Chapel Matters

This month is New Zealand Music Month and so for chapel this week we looked at the waiata “Aotearoa” written by Stan Walker, Troy Kingi, Ria Hall, and Maisey Rika in 2014. Ria said in an interview that they were keen to create, “a song to celebrate our nation, our landscape, our uniqueness, our language and our people.”

The video for the song was filmed primarily at Piha Beach, with its iconic Lion Rock, over the hills of the Waitakere Ranges in West Auckland. I lived in West Auckland for almost 10 years and Piha was a very special place for me. As a result, I mention the Waitakere in my pepeha/mihi: Ko Ruapehu me Waitakere aku maunga. I wonder what your special mountains or high places are? What mountain has shaped you or challenged you? Or is a place where you feel you belong? Another aspect of your pepeha – our statement of who we are, our identity, our story – is to do with water, usually a river (awa). Piha beach is a classic west coast beach where the ocean – te moana – is pretty wild, dangerous, invigorating, and powerful. What are the waters that call your name? Or that take you to your edge? Or are a life source you always return to?

The lyrics say:

Nō tawhiti, nō tata,

Nō te whenua o te Atua tātou,

Ahakoa nō hea mai koe
Ka whawhai tonu mātou mōu.

No matter if you’re near or far
We come from the land of God,

No matter where you belong
We'll fight for your freedom.

This song celebrates the diversity of who we are in this country and if you watch the video (here) you might notice all the different kinds of people and cultures that come together as they create something together on the beach at Piha!