Waitī ki runga. Waitī ki raro, e rere nei ō wai hei manapou mō te whenua, hei oranga mō te tangata, hei kete kai mā te iwi. Kōriporipo tonu nei te ia o te awa, māreparepa ana ngā roto, kōrengarenga te puna a Tāne-te-waiora, he koira!

Waitī is connected with all fresh water bodies and the food sources that are sustained by those waters.   

(source: Te Wānanga o Aotearoa)

Waitī connects us to fresh water and all the creatures that live in our awa rivers, roto lakes, kūkūwai wetlands, and waipuna springs. As the waters flow they support us, provide, connect and sustain us.

To learn more about rivers and streams of significance to us in Ōtepoti visit Nā Kā Huru Manu (Ngāi Tahu Cultural Atlas)

Waitī also means to be sweet or melodious. He reo waitī is a kīwaha idiom used when admiring a person with a melodious voice.

Listen to the melodious voices of Te Rōpū Waiata o Kaunihera-ā-rohe o Ōtepoti (the DCC Waiata Group) as they sing Manu Tiria, a Kāi Tahu waiata associated with the arrival of the shining cuckoo in the South Island and the planting of kūmara.

Find out more about Puaka Matariki