Tikanga Māori
A school of butterfly perch in
Horoirangi Marine Reserve
Nau mai 'aere mai, e ngā manu'iri o ngā 'au e w'ā
Welcome to all people from all four winds
Mai i te 'au kāinga o tenei ro'e me kii ko Ngāti Tama o Wakapuaka
From us, the home people of Ngāti Tama of Wakapuaka.
Mai i rānō he ka'a te 'ononga i waenganui i te Iwi Māori me te ao tūturu.
For all time the link between Māori people and the natural world has been strong.
E w'akanui ana tātou i a Tangaroa me ngā tini rawa o te moana.
We respect Tangaroa and the multitude of his resources.
Engari kua moumoutia e tātou aua rawa, kia ā'ua ngaro 'aere ai.
But we have wasted these resources, and some are disappearing.
Me w'akarerekë i ērā tikanga, me ma'i ta'i tātou w'akaora ai i ngā tamariki a Tangaroa
Let's change these ways, and work in unison to restore Tangaroa's children
kia rite anō ki ngā rā o ō tātou tūpuna,
to what they were in the time of our ancestors,
mau tonu ai mō ngā w'akatupuranga e 'eke mai nei.
and retain them for the generations to come.