The Throat of the Deep (Te Korokoro O Te Parata)

(Intro) (The terrifying, deafening roar of a massive vortex of water) (The screech and groan of the wooden hull bending under impossible pressure) (A chaotic, frantic drum beat begins, like a racing pulse: Tat-tat... Tat-tat-tat!) (Overlapping, panicked male voices shouting in the dark) Teh Ah-rah-wah! (Te Arawa - The Waka) Teh Mow-ahn-ah! (Te Moana - The Ocean) Koe-row-koe-row! (Korokoro - The Throat) (Verse 1) The black is open and the water spins The belly of the deep where the dark begins The mighty Wah-kah (Waka) in the crushing jaw To feed the demon in the ocean's maw! The wood is tearing and the paddle snaps We fall forever in the tidal traps The white foam circles in the bleeding eye We look to the heaven but we lose the sky! (Chorus) (The drums become a violent, churning, swirling rhythm) (Full choir roaring in sheer terror, completely overwhelmed by the sound of the sea) Pah-rah-tah! (Parata - The Deep Sea Monster) The throat is open and the water falls! Pah-rah-tah! The shadow wakes and the demon calls! Hee-tah! (Hita - Pull!) Row for the life of the ancient blood! Hee-tah! Spit from the mouth of the roaring flood! (Verse 2) (Music suddenly drops to just the terrifying sound of the whirlpool and the groaning waka) (A single, heavy, booming footstep hits the wooden deck: THUD.) The men are weeping in the blinding rain But the Toh-hoo-ngah (Tohunga - High Priest) rises in the crushing pain He stands at the bow looking down the throat To weave the magic on the broken boat Ngah-toe-roe! (Ngātoro - The Priest Ngātoro-i-rangi) He breathes the fire in the freezing cold! He speaks the word that the fathers told! (Bridge) (Acapella. The chaotic wind and water drop slightly. One single, incredibly powerful, deep male voice roars the karakia with absolute, unshakeable authority.) Kah-rah-key-ah! (Karakia - Incantation) I command the water and I bind the sea! Kah-rah-key-ah! Let the timber rise and the wood be free! Maw-ree! (Mauri - Life Force) The spirit is heavy and the word is stone! Maw-ree! Back from the dark and the crushing bone! (Chorus) (Maximum volume! The drums return not as chaos, but as a massive, synchronized, victorious rhythm. The gang chants are no longer panicked, but roaring in triumph.) Pah-rah-tah! The throat is open and the water falls! Pah-rah-tah! The shadow wakes and the demon calls! Hee-tah! Row for the life of the ancient blood! Hee-tah! Spit from the mouth of the roaring flood! (Outro) (The violent drums slowly fade out, replaced by a steady, calm rhythm) (The sound of the roaring whirlpool smooths out into the gentle lapping of normal ocean waves) (Spoken in an exhausted, heavy breath) The jaw is closed. The water is calm. Teh Ah-rah-wah... (A single blow of the conch shell echoing over a quiet sea)