Poem Analysis

 

• What senses does the poet mainly appeal to? Sound and Sihjt
• Which images are most powerful or striking? The images of the Tekoteko being portrayed as something deathly and horrid. 
• Which sounds are particularly memorable? The repetitive lines of ''Tihei Mauriora"
• Which words do you find most striking / vivid / disturbing / moving? Taiaha the war spear the poem states about it being is fist
• What are your first impressions of the speaker of the poem (if there is one)? A person with a dark sense of humor

1. Why do you think Māori language used in this poem? To show how much Tu , the person in the poem his Maori language capabilities.
2. Is this a rhyming poem, or a free verse poem? Why do you think that is? Free verse Poem
3. Who are:”Kupe Paikea Te KootiRewi and Te Rauparaha”? Historical figures in Maori history.
4. In the third stanza, the poem uses a pepeha style. What is a pepeha, and why would it be important in this poem? To show the range of his capabilities of speaking Maori language.
5. Find examples of the following techniques and explain why they have been included:
1. metaphor : " Jail is my marae " Metaphorically stating how Tu describes jail as his home rather than an actually Marae
2. personification : the TekoTeko/wood carving portrayed as if it was a living being throwing his tongue down at the feet of Tu. Feeling angry at Tu for his capabilities as a Maori and Pepeha descent.
3. strong verbs "he ripped his tongue from his mouth and threw it at my feet"
4. first person pronoun: Tu
5. repetition : Tihei Mauriora, a reoccurring line that is stated throughout the poem

Apirana Taylor : Sad Jokes on a Marae 

Tihei Mauriora I called

Kupe Paikea Te Kooti

Rewi and Te Rauparaha.

I saw them

grim death and wooden ghosts

carved on the meeting house wall.

In the only Māori I knew

I called

Tihei Mauriora.

Above me the tekoteko raged.

He ripped his tongue from his mouth 

and threw it at my feet.

Then I spoke.

My name is Tū the freezer worker.

Ngāti D.B. is my tribe.

The pub is my Marae.

My fist is my taiaha.

Jail is my home.

Tihei Mauriora I cried.

They understood

The tekoteko and the ghosts

though I said nothing but

Tihei Mauriora

for that’s all I knew.

Apirana Taylor

Translation/Glossary/Context

Tihei Mauriora – the sneeze of life / a call to claim the right to speak and how one traditionally starts the whaikōrero portion of a pōwhiri.

Kupe – First Polynesian to discover the islands of New Zealand.

Paikea – The Whale Rider / Kahutia- te- rangi

Te Kooti – Folk hero from 1800s

Rewi – Ngāti Maniapoto chief who fought the British

Te Rauparaha – Folk hero around during 1700s and 1800s.

Tekoteko – carved wooden figure(head) attached to the gable of the whare. 

Marae – ceremonial open space / courtyard

Taiaha – war spear