Matahira was the senior wife of Te Kotiri.
Biographical sources
- Matahira "He Waiata mo Te Moe Punarua/A Song About Two Wives." Nga Moteatea (The Songs. A Selection of Annotated Tribal Songs of the Māori with English Translations. Comp. Sir Apirana Ngata. Pt. 1. Hastings, N.Z.: E.S. Cliff & Co, 1928. Rpt. Wellington, N.Z.: Polynesian Society, 1959. Facsim. Ed. (includes Sir Apirana Ngata’s draft introduction of 1949
- and a page of errata to 1959 edition, supplied by Mr Pei Te Hurinui Jones). Wellington, N.Z.: Reed for the Polynesian Society, 1988. 120-121.
Music
- "He Waiata mo Te Moe Punarua/A Song About Two Wives." Nga Moteatea (The Songs) A Selection of Annotated Tribal Songs of the Māori with English Translations. Comp. Sir Apirana Ngata. Pt. 1. 1928. Rpt. Polynesian Soc. 1959. Facsim. ed. 1972 (with the addition of Sir Apirana Ngata’s draft introduction of 1949 and a page of errata to 1959 edition, supplied by Mr Pei Te Hurinui Jones). Rpt. 1974. Rpt. Auckland, N.Z.: Polynesian Soc., 1988. 120-121. Rpt. in "Poetry of the Māori." Trans. Barry Mitcalfe. Te Ao Hou 34 (1961): 31+.
- Barry Mitcalfe writes in his notes that ‘the composer, Matahira, was the senior wife of Te Kotiri. As a rangātira, Te Kotiri could afford to take another woman. He married the girl, Te Whioroa...’. In response, Matahira wrote this song to express the deep betrayal she felt and the intensity of her pain and desolation following Te Kotiri’s marriage to another woman. Mitcalfe notes that this song was ‘recorded in its original style and form by Te Hati. The recording is now in the Dominion Museum.’
Traditional
- "He Tangi." Nga Moteatea: He Maramara Rere No Nga Waka Maha. The Songs: Scattered Pieces From Many Canoe Areas. Comp. A. T. Ngata. Trans. Pei Te Hurinui. Pt. 4. Auckland; Wellington, N.Z.: Polynesian Soc.; Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust with assistance from the New Zealand 1990 Commission, 1990. 90.
- In Māori.