Matamua ko te Kupu! Te Korero o te Waiata Maori

Ko Tā Tīmoti Kāretu tētahi o ngā tohunga reo Māori o te motu - ko ia te kaiarataki i Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, i Te Māngai Pāho, i Te Kōhanga Reo tae atu ki Te Panekiretanga o te Reo, i whai rā ki te whakawhanake i ngā uri matatau o ngā iwi o te motu kia matatau kē atu. I te ao haka, he kaitito, he kaihaka, he kaiako, he kaiwhakawā, he kaiārahi, he mātanga hoki ia.

I tēnei pukapuka āna, ka whakatakoto a Tā Tīmoti i te whānuitanga o ana wheako e pā ana ki te haka me te waiata - mai i ngā waiata o ngā pakanga o te ao e rua ki te aranga mai o ngā whakataetae kapa haka, mai i te waiata aroha ki te waiata ā-ringa, mai i ā Tā Apirana Ngata titonga ki ā Te Puea Hērangi, mai i te atamira o Te Matatini ki ngā hui o te wā i te marae ātea. Puta noa i te pukapuka, ka horahia e ia ngā kupu o ngā waiata me ngā haka, ka whakamāramahia hoki ngā kaupapa me ngā horopaki mō tēnā, mō tēnā, ka mutu, nō hea ia e peua i tana whakaaro kia Mātāmua ko te Kupu!

He mea tuhi te pukapuka nei ki te reo Māori kairangi tonu hei pātaka mō te mātauranga me te reo Māori.

Sir Tīmoti Kāretu is one of the country's chief exponents of te reo Māori - from leading the Māori Language Commission to producing a new generation of language experts through his teaching at Te Panekiretanga o te Reo Māori. He is also an unrivalled creator of waiata and haka, composing songs and judging at Te Matatini and other events.

In this book, Sir Tīmoti shares his extensive experience in the artforms of haka and waiata - from Māori songs of the two world wars to the rise of kapa haka competitions, from love songs to action songs, from Sir Apirana Ngata to Te Puea Hērangi, and from Te Matatini to contemporary hui on marae. Throughout the book, he draws on exemplars of Māori song and haka, explaining form and meanings, maintaining his stance that Lyric is Paramount!

Written in exemplary te reo Māori, Mātāmua ko te Kupu! will become a taonga of Māori knowledge and language.