Lyrics - Maori
(Maori folk song from New Zealand)
Ka tahi, Hei tama tū tama
Ka rua, Hei tama tū tama
Ka toru, Hei tama tū tama
Hei tama tū tama, Hei tama tū tama
English Translation
Together, Hei tama tū tama*
There will be two, Hei tama tū tama,
Or take, Hei tama tū tama,
Hei tama tū tama, Hei tama tū tama.
*syllables that don’t mean anything
Movement
Formation: Students sit facing partners in scattered formation.
“Hei tama tū tama” = pat, clap, high five, clap
The original game is described here.
See also
- Culture: Maori
- Form: call & response
- Melody: repeated tones / do / ti
- Meter: 4
- Rhythm: / ties
- Scale: tetratonic
- Tones: drmt
- Source: Share the Music, MacMillan McGraw-Hill, Grade 4, 1997
YouTube
- PDF of song with chords
- MIDI file
- Listen to the melody