22. Karakia

• Tēnei au, tēnei au
  Te hōkai nei i taku tapuwae
  Ko te hōkai-nuku
  Ko te hōkai-rangi
  Ko te hōkai o tō tipunaa Tāne-nui-ā-rangi
  I pikitia ai
  Ki te Rangi-tūhaha
  Ki Tihi-i-manono
  I rokohina atu rā
  Ko Io-Matua-Kore anake
  I riro iho ai
  Ngā Kete o te Wananga
  ko te Kete Tuauri
  ko te Kete Tuatea
  ko te Kete Aronui
  Ka tiritiria, ka poupoua
  Ki a Papatuanuku
  Ka puta te Ira-tangata
  Ki te whai-ao
  Ki te Ao-marama
  Tihei mauri ora!
  
  
  Here am I, here am I
  here am I swiftly moving by
  the power of my karakia for swift movement
  Swiftly moving over the earth
  Swiftly moving through the heavens
  the swift movement of your ancestor
  Tane-nui-a-rangi
  who climbed up
  to the isolated realms
  to the summit of Manono
  and there found
  Io-the-Parentless alone
  He brought back down
  the Baskets of Knowledge
  the Basket called Tuauri
  the Basket called Tuatea
  the Basket called Aronui.
  Portioned out, planted
  in Mother Earth
  the life principle of humankind
  comes forth into the dawn
  into the world of light
  Behold, I have life.
  
  The intention of this karakia is to draw on the help and support of Māori Gods such as Tāne to provide us with the confidence to deal with challenging situations and discussions around topics such as grief, suffering, death as well as the afterlife.
  
  This particular karakia aims to create a direct, causal link between ourselves and Tāne and drawing on his sanctity and tapu to assist us. Some tribes believe things such as foot steps or 'tapuwae' are remnants of an individuals hau or aura and this karakia draws on the foot steps of Tāne himself.
  
  To fortify our confidence and strength in carrying out our work by using this karakia, we are also reminded of his sanctity and true power where the karakia describes his incredible feats such as climbing into the Heavens, meeting Io, bringing the Baskets of Knowledge to the World, creating the first woman, and finally bringing humanity into being.