"" (), also titled in English as "Lord in heaven, Thou art merciful", is the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
of
Niue
Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...
. It was adopted in 1974, when Niue became a self-governing state within the
realm of New Zealand
The Realm of New Zealand consists of the entire area in which the monarch of New Zealand functions as head of state. The realm is not a federation; it is a collection of states and territories united under its monarch. New Zealand is an indep ...
.
History
During Niue's history as a
territory of New Zealand, the national anthem of Niue was New Zealand's "
God Defend New Zealand
"God Defend New Zealand" (, meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a ...
". "
God Save the King
"God Save the King" is the national anthem, national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in ...
" was also used and is still used as the royal anthem for the
monarchy of New Zealand
The monarchy of New Zealand is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand. The current monarch, King Charles III, ascended the throne following the death of his mot ...
. "" was created before the 1970s. It is not known who wrote it, but it is known that it was prepared by Sioeli Fusikata.
When it was written, it had become a popular song on Niue, but the opportunity rarely arose for people to perform it publicly. In the 1963
South Pacific Games
The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games wer ...
, Niue used the
Flag of New Zealand as the flag to represent them, in keeping with the rest of the colonies of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
not using the
Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
at the games. Niue also used "" as their anthem instead of "God Defend New Zealand", because the organisers had requested that "identifying tunes" be used to represent nations at the games instead of recognised national anthems. However, Niue failed to win any events, so "" was not performed at the games.
In 1974, the same year that Niue's new constitution granted Niue the status of
free association with New Zealand upon the passage of the
Niue Constitution Act 1974 in the
Parliament of New Zealand
The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by hi ...
, Niue adopted "" as their national anthem to supersede "God Defend New Zealand".
"God Save the King" was retained as the royal anthem for when the monarch is present in Niue.
Lyrics
See also
*
List of national anthems
Most nation states have an anthem, defined as "a song, as of praise, devotion, or patriotism"; most anthems are either marches or hymns in style. A song or hymn can become a national anthem under the state's constitution, by a law enacted by its ...
Notes
References
Oceanian anthems
Niuean culture
New Zealand songs
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