Waiata 20: He mea whakamāori, nā ngā Waiata a Wiremu Hākipia
A translation into Māori of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 20
He kanohi wahine, nā te kaihanga anō i peita
Tōu, e te puhi rangatira o tōku nei aroha;
He ngākau hūmarie wahine, engari kāore tō
Ngākau whitiwhiti me te tikanga wahine teka:
He kamo kanapa ake i tō te wahine, tōtika te tiro,
Whakakōura ana i tōna e mātai ai;
He tāne te āhua, ko ngā āhua katoa i tōna mana,
Ka tāhae i ngā kamo tāne, ka whakamīharo i ngā wairua wahine.
Nā, hei wahine koe i hangaia i te tuatahitanga;
Engari, kua whakamaimoatia rawa e te kaihanga,
Nā, i tāna tāpiri ki a koe kua tinihanga ai i ahau,
Tāpiri ana i te mea kotahi, koretake katoa ki ahau.
Heoi rā, i te mea kua whakaritea koe mō te reka wahine,
Māku tō aroha, mā rātou hei taonga te hua a tō aroha.
A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted,
Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion;
A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women’s fashion:
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue all hues in his controlling,
Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created;
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prick’d thee out for women’s pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure.
Image: Two Unidentified Kaiwhakairo, carving Poupou, photo taken for the Dominion Post, 18 March 1960, photographer unidentified. Evening Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library. Catalogue entry here.