Part One of this interview and translation can be found here: https://iso.org.nz/2024/06/28/nga-taurahere-a-new-maori-translation-of-the-internationale/
ISO members Kaakatarau Te Pou Kohere (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tuhoe, Ngāti te ata Waiohua, Kai Tahu) and Tima Thurlow (Ngāi Tuhoe) are developing a new Māori translation of the workers’ anthem The Internationale. Kaakatarau spoke to Shōmi Yoon about the considerations and politics of The Internationale and the connections to Māoritanga and te ao Māori threaded through this translation. Ngā Taurahere is a working title.
Ngā Taurahere – The Internationale
| Translation from French | Te Reo Adaptation | Literal Translation of Te Reo |
| We want no condescending saviours | Hei aha te pakiwaha | Whatever to those braggarts, |
| To rule us from their judgment hall | Tērā māpu o Kaihā | that mob of Caeser’s. |
| We workers ask not for their favours | Ehara noa te mana mino | We don’t just borrow mana, |
| Let us consult for all. | Ko te mana rangatira | It is ours as a united people. |
| To make the thief disgorge his booty | Ka hemo te weka i a matou | We shall put an end to those weka, |
| To free the spirit from its cell | Kia mahea ngā hara | so that we can free ourselves from harm. |
| We must ourselves decide our duty. | Mā tatou te motuhake | Independence will be ours. |
| We must decide and do it well. | Ake nei, ka whiria! | Soon, we can choose! |
With this verse of the Internationale, I had a lot of help in a Ngāti Porou kiwaha book and the Williams dictionary of the Māori language. Hei aha works as a sort of dismissive “never mind that” phrase that I think captures the spirit of hating condescending leadership. It flowed well into being dismissive of a mob of Kaihā, this kupu descending from a transliteration of Kaiser, which itself whakapapas back to Caeser, the original opportunist. Mana mino sort of plays off the above transliteration, as a kupu mino translates to a borrowed word, just as much as we reject borrowing someone else’s mana to lead. Instead, we should rely on the solidarity of a tira, a dedicated, organised and coordinated group, that has been raranga’d that is woven together. The mana rangatira thus subverting the power of an individual and recognising it is drawn from the authority of the collective.
Weka themselves are mischievous if adorable little creatures, but they are renown for their cunning thievery. Comparing capitalists to snipes isn’t too radical in an anti-capitalist context. Mahea ngā hara is a turn of phrase regarding the alleviation of suffering or rather freeing one self, such as the waiata Purea Nei’s “Mahea ake ngā here”, free yourself from your bindings.
Mana motuhake is alluded to in the last two lines, we advocate for our collective choices to matter. Motuhaketanga being the recognition of distinct autonomy within the word motuhake, but within the all encompassing word tatou that connects our autonomy to that of a collective social relationship. And to close it off, a simple Ake nei, ka whiria! Soon we will choose!
