Codi Wehi Ngatai, has been in a variety of well known bands across many different genres over the years, but has recently decided to make the shift towards music for tamariki. Codi’s baby daughter is his inspiration for creating waiata Māori that will teach her words, colours, shapes and a variety of topics through song, video and other learning resources.
Codi has just released the first EP as part of a new series of waiata Māori for tamariki, called Kia Whanake. The EP, ‘Tahi’, meaning one, was created to give tamariki tunes and kupu to learn and grow. Whanake means to grow or develop, which is the intent of these waiata.
Codi says “I like to play music around the house, and as my daughter grew up, I couldn't find many simple waiata to support the learning of kupu Māori, or tunes that were easy to follow. I decided to write some waiata, and my daughter picked up the kupu and tunes very quickly. So I decided that these waiata might be beneficial for others wanting their tamariki to pick up.”
Codi says “I like to play music around the house, and as my daughter grew up, I couldn't find many simple waiata to support the learning of kupu Māori, or tunes that were easy to follow. I decided to write some waiata, and my daughter picked up the kupu and tunes very quickly. So I decided that these waiata might be beneficial for others wanting their tamariki to pick up.”
Kia Whanake
—— Kaupapa
Ko Codi Wehi-Ngatai te kaiarahi o tenei kaupapa, ara ko 'Kia Whanake'.
Ko te tino whāinga, e tautoko ana ki nga tangata me nga tamariki kia ako ai i te reo Māori.
Ko te kaupapa Kia Whanake ehara i te waiata anake; kua waihanga hoki i ngā ataata me ngā rauemi ako, hei āwhina i te kaupapa.