"Pōkarekare Ana" is a traditional

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

love song, probably communally composed about the time

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

began in 1914. The song is written in

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 Co ...

and has been translated into English. It enjoys widespread popularity in New Zealand as well as some popularity in other countries.

Composition

Eastern Maori Eastern Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Northern Maori, Western Maori and Southern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, ...

politicians Paraire Tomoana and

Āpirana Ngata Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata (3 July 1874 – 14 July 1950) was a prominent New Zealand statesman. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have served in parliament in the mid-20th century, and is also known for his work in ...

published the song in 1919, but neither of them claimed to have composed it. They explained that it had "emanated North of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

" and was popularised by Māori soldiers who were training near

before embarking for the war in Europe. The Māori words have remained virtually unaltered over the decades, with only the waters in the first line being localised. For example, some versions refer to

Lake Rotorua Lake Rotorua () is the second largest lake in the North Island of New Zealand by surface area, and covers 79.8 km2. With a mean depth of only 10 metres it is considerably smaller than nearby Lake Tarawera in terms of volume of water. It i ...

in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. It is then associated with the story of

Hinemoa Hinemoa was a woman of the Te Arawa, known in Māori culture, Māori tradition for swimming across Lake Rotorua to Mokoia island to be with Tūtānekai, with whom she was in love. The story has been widely transmitted and forms the basis for one ve ...

swimming across the lake to her forbidden lover, Tūtānekai, on

Mokoia Island __NOTOC__ Mokoia Island is located in Lake Rotorua in New Zealand. It has an area of 1.35 square kilometres. The uninhabited island is a rhyolite lava dome, rising to 180 metres above the lake surface. It was formed after the Rotorua caldera c ...

. However, there have been many different English translations. "Pōkarekare Ana" was originally written predominantly in

triple time Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 ( compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , a ...

, with the verse in

duple time Duple metre (or Am. duple meter, also known as duple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 2 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 2 and multiples (simple) or 6 and multiples ( compound) in the upper figure of the ti ...

, but has been more commonly heard in duple time since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Lyrics and melody

Use

The song is very popular in New Zealand, and has been adapted for multiple purposes, including in advertising and by sporting groups. Notable uses include: *" Sailing Away", which promoted New Zealand's

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

challenge, and featured an ensemble choir of famous New Zealanders recording as "All of Us". *It was used in multiple TV advertisements for

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

in the 1990s (using a recording with Kiri Te Kanawa) and in 2000. Air New Zealand also used the song again in 2020 to mark the 80th birthday of New Zealand's national airline, this time, using a recording from

Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer. Her first internationally released album, '' Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide ...

. *In April 2013, members and spectators in the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...

sang "Pōkarekare Ana" after the house passed the bill legalising

same-sex marriage in New Zealand Same-sex marriage has been legal in New Zealand since 19 August 2013. A Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013, bill for legalisation was passed by the New Zealand House of Representatives, House of Representatives on 17 April 20 ...

. In popular culture, "Pōkarekare Ana" was used as the theme song for the 2005 South Korean film '' Crying Fist''. In the 2019 DLC for ''

Civilization VI ''Sid Meier's Civilization VI'' is a 2016 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K (company), 2K. The mobile and Nintendo Switch ports were published by Aspyr Media. It is the sequel to ''Civilization V'' ...

'', '' Gathering Storm'', the main theme for the added Māori civilization is "Pōkarekare Ana" and the

haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...

Ka Mate "Ka Mate" () is a Māori people, Māori haka composed by Te Rauparaha, the historic leader of the iwi of Ngāti Toa of the North Island of New Zealand during the Musket Wars. Composition Te Rauparaha composed "Ka Mate" circa 1820 as a celebrati ...

". There are four renditions of the theme, each corresponding to a different era in the game. These renditions were composed by Geoff Knorr and Phill Boucher.

Versions

Recordings

Dozens of recording artists throughout the world have performed and recorded the song. A version of "Pōkarekare Ana" by Rhonda Bryers appears on the 1981 CBS various artists album '' The Mauri Hikitia''.

Richard Clayderman Richard Clayderman (; born Philippe Pagès , 28 December 1953 in Paris) is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville, Olivier Toussaint and Marc Minier, instrumental renditions of popu ...

recorded an instrumental version in 1984, which appeared on the album ''Memories''. Among New Zealand opera singers to record and perform "Pōkarekare Ana" are

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". On 1 December ...

and Malvina Major. "Pōkarekare Ana" was featured on the 2003 album '' Pure'', by the New Zealand soprano

. A version of the song features on the self-titled album by

Angelis Angelis was a British classical singing group created by Simon Cowell. It was initially formed in early 2006 and was made up of six children, who were then aged between 11 and 14. The children were discovered during nationwide auditions led by ...

, a British

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to Musical composition, musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience, audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record chart, record charts, which tr ...

singing group. On the CD ''Classical-Crossover Compilation 2011'', Hollie Steel sings "Pōkarekare Ana". Steel later released the song as a charity single for those suffering from the 2011 earthquake in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand.

Adaptations

It was known that the song was introduced to South Korea by New Zealand soldiers fighting in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

(although there is no record of New Zealand soldiers spreading the song during

). It was eventually given Korean lyrics and a Korean title, "Yeonga" (), and has become popular across the country. The melody of "Pōkarekare Ana" was used for an Irish hymn to the

Blessed Virgin Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

: "A Mhuire Mháthair, sé seo mo ghuí". A homophonous translation into

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

was composed in 2007 by

Ghil'ad Zuckermann Ghil'ad Zuckermann (, ; ) is an Israeli-born language revivalist and linguist who works in contact linguistics, lexicology and the study of language, culture and identity. Zuckermann was awarded the Rubinlicht Prize (2023) "for his researc ...

. In this translation the approximate sounds of the Māori words are retained while

words with similar meanings are used. In this translation, however, "Waiapu" is replaced by "Rotorua" (oto rúakh,

for "that wind").Po kar hi li tikrá na "'It's cold here', she will tell me"
homophonous translation of "Pōkarekare Ana" into Hebrew.

References

External links

* Armstrong, Alan ''Haere Mai'' (1985) Viking Sevenseas Ltd
"Pōkarekare Ana – A Māori Love Song"
documentary, NZ On Screen * , sung

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

by Marie Te Hapuku, with vintage photos of Māori women * ,

Teddy Tahu Rhodes Teddy Tahu Rhodes (born 30 August 1966) is a New Zealand-born operatic baritone based in Australia. He has performed at opera houses in New Zealand, Australia, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington, New York City and throughou ...

* , sung by

* {{Authority control 1914 songs New Zealand folk songs Māori music Songs in Māori