Hoki atu ki o tātau iwi, hoki atu ki o tātau maunga, hoki atu ki o tātau marae. Engari kia mau ki tēnei kōrero - tu Māori mai, tu Māori mai, tu Māori mai

Go back to our people, go back to our mountains, go back to our marae but cling to this command.

Stand as Māori, stand as Māori, stand as Māori

This whakatāuki was said by Sir James Henare (1911- 1989) to soldiers of the 28th Māori Battalion when they returned to Aotearoa after serving overseas during the Second World War.

Voiced and explained by Leanne Tamaki nō Tūhoe