Te Atua Mou E

"Te Atua Mou Ē" ("God is Truth") is the national anthem of the Cook Islands. It was adopted in 1982, replacing the previous New Zealand anthem "God Defend New Zealand".

Te Atua Mou Ē
English: God is Truth
National anthem of  Cook Islands
LyricsPa Tepaeru Terito Ariki, Lady Davis
MusicSir Tom Davis
Adopted1982
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Authorship

The music is by Sir Tom Davis, then Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. The lyrics are by his wife, Pa Tepaeru Terito Ariki, Lady Davis.[1]

Adoption as the national anthem

In 1982, article 76(D) of the constitution of the Cook Islands declared the song the official anthem of the Cook Islands. Before, the country used the New Zealand National Anthem.[2]

Lyrics

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. :|[3]

To God Almighty
Ruler of the isles of the sea
Hearken our call
Protect us
Crown us with liberty
May peace and love reign supreme
throughout the land.[3]

God of truth,
you are the ruler
of our country.
Please listen
to our voices
as we call to you,
protect and guide us
and give us your crown of truth
so we can be successful
and so that love and peace will rule forever
over our beloved country.

Changed lyrics

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 Maori, and claimed the change was offensive towards Sir Tom Davis and Pa Tepaeru Ariki Lady Davis.[2]

References
  1. "Australia/Oceania: Cook Islands". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
  2. "Anthem change strikes sour note". Cook Islands News. Rarotonga. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  3. National anthem, Government of the Cook Islands
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