NZMaori National Anthem

Do you know the words?
I know the words and remember when the national anthem used to come on and start the programs on Sunday mornings, the one with Annie Crummer singing??

I think the Maori language is beautiful and just don't understand the controversy of when the Maori Singer ( bad i know i forgot her name) sang it at some rugby game.

What do you think, do you think we should sing the Maori version and NZ version together... like different verses.
I think we should pride ourselves in having Maori Culture incorporated in the New Zealand National Anthem. Its what makes newzealand unique.

Yeah, I think that would be cool. As long as I could get my pronuniciation correct. I hate getting words wrong.

Yeah, I had the both well drilled into me as a kid.
You should listen to some of the comments on talkback during the wee hours about this subject. I tell ya, if you ever have to do talkback and its going kinda slow just get someone to bring up anything to do with te reo or the treaty and your lines will heat up in no time.

I think (being maori) that having both incorporated is a great idea, two cultures in one really. Since we have been here together since the beginning....

Having both together is fine by me. The problem I do have with the anthem is how drab and boring it always sounds. Its hardly inspiring is it?

Yeah true harv. Now look at the French anthem, I dig that. Or the German national anthm. Sheesh. At least they have some drama. Ours are like 'dronnnnneeeee droonnnneeee drooooonnnneee'. Nowadays I don't even bother singing. I check out whos in the crowd!

I remember when Chris Knox was asked to write a possible alternative and what he came up with was:

English.

New Zeeeeeeeeland!
is a very, very, very, very,
very, very, very nice country.

Maori.

Aoteeeeeearoa!
ka pai, ka pai, ka pai.



I kinda like it simple.

Was there really a Maori anthem before the euro
settlers arrived? I thought we were all too busy
killing and raiding n stuff.

Well, i am Nga Puhi.......

Our paranoid national anthem. God defend New Zealand.
From World War 2.

I know the words to both. Taught them at
primary school, we'd sing them both one after
the other.

It'd be nice to scrap it in favour of a new one, and incorporate Maori too.
The only problem I have with such a move is the same problem I have with NZ becoming a Republic: I don’t have enough faith in the powers-that-be to not fuck it up and we end up with something worse.

As for Maori language in general. The older population have some vastly different attitudes from many of us towards compulsory teaching of the language. I find the differences more interesting than anything.

Here’s (just) one highly practical argument for teaching Maori language though: Learning more than one language enables our brains to learn more languages easily, and, when you go overseas, its nice to have a language that you can use with just your fellow countrymen (persons, whatever), that no one else can understand. Many other cultures can do that.
I personally don’t know any Maori (apart from the anthem and various words), and it’s unlikely I ever really will, but I'd like my kids to know it. And I'd like one day for NZ to embrace the two cultures as separate (so we don’t loose part of one to another), but both as heritage of every New Zealander, so we are basically one.

The controversy was over the whole anthem being in Maori, not just one verse. After this the labour govt asked sporting bodies to have verses in both English and Maori before sporting events. This seems to have caused almost no controversy (well apart from some of the loonies that ring up talkback radio anyway)

Thats so beautiful smiley! I mean that too. I'm not just being a dick!

I think that will happen when we're secure enough in own culture to reach out to other cultures without fear. To do that though some people have to let go of the need to control.