an unidentified group.
Sir Āpirana talks about log-hauling songs or "shanties" and recalls two instances in which they were used successfully in 1881 and 1892 by Ngāti Porou and also by Ngāi Tahu.
"Ka rearea hī..."
Wiremu Parker introduces the old chant "Pōpō". Recorded in 1939 by Hiruhārama School, it is the next chant dealt with by Sir Apirana." (See Nga Moteatea, Vol II, pp 152 -161).
He explains the history of "Pōpō" and comments on the school's performance.
Next is the chant "Takiri,takiri, takiri" which Sir Āpirana calls a nursery rhyme, used in the native schools.
The programme ends with a little Māori mōteatea or song recorded some years ago.
Broadcaster Leo Fowler introduces the mōteatea on which he says the poi kihikihi is based. It concerns insects and birds etc as harbingers of rain.
"E rui, e rui..."
"And with these glimpses into the past we conclude our final Māori programme in English for 1964. This is your compere Bill Parker and on behalf of your producer Leo Fowler wishing you all a bright and prosperous New Year."