Tommy Wilson: Waiata links two soul sisters

A black-tie dinner hosted by Paul Adams celebrated the coming together of two great cities - San Bernardino and Tauranga.

The world of waiata is a haven where many of us take refuge when the planet seems to have spun off its axis and out of control.

Traditional Maori waiata oriori are soulful stories, not unlike all soul music, which take you on a journey already travelled by the composer.

There are some waiata that pierce the soul with their pure beauty when words and voice come together live and loud in front of you, and when that convergence of perfect pitch happens, life is beautiful.

Recently I have had my soul pierced twice by the same waiata Hine E Hine and by some kind of divine appointment, they were performed at the same venue (the ASB Arena here in Tauranga) by stunning vocalists from opposite ends of the Kiwi music spectrum.

Hine E Hine the waiata oriori penned in 1905 by Princess Te Rangi Pai, is a lullaby lament full of sadness and soul, and when you hear it live and loud, it takes you to a heavenly place where angels rest their wings and saints charge their beatitude batteries.

It is as pure as music gets, especially when it is sung from the deepest part of the human soul as it was first by Betty Anne Monga, the soul sister of Aotearoa and lead singer of Ardijah, who stole the show off the father of reggae, Jimmy Cliff, at his ASB Arena concert.

Then a week later we were back at ASB Arena and again it was Hine E Hine that stole the show, this time by another diva of the long white cloud, Dame Malvina Major.

Dame Malvina was the crown in the jewel of the black-tie dinner hosted by Paul Adams, to celebrate the coming together of two great cities - San Bernardino and Tauranga, to put together a tertiary institution that will be world-class.

Some things are born to be together. Opera and the Dame is one as is Betty Anne and the Ukulele.

The same can be said about the sister cities of San Bernardino and Tauranga Moana. They sound pitch perfect when you say their names side by side.

Almost by osmosis with a tincture of symbiosis, the coming together of these two culturally cool sisters, to create a tertiary institution, is a game changer for Tauranga.

At no 5 on the export earning ladder, education is fast becoming an earner that could and should be a cornerstone in our future growth.

If we get it right. And teaming up with a chancellor from the University of California is a huge kick-start as many in the industry attested to at the Hollywood-style black tie dinner. There will always be the deaf ears who cannot hear opportunity when it knocks on our door as there are those who cannot hear the pure beauty of waiata when it is sung loud and live by a diva.

In his speech at the gala dinner, where the women of Tauranga could have walked down any LA catwalk, Jim Bolger stated the biggest challenge for the survival of this planet we live on is to overcome greed and this is highlighted by 50 per cent of the world's wealth being controlled by 1 per cent of the population.

What we as Maori need to accept is 50 per cent of our wealth is also controlled by 1 per cent of our people.

In Tauranga I would say it is the same given most of our GDP is in land and the revenue we accrue from it.

So if success for all of Tauranga Moana comes at the cost of being called a Pakeha sympathiser - and mana is the currency we measure success with, not money - then I for one will celebrate the success of our new tertiary institution.

And may my ears always be open to the pure beauty of a Pakeha Dame singing a beautiful Maori waiata.

broblack@xtra.co.nz

-Tommy Wilson is a best-selling local author