This is the fourth and last volume of a new edition of a classic work, the annotated collection of waiata made by a distinguished Maori leader and scholar Apirana Ngata. The waiata in this volume were not translated originally and translations by distinguished Maori scholar Hirini Moko Mead are published here for the first time. Mead's translations are made in the spirit of those of Pei Te Hurinui and in deep sympathy with the Maori text. The translation opens up to a wide readership of Maori and non-Maori, nationally and internationally, the beauty of the poetic language of the waiata and a wealth of information about Maori life. This completely redesigned and reset edition, published in association with the Polynesian Society, preserves the integrity of the original text and commentary but modernises the typography. It includes two CDs of waiata drawn from the Archive of Maori and Pacific Music at the University of Auckland.

Translated by: Hirini Moko Mead