waiatan.
/ˈwʌɪətə/, U.S. /ˈwaɪədə/, New Zealand English /ˈwʌiʌtʌ/, /ˈwɑeədə/ New Zealand.
A Maori song.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > types of song > [noun] > folk-song > Maori
waiata1807
1807 J. Savage Some Acct. N.Z. xi. 75 Wyata, singing.
1843 E. Dieffenbach Trav. N.Z. II. i. iv. 57 E' Waiata is a song of a joyful nature.
1905 W. Baucke Where White Man Treads 88 Then Puke..sang a waiata.
1978 P. Grace Mutuwhenua xiv. 104 Singing or chanting the waiata at the conclusion of each speech.
1984 Metro (Auckland) Jan. 72/3 Indeed the Maori name for the racecourse is Waiatarua (Two Songs) and tradition suggests it was so named because the sound of the flood waters escaping through the underground caverns closely resembled the singing of waiatas.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
<
n.1807