This lament, ‘E pā tō hau’, was composed by Rangiamoa for her cousin Te Wano of Ngāti Apakura and Waikato. Like many such songs, it compares the tears of those mourning to rain falling from the sky. This extract includes the reference to rain.
Transcript
E ua e te ua e tāheke
Come then, come then oh rain
Koe i runga rā;
Pour down, pour down steadily from above
Ko au ki raro nei riringi ai
Whilst I here below
Te ua i aku kamo.
Call forth a deluge from my eyes.
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