Mātāmua ko te kupu! : te haka tēnā! te wana, taku ihi e, pupurita! / nā tā Tīmoti Kāretu.

Includes index.

Ngā Whakaahua -- Ngā Waiata me ngā Haka -- He Mihi -- He Kupu Takamua -- Te Waiata ā-Ringa -- Ngā Waiata ā-Ringa o ngā Pakanga Nui e Rua o te Ao -- Tā te Ao Ipoipo -- Tēnei Mea te Waiata Poroporoaki -- Ngā Waiata Whakangahau a te Ao Māori -- Ngā Titonga i Kawea i ngā Whakataetae Haka Matua o te Motu -- Te Ao Pākeha i Roto i te Titonga Māori -- He Mihi rā, kei aku Rangatira, kei ngā Tūmau, kei ngā Ringawera -- He Paku Whakaaro, he Kōingo Nui -- He Kuputohu.

Sir Tīmoti shares his extensive experience in the artforms of haka and waiata - from Māori songs of the two world wars to the rise of kapa haka competitions, from love songs to action songs, from Sir Apirana Ngata to Te Puea Hērangi, and from Te Matatini to contemporary hui on marae. Throughout the book, he draws on exemplars of Māori song and haka, explaining form and meanings, maintaining his stance that Lyric is Paramount! Written in exemplary te reo Māori, Mātāmua ko te Kupu! will become a taonga of Māori knowledge and language.

"I tēnei pukapuka āna, ka whakatakoto a Tā Tīmoti i te whānuitanga o ana wheako e pā ana ki te haka me te waiata - mai i ngā waiata o ngā pakanga o te ao e rua ki te aranga mai o ngā whakataetae kapa haka, mai i te waiata aroha ki te waiata ā-ringa, mai i ā Tā Apirana Ngata titonga ki ā Te Puea Hērangi, mai i te atamira o Te Matatini ki ngā hui o te wā i te marae ātea. Puta noa i te pukapuka, ka horahia e ia ngā kupu o ngā waiata me ngā haka, ka whakamāramahia hoki ngā kaupapa me ngā horopaki mō tēnā, mō tēnā, ka mutu, nō hea ia e peua i tana whakaaro kia Mātāmua ko te Kupu!"