Te Atua Mou E

Te Atua Mou Ē
English: God is Truth
	National anthem of the Cook Islands
Lyrics	Pa Tepaeru Terito Ariki, Lady Davis
Music	Sir Tom Davis
Adopted	1982
Audio sample
	U.S. Navy Band instrumental version file; help;

"Te Atua Mou Ē" ("God is Truth") is the national anthem of the Cook Islands. It was adopted in 1982, replacing the previous New Zealand anthem "God Defend New Zealand".

History

The music is by Sir Tom Davis, then Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. The lyrics are by his wife, Pa Tepaeru Terito Ariki, Lady Davis.^[1] In 1982, article 76(D) of the constitution of the Cook Islands declared the song the official anthem of the Cook Islands. Before, the country used the New Zealand National Anthem.^[2]

In 2017, the House of Ariki proposed to change two words from the song, replacing pa enua ("all the islands of the sea") with Kuki Airani (Cook Islands). The change was heavily disliked by residents of the islands. They pointed out the new words were not part of their language, te reo Māori, and claimed the change was offensive towards Sir Tom Davis and Pa Tepaeru Ariki Lady Davis.^[2]

Lyrics

Cook Islands Māori original^[3]	IPA transcription^[a]	Poetic English translation^[3]	Literal English translation
Te Atua mou ē Ko koe rāi te pū O te pā 'enua ē. 'Akarongo mai I tō mātou nei reo Tē kāpiki atu nei. Pāruru mai I a mātou nei 'Omai te korona mou Kia ngāteitei Kia vai rāi te aro'a 𝄆 O te pā 'enua ē. 𝄇	[te a.tu.a mou̯ eː] [ko koe̯ raːi̯ te puː] [o te paː ʔe.nu.a eː] [ʔa.ka.ɾo.ŋo mai̯] [i toː maː.tou̯ nei̯ ɾeo̯] [teː kaː.pi.ki a.tu nei̯] [paː.ɾu.ɾu mai̯] [i‿a maː.tou̯ nei̯] [ʔo.mai̯ te ko.ɾo.na mou̯] [ki.a ŋaː.tei̯.tei̯] [ki.a vai̯ raːi̯ te a.ɾo.ʔa] 𝄆 [o te paː ʔe.nu.a eː] 𝄇	To God Almighty Ruler of the isles of the sea Hearken our call Protect us Crown us with liberty May peace and love reign supreme throughout the land.	God of truth, you are the ruler of our country. Please listen to our voices as we call to you. Protect us and guide us and give us your crown of truth so we can be successful and so that love and peace will rule forever 𝄆 over our beloved country. 𝄇

Notes

^ See Help:IPA and Cook Islands Māori § Writing system and pronunciation.

References

^ "People". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 50, no. 9. 1 September 1979. p. 33. Retrieved 18 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b "Anthem change strikes sour note". Cook Islands News. Rarotonga. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ ^a ^b National anthem, Government of the Cook Islands

External links

"Te Atua mou ē" on YouTube (female voice and guitar)
"Te Atua mou ē" on YouTube (3-part a cappella, first 2½ lines missing)

[4] See Help:IPA and Cook Islands Māori § Writing system and pronunciation.

[1] "People". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 50, no. 9. 1 September 1979. p. 33. Retrieved 18 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.

[CIN-2] "Anthem change strikes sour note". Cook Islands News. Rarotonga. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[ck-3] National anthem, Government of the Cook Islands

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