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Te Atua Mou Ē

English: God is Truth
National anthem of the Cook Islands
Lyrics	Pa Tepaeru Terito Ariki, Lady Davis
Music	Sir Tom Davis
Adopted	1982
Audio sample
U.S. Navy Band instrumental version file help

"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".

History

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. 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.

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 Māori, and claimed the change was offensive towards Sir Tom Davis and Pa Tepaeru Ariki Lady Davis.

Lyrics

Notes

1. See Help:IPA and Cook Islands Māori § Writing system and pronunciation.

References

1. "People". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 50, no. 9. 1 September 1979. p. 33. Retrieved 18 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
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

External links

• "Te Atua mou ē" on YouTube (female voice and guitar)
• "Te Atua mou ē" on YouTube (3-part a cappella, first 2½ lines missing)

• National anthems
• National symbols of the Cook Islands
• Music of the Cook Islands
• Oceanian anthems
• New Zealand songs