Whakaipuipu

‘Whakaipuipu’ is a waiata tangi or lament. Dr. Tīmoti Kāretu composed the waiata tangi as an expression of the enormous loss he felt following the passing of his dear friend and fellow composer, Ngoi Pēwhairangi. ‘Whakaipuipu’ was first sung in 1985 (the year of Ngoi’s passing) at Pākirikiri Marae in Tokomaru Bay, Ngoi's home. The waiata tangi was only ever sung once on this occasion.

The underlying political element of this waiata is the loss to the Māori community of a great leader and repository of knowledge. Kāretu highlights this in line seven, ‘Kei hea rā tōu ritenga hei whakamau atu mā te iwi e’, asking who will now fill her role in Māoridom. This is one of the significant issues facing Māori. As repositories of Māori knowledge pass away, there are fewer of the younger generations who are capable of stepping into those roles.

In the mid-1990s the waiata was revived by Professor Tania Ka‘ai and Professor John Moorfield, with Dr Kāretu’s blessing. They both felt it was a waste for such a beautiful mōteatea to lay dormant. In the years since, it has become the primary waiata for the Professors and for their students when visiting marae, and as such, ‘Whakaipuipu’ has been heard on marae throughout the country. This will continue on, as ‘Whakaipuipu’ is the mōteatea of choice for Te Ipukarea, The National Māori Language Institute, founded by the aforementioned professors and their mentors.