Our friends in New Zealand joined the ranks of those who redefined marriage; but they did it in an interesting manner. They amended their laws to say that the term “marriage” cannot be used to discriminate against same-sex or transgendered folks who want to marry one of their own kind.
After the vote was announced, the party began.
Can one of our friends who leave in Au or NZ tell me if that is the NZ national anthem which is being sung at the end?
Richard
2 comments:
No, Richard, not the NZ national anthem. It's a Maori love song:
From Wikipedia: East Coast Māori song-writer Paraire Tomoana, who polished up the song in 1917 and published the words in 1921, wrote that "it emanated from the North of Auckland" and was popularised by Māori soldiers who were training near Auckland before embarking for the war in Europe.[1]
There have been numerous claims and counterclaims regarding authorship over the years. Although the matter has never been definitively settled, guardianship of the words and music are held by the family (descendants) of Paraire Tomoana.
The Māori words have remained virtually unaltered over the decades, with only the waters in the first line being localized. For example, some versions refer to Rotorua, a town in the North Island. However, there have been many different English translations.
Thanks, Gary. I didn't think it was the national anthem, although one link in Google did refer to pokarekare ana as the "unofficial national anthem of NZ". Here is a link to another version with some beautiful NZ scenery to go along with it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgRVK2ge1ys
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