3 year old Potiki Hamilton-Morrison gives us his version of Pinepine Te Kura.

Here are the full lyrics for this Ngāti Kahungunu song and their English translation as supplied by Pei Te Hurinui Jones

Pinepine Te Kura

Pinepine te kura, hau te kura,
Whanake te kura i raro i Awarua;
Ko te kura nui, ko te kura roa,
Ko te kura o tawhiti na Tuhaepo!
Tenei te tira hou, tenei haramai nei;
Ko te Umurangi, na te Whatuiapiti.
Nau mai, e tama, ki te taiao nei,
Ki’ whakangungua koe ki te kahikatoa,
Ki te tumatakuru, ki te tara ongaonga;
Nga tairo ra nahau, e Kupe,
I waiho i te ao nei.

Piki ake, kake ake i te toi huarewa,
Te ara o Tawhaki i piki ai ki runga;
I rokohina atu ra Maikuku-makaka,
Hapai o Maui, he waha i pa mai,
‘Taku wahine purotu!’ ‘Taku tane purotu!’
Korua ko te tau, e.

Whakakake, e tama, i te kinga o to waha.
No runga rawa koe, no te tahu nui i a Rangi, e tu nei;
Na Rangitu koe, na Rangiroa, na Tane rawa koe,
Na Apa ia koe, na te Aparangiihihi, na te Aparangi i rarapa,
Tukia i Wharererangi, te Ngaruru mai rangi;
Te Matatohikura, ko Maru, ko Apa i te ihonga, Nahana ra koe.

Kaore nei, e tama, ko te wananga i a taua nei,
Te ai i waiho e o kaiure ra,
Nga pure tawhiti, te kaunoti hikahika;
Te kaunoti a to tipuna, a Tura,
I haere ai, i tere i nui ao.
Ka hika i tona ahi, kimihia e Kura;
Ko Tumatere te umu, ka hoki nga kai ki te ao.
Koia Turanganui, he mataawha,
He patu i te tangata kia mate.
Na te mau whaiwhaia hoki ra
I manene ai i te ara,
Ka mate kongenge, ka mania, ka paheke.
Ko te matamata ki te tuahu e makutu mai ra,
Ko Tamairiakinaterangi, te Hekengaorangi.
Ko Taramuru anake e titi kaha mai ra.

E kai o mata ki te kohu ka tatao
I waho o te moana o toka hapuku,
Ko Maunungarara, ko Wharerauaruhe.
Ko Takopaiterangi, ko te Aratotara,
Te Huawaiparae, koia te korori.
Tena ra, e ta ma,
Te wa ki to koutou iramutu,
Tamaua mai nei ki te ua i te kahu.
E kai o mata ki runga Marokotia.
Karokaro i te taturi o to taringa,
Kia areare ai, mo te whakarongo atu
Ki nga ki mai a to tipuna, a Nohoatu,
E makamaka mai ra i a taua anake
Te Arai o Turanga,
Te matenga o Hinerakai i turamatia ai,
I matakitakina ai, koia Hika matakitaki.
Whiti ke mai koe ki ra i nahi nei.
Te ai he mahara, ka mate koe i Awarua;

Ka manene mai koe ki ro te wai,
Ka u ana ko Hauraki.
Ka pa ko te waha o Tutawirirangi,
‘E ta ma! Ina ia te kai.
Toia ki uta ra, haehaetia ai;
Tunua hai te manawa, ka kainga, ka pau.
No Karotimutimu, no Taurangakoau.’
Taia te waka nui, ka kai ki te kirikiri,
Ka kai ki te ponga,
Ka kai ki te mamaku,
Ka kai ki te ngarara whakawae,
Ka kai ki te pananehu,
E tama, e!

English Translation

Little Tiny Treasure

Little tiny treasure, treasure of renown,
The treasure who came from below Awarua;
The noble treasure, the famous treasure,
The treasure from afar off, the treasure of Tuhaepo!
A strange visitor is he, lately arrived here:
He is Te Umurangi, descended from Te Whatuiapiti.
Welcome, O son, welcome to this world of life.
You are to be ritually strengthened with the kahikatoa,
With the tumatakuru and the taraongaonga;
These were the thorny obstructions that you, O Kupe,
Bequeathed unto this world.
Climb up, ascend by the suspended way,
The pathway of Tawhaki when he ascended on high,

And there found Maikuku-makaka,
Attended by Hapai of Maui, and greetings were uttered:
‘My beautiful lady!’ ‘My handsome man!’
A tribute for you two, O loved ones.
Ascend upwards, O son, with a full mouth.
You are of the highest, from the apex of the sky above;
You are descended from the Sky-Father, the Far-reaching Sky, you are from Tane himself,
You are from the Apa, from the awesome-Apa-of-the-heavens, the Apa-of-heaven’s-lightning-flash;
Enter the dwelling-house-of-the-heavens, it is the rumbling-noise-of-the heavens.
It was Te Matatohikura who begot Maru and Apa-of-the-origin,
And from him are you descended.
Not with us, O son, are the sacred teachings.
They were not imparted by your forebears,
Not even the ancient propitiatory rite, the firestick ceremony;
The firestick of your ancestor Tura,
Which he took in his travels o’er the wide world.
When his fire was alight, it was sought by Kura;
The earth oven, Tumatere, gave food back to the world.
Hence Turanganui of the witchcraft,
For the destruction of mankind.
It was the possession of witchcraft
That beset our pathway with the numbing hazards
Of ailing old age, accidental slipping and sliding.
The priests are at the shrine yonder performing witchcraft;
They are Tamairiakinaterangi and Te Hekengaorangi.
Only Taramuru stands steadfast.

Feast your eyes on the close-pressing mist
Out to sea above the hapuku reefs
Maunungarara and Wharerauaruhe,
The property of Takopaiterangi, Te Aratotara
And Te Huawaiparea, that cunning fellow.
Come now, my sons,
It is time for your nephew
To have the cloak fastened about him.
Feast your eyes on Marokotia.
Clean the wax from your ears
That you may hear, and listen to
The speech of your ancestor Nohoatu,
Who is now addressing us two
From Te Arai of Turanga,
Where Hinerakai died of shame in the torchlight,

Rudely gazed upon (hence was she called, ‘the Maiden-gazed-upon’).
Belatedly you came but yesterday,
Without thought of danger awaiting you at Awarua;
You slid into the waters
And landed at Hauraki.
Then the voice of Tutawirirangi was heard,
‘O sons! Here is food to eat!
It has been hauled ashore and cut up;
The heart is to be cooked, eaten and consumed—
The heart of Karotimutimu from Taurangakoau.’
Now haul the great canoe until it drags upon the sands,
Let it rest upon the ponga,
Let it rest upon the mamaku,
Let it rest upon the teeming insects,
Let it rest upon the young fern shoots,
O son of mine!