\u201cFor Fiji,\u201d read one the captions on the videos at the Maoli concert, referring to the Fijian singer George Veikoso, who passed away last year. Veikoso was a legendary reggae artist and hugely popular with reggae fans around the Pacific. He also recorded his own version of \u2018E Papa\u2019, which he was renowned for singing at his concerts. Although Veikoso is credited with bringing the song to the Pacific \u2013 I once even saw him perform it in the Cook Islands \u2013 its roots are firmly placed in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
While the exact origins of the song are debated, it\u2019s commonly accepted that \u2018E Papa\u2019 is an \u201cold river song\u201d<\/a> from the Whanganui area. According to some, it was composed as in the late 19th century following the battle of Moutoa<\/a> on May 14, 1864. M\u0101ori in the area had begun embracing the Pai M\u0101rire (Hauhau) faith as a response to land loss, but some saw it as a threat to iwi mana. An upriver party led by M\u0101tene Te Rangitauira sought to attack Whanganui, but was blocked by downriver chiefs H\u014dri K\u012bngi Te \u0100naua and Hoani Wiremu H\u012bpango, who defeated them at Moutoa Island, resulting in significant casualties on both sides.\u00a0<\/p>\n In one account of the battle, Waiari Te Patu was a rangatira from the Whanganui area who was killed in the battle. While there are stories of other people named Waiari from around that time \u2013 and a river near Te Puke called Wai\u0101ri too \u2013 it is said the death of Waiari Te Patu became the inspiration for the waiata, which is effectively a lament for his death.<\/p>\n The oldest written mention of the song is from June 16, 1934, when it appeared in papers around the country on the radio schedule for the day. That evening, a version of the waiata sung by the Puketeraki M\u0101ori Concert Party was broadcast on the 3YA Christchurch station of the Radio Broadcasting Company of New Zealand.<\/p>\n Over the next five decades, the song continued to gain popularity, particularly through its use as a waiata for t\u012b r\u0101kau<\/a>, stick games popular in M\u0101ori communities. Many M\u0101ori groups and choirs performed and recorded their own version of the song, including the St Joseph\u2019s M\u0101ori Girls College and Turakina M\u0101ori Girls\u2019 College. However, the first recording by a pop artist came in 1985, with the P\u0101tea M\u0101ori Club releasing a version as a 7-inch single which peaked at 41 on the New Zealand charts.<\/p>\n Two years later, \u2018E Papa\u2019 was the opening track on the Herbs album Sensitive to a Smile; band members Fred Faleauto and Dilworth Karaka had also appeared in the P\u0101tea M\u0101ori Club recording. Sensitive to a Smile would go on to be certified platinum, win album of the year at the 1987 New Zealand Music Awards and reach the top 10 of the New Zealand album chart, spending 30 weeks in the charts in total. The whole country was now familiar with \u2018E Papa\u2019.<\/p>\n In 1996, Veikoso released his second studio album Born and Raised, featuring his version of \u2018E Papa\u2019, titled \u2018Chant of the Islands\u2019. From there, the song gained popularity throughout the Pacific and became a setlist mainstay in Veikoso\u2019s concerts \u2013 a large proportion of which were in New Zealand. As many New Zealanders were already familiar with the waiata, crowds would often sing along. \u2018E Papa\u2019 soon became a cornerstone of his famous crowd interaction.<\/p>\n The \u2018E Papa\u2019 concert singalong continued up until Veikoso\u2019s passing last year. In September, at a tribute concert for Veikoso in Honolulu, Hawai\u2019i, the 30,000-strong crowd sang \u2018E Papa\u2019, serving as an emotional climax for those in attendance<\/a>. Four months later, over 21,000 people gathered at Victoria Park in Auckland and sang \u2018E Papa\u2019 in honour of Veikoso, perhaps not realising that they were also honouring the memory of Waiari Te Patu, the battle of Moutoa, and all the artists who helped make \u2018E Papa\u2019 the chant of the Pacific.<\/p>\nPupils of Hungahunga School in Te Aroha demonstrate the Maori stick game for the visitors. (Photo: The New Zealand Herald via Getty Images).<\/p>\n