Te Atua Mou E

Te Atua Mou Ē
English: God is Truth
National anthem of the Cook Islands
LyricsPa Tepaeru Terito Ariki, Lady Davis
MusicSir Tom Davis
Adopted1982
Audio sample
U.S. Navy Band instrumental version
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"Te Atua Mou Ē" ("God is Truth") is the national anthem of the Cook Islands. It was adopted in 1982, replacing "God Defend New Zealand", the New Zealand anthem.

History

The music was written 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. The country used "God Defend New Zealand", the New Zealand national anthem, before that.[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 IPA transcription[a] English translation[3]

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] 𝄇

God almighty,
ruler
of our nation.

Hear
our voices
as we call.

Protect
us
Grant us the crowning glory

To be lofty and successful
Let love prevail
over all our beloved lands.

Notes

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

References

  1. ^ "People". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 50, no. 9. 1 September 1979. p. 33. Retrieved 18 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ a b "Anthem change strikes sour note". Cook Islands News. Rarotonga. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  3. ^ "National anthem of the Cook Island's [sic]" (PDF). thecoconet.tv. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
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