Tarahiki (Cicada) - updated

Update: If you have a problem with the embed, click on the YouTube link below.



I ran across this today at Crooks and Liars. Too cool! nonny mouse posted it, and I thank you. thecelticinme poasted it at YouTube, and I thank you.

Nonny tells us it is "an old Maori haka sung by New Zealand’s most famous soprano, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, with a dozen Maori back-up vocalists." The song is evidently over 300 years old and is here performed in a blend of traditional haka and symphonic orchestra. It's just way cool.

The following is from the YouTube post:
Footage taken from "Faith and Music" with a little editing.

******

E, pakia kia rite
E, ko te rite kia rite
E, takahia kia ngawari
E, torona kei waho
Hoki mai

E whakarongo ai au
Ki te tangi mai
A te manu nei,

A te tarakihi,
I te weheruatanga
o te po

Tara ra-ta kita kita
Tara ra-ta kita kita

Wiri o papa, towene, towene
Wiri o papa, towene, towene

Hope whai-a-ke
Turi whatia
Ei! Ei! Ha!


*****

Clap in unison,
in unison, in unison.
Stamp your feet smoothly
Hands outstretched
then back.

I listen
to the cry
of this flying creature

of the cicada
in the middle
of the night.

Tara ra ta ki ta ki ta
.... (cicada noises)

Quivering rear end, whirring, whirring
Quivering rear end, whirring, whirring

Knees bent
hips swaying
Ei! Ei! Ha !

Enjoy!
--the BB

This morning's visitors

I am pleased that Prince Leka II has drawn a visitor from Albania. Welcome! Of course, I have no idea whether today's guest is pro- or anti-monarchy, but then I am not a monarchist myself (way too American) though I feature royals here. The chief thing is some kind of link with others around the world and I am delighted to have an Albanian visitor.

We also have a guest from Aotearoa, the island of the long white cloud, New Zealand. Two elderly sisters from New Zealand were parishioners at the church in Redwood City, California, where I served as interim. Yes, they had Vegemite in the cupboard. They also taught me that what is marketed in California as kiwi or kiwifruit is properly termed Chinese gooseberry. That can be your trivium for today.

Like many Episcopalians, I am very grateful for the New Zealand Prayer Book with its dedicated approach to honoring the multiple cultures of society and to reflecting New Zealand's uniqueness in the liturgies. A strong model of inculturation of the Gospel that has guided and nourished others, it is a gift to the larger communion.

Welcome, Kiwi, to this site!