"" (English: "Oh, Uncle Waiari"), also known as "" is a traditional

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

song, often used in tītī tōrea, a type of whakaraka (skill and dexterity game) played by passing tītī (40-60cm long sticks) while seated, in time to a rhythmic song. The song became a staple for

musicians to record, including

St Joseph's Māori Girls' College St Joseph's Māori Girls' College or Hato Hōhepa is a Catholic, integrated, boarding and day college in Taradale, New Zealand, for girls in Year 7 to Year 13. It is the largest Māori girls' boarding secondary school in New Zealand. History St ...

Choir

Turakina Maori Girls' College Turakina Māori Girls' College (1905 to 2016) was a Presbyterian boarding school for young Māori women. The school was founded in Turakina, New Zealand, in 1905, by A. G. Hamilton.. It was relocated to Marton in 1927, but retained its previous ...

Choir in the 1960s. In 1985, the

Pātea Māori Club Pātea Māori Club is a New Zealand cultural group and performance act formed in the South Taranaki District, South Taranaki town of Patea, Pātea in 1967 as the Pātea Methodist Māori Club. In 1983, the group began to release Māori language, ...

released the song as a

reggae pop Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin. Origin Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from ...

single, and the New Zealand band

Herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

recorded the song as the opening track to their album ''

Sensitive to a Smile "Sensitive to a Smile" is a single from the New Zealand reggae band Herbs from the '' Sensitive to a Smile'' album. The single reached #9 in the New Zealand chart. Background "Sensitive to a Smile" was written by Dilworth Karaka and Charlie Tuma ...

'' in (1987), also in a reggae style.

Background

The origins of the song are not definitively known, however they may come from a late 19th Century/early 20th Century

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...

tradition, where

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

along the river would create their own lyrics to the song for competitions. The song and tītī tōrea became popular to be used was used by the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...

. The first mention in print of the song is as a part of a set-list by a Māori performance group from Puketeraki (near

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

) being broadcast on the radio in April 1933.

Pātea Māori Club version

The

released a

Pacific reggae Pacific reggae is a style of reggae music found in the Pacific. This style is found in Polynesia (including New Zealand and Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about ...

version of the song as their fourth single in late 1985, entitled "E Papa". During their 1984/1985 tour of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the club performed the song on the UK children's television show ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...

''. The song peaked at number 41 in New Zealand, and an extended version was included in their 1987 debut album ''

Poi E "Poi E" is a New Zealand 1984 number-one hit song by the group Pātea Māori Club off the album of the same name. Released in 1984, the song was sung entirely in the Māori language and featured a blend of Māori cultural practices in the song a ...

''.

Background

Dalvanius was inspired to recreate the traditional song as

. The club performed the song during their 1984/1985 tour of the

on the children's television programme ''

'', due to the stick game associated with the song. During the tour, lyricist and mentor to the club's producer

Dalvanius Prime Maui Dalvanius Prime (16 January 1948 – 3 October 2002) was a New Zealand entertainer and songwriter. His career spanned 30 years. He mentored many of New Zealand's Māori performers, and was a vocal and forthright supporter of Māori culture. ...

passed away in late January, when the band had half-completed their album. Dalvanius was deeply affected by this loss, feeling creatively exhausted, unable to write songs without her and unable to record in the studio. Despite this, the band recorded "E Papa" on return to Auckland in February 1985. Fred Faleauto and Dilworth Karaka, members of the

band

, performed on the track. The song was released as a single in late 1985. The song debuted at number 48 on the

Official New Zealand Music Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Musi ...

in November, however peaked the next week at 41. The single spent a total of eight weeks charting in the top 50 singles. A version entitled "E Papa Waiari" was featured on their 1987 album ''

'', which featured an extended stick outro.

Track listing

*NZ 7-inch single #"E Papa (Part 1)" – 3:30 #"E Papa (Part 2)" Vocal Instrumental – 3:37 #"E Papa (Part 3)" U.K. Club Mix – 5:24 #"

Hei Konei Ra (Farewell) Hei is the Norwegian word for "Hi" or "Hello". It is less formal than for example "God Dag" Which means Good Day. It may also refer to: Companies and organizations * HEI Hospitality, an American hotel owner and operator * Hawaiian Electric Indus ...

" – 3:10 *NZ 7-inch single #"E Papa (Part 1)" – 3:35 #"E Papa (Part 2)" Vocal Instrumental – 3:37

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''

'' album booklet. *Greg Carroll – rakau percussion *Fred Faleauto – rakau percussion *Victor Grbic – mixing, rakau percussion *Dave Hurley – engineering, co-production *Steve Foot Kanuta – rakau percussion *Wiremu Karaitiana –

Emulator II The Emulator is a series of digital sampling synthesizers using floppy disk storage, manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1981 until 2002. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary m ...

synthesizer, additional arrangement *Dilworth Karaka – guitar *Carl Levy – arranger *Bill Millett – rakau percussion *Les Palmer – arranger *Stuart Pearce – keyboard, additional arrangement *

– co-arranger, producer

Charts

Other recorded versions

Choir on ''Maori Songs of Enchantment'' (1961) as "E Papa Wairangi" *

Choir on ''The Maori Girls of Turakina'' (1967), as "E Papa Waiari (Stick Game)" *

on ''

'' (1987), as "E Papa". Recorded in a pop-reggae style similar to Pātea Māori Club *

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...

on ''

Maori Songs ''Maori Songs'' is a traditional album released by New Zealand opera diva, Kiri Te Kanawa in 1999 to celebrate the new millennium. Maori Songs was recorded at Revolver Studios & NO 2 Studio, Abbey Rd. Track listing #"Hine E Hine" #"Tarakihi ...

'' (1999), as "E Papa (Titi Torca/E Aue)" * Lizzie Marvelly on ''Home'' (2011) * George “Fiji” Veikoso on “Born and Raised” (1996)

References

{{Authority control 1985 singles 19th-century songs Māori-language songs New Zealand children's songs New Zealand folk songs New Zealand songs Pātea Māori Club songs Herbs (band) songs Song recordings produced by Dalvanius Prime