Section outline

  • Achievement Objectives:

    1.4 communicate about personal information, such as name, parents’ and grandparents’ names, iwi, hapū, mountain and river, or home town and place of family origin
    1.5 communicate about location
    1.6 understand and use simple polite conventions, for example, ways of acknowledging people, expressing regret and complimenting people
    3.1 communicate, including comparing and contrasting, about habits, routines and customs

    Learning Outcomes:

    Students will be able to:

    • describe tikanga (customs) associated with mihi
    • mihi to their classmates
    • perform a waiata tautoko
    • perform a karakia
    • recognise tikanga around karakia, waiata tautoko and mihi

    Success Criteria

    Students should be able to:

    • describe the when mihi usually occurs
    • describe the common speaking order
    • name the things/people that get acknowledged in a mihi
    • describe how an appropriate waiata tautoko is chosen to support a speech


    Tikanga Māori - Inoi / Karakia/ Mihimihi/ Waiata tautoko

    In Te Ao Māori karakia are ritual chants invoking spiritual guidance and protection. They are performed in every aspect of life. For example: welcoming the dawn and farewelling the day, to ensure a safe journey, blessing food, carving a wharenui etc. With the introduction of Christianity to New Zealand in the 19th Century, new karakia were written to acknowledge the Christian God and Jesus Christ.

    Similarly in most gatherings (hui) it is customary for a person to welcome everyone that is attending by performing a mihi whakatau. Following the mihi a waiata is sung in support of the person who welcomed everyone. In class this year all students will learn waiata and how to give a mihi whakatau.

    Mihimihi are informal introductions at the beginning of any hui, gathering or event. This week we will learn about the order of things that should be acknowledged in a mihi.

    We will begin each class this year with a mihi whakatau to follow tikanga Māori and so that we can have the opportunity to practise using our reo as well as to mihi.

    This mihi will be followed by a waiata tautoko as per tikanga Māori. This year we learn a variety of waiata tautoko including mōteatea which are traditional Māori waiata or chants.

    Mōteatea: Te Pou

    Te pou te pou
    Te tokotoko i whenuku
    Te tokotoko i wherangi
    Tokia tukia
    Ko te mumu ko te āwhā
    Ko te mumu ko te āwhā
    Ko te manihi kai ota
    Takere panapana
    Ka rau i runga
    Ka rau i raro
    Ka whai tamore i runga
    Ka whai tamore i raro
    Tēnā ko te pou
    Tēnā ko te pou
    Te pou o Rongo
    Nō Rongo mauri ora
    Ka ora e