Story: Waiata hōu – contemporary Māori songs

'Paikea'

The waiata 'Paikea' is sometimes described as the Ngāti Porou national anthem. It commemorates the East Coast ancestor Paikea escaping from his brother, Ruatapu, who tried to drown him. Many of the action songs of the first half of the 20th century went on to become iwi classics. Here a primary school group perform the waiata at the Tairāwhiti Primary Schools Māori Culture Festival.

Using this item

Youtube: Mayormeng's Channel

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Piri Sciascia and Paul Meredith, 'Waiata hōu – contemporary Māori songs - Waiata-ā-ringa – Māori action songs', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/interactive/44806/paikea (accessed 18 April 2024)

Story by Piri Sciascia and Paul Meredith, published 22 Oct 2014