Where has she gone?
She has gone to Avaiki,
She disappeared at the edge of the horizon
Where the sun drops through.
We weep for you.
She disappeared at the edge of the horizon
Where the sun drops through.
We weep for you.
Yes, I will forever weep
And continuously seek for you.
And continuously seek for you.
I shed bitter tears—
I weep for the lost wife of my bosom.
Alas! You will not return.
I weep for the lost wife of my bosom.
Alas! You will not return.
Oh, that you would return!
Come back to this world,
Return to my embrace.
You are like a branch torn off by the storm.
Return to my embrace.
You are like a branch torn off by the storm.
Torn off, and now in Avaiki—
That distant land to which you fled.
That distant land to which you fled.
Naupata (date unknown) Cook Islands
Source: The Path of the Ocean, Traditional Poetry of Polynesia, Editor: Marjorie Sinclair, University of Hawai'i Press, 1982
Composed by Naupata in memory of his wife. Avaiki is the land of the dead. The song is performed by a solo voice and chorus alternating.
(Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial - No Derivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0))
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