The Defiant Paddle (Kia Whakatāne)

(Intro) (The sound of heavy waves crashing against distant, jagged rocks) (A low, pulsing bass drum mimics the pulling of the tide: Thump... Thump...) (Whispered, urgent female voices, overlapping) Mah-tah-ah-too-ah... (Mātaatua - The Waka) Teh Tah-poo... (Te Tapu - The Sacred Law / Forbidden) Teh Hoe-eh... (Te Hoe - The Paddle) (Verse 1) (A slow, creeping rhythm builds. The wooden clack of the hull hitting rocks.) The men have walked upon the roaring green And left the mothers to the dark unseen The water turns and the shadow falls The tide is pulling to the jagged walls! The sacred law is heavy on the wood To touch the paddle where the fathers stood The reef is hungry and the ship is blind To leave the women and the weak behind! (Chorus) (Drums explode into a driving, relentless, aggressive beat) (A massive, roaring female choir screams the words with absolute defiance) Why-rah-kah! (Wairaka - The Chief's Daughter) The daughter steps into the burning light! Why-rah-kah! She takes the wood and she begins the fight! Fah-kah-tah-neh! (Whakatāne - Act like a man / Stand up!) The law is broken for the blood to live! Fah-kah-tah-neh! We take the water that the gods forgive! (Verse 2) (The rhythm becomes a massive rowing cadence. Every beat is a strike in the water.) The sister rises and the mother stands The heavy timber in the bleeding hands We push the ocean and we break the tide We pull the shadow from the western side! The men will look upon the turning sea And know the women made the vessel free! No quiet death upon the broken stone We row the Wah-kah (Waka) by the flesh and bone! (Bridge) (Acapella. Just the incredibly loud, synchronized SPLASH of paddles hitting the water and the fierce, rhythmic breathing of women rowing: Hah! ... Hah!) Hoe-eh! (Hoe - Paddle/Row!) Strike the water for the breathing lung! Hoe-eh! The greatest story that was never sung! To-o-ah! (Tōa - Drag / Pull) The rock is conquered and the shore is won! To-o-ah! We stand together in the rising sun! (Chorus) (Maximum volume! An overwhelming wall of female voices, victorious and thundering over heavy war drums.) Why-rah-kah! The daughter steps into the burning light! Why-rah-kah! She takes the wood and she begins the fight! Fah-kah-tah-neh! The law is broken for the blood to live! Fah-kah-tah-neh! We take the water that the gods forgive! (Outro) (The heavy drums stop on one final, massive beat) (The sound of the waka safely sliding onto the soft sand of the beach) (Spoken in a breathless, fierce, and proud female whisper) The wood is safe. The law is broken. Fah-kah-tah-neh... (The sound of a paddle being dropped onto the wooden deck)