Taonga pūoro
Encyclopedia
Taonga pūoro are the traditional musical instrument
s of the Māori people of New Zealand
.
Taonga pūoro were revived over the past thirty years by Hirini Melbourne
, Richard Nunns
and Brian Flintoff. The instruments previously fulfilled many functions within Māori society including a call to arms, dawning of the new day, communications with the gods and the planting of crops. They are significant in sacred ritual and also fulfill a story-telling role. Many of the sounds of the instruments and tunes are imitations of the sounds of nature, including the wind, the seas and the natural world of birds and insects.
), many forms of flutes and percussive instruments.
) respectively. The instruments classifications are derived from their children. The god of the winds is Tawhiri and from him come the wind instruments. The shell instruments are from Tangaroa
, god of the sea and Tane
and his daughters Hine Pu te Hue and Hine Raukatauri govern the other instruments derived from forest and earth materials. Today, at times substitute materials are used in the making of the instruments and several instruments fall into more than one family being a combination of materials.
(Maori priests) seemed to be exclusively used as a “cell phone” or an oral flux between Ira Tangata (man) to Ira Atua (the Divine/Gods) or the temporal and the spiritual, which is why the Maori held them with awe and respect because they were profoundly regarded in the tapu (sacred/taboo) domain as items of use from the Tohunga. When used for entertainment and for recreation, it was a hidden and private practice.
Music later on, in a western sense, had veered away from the spiritual sense although largely hymn singing had become very important to the Maori people in the 19th Century but it veered away from the spiritual and Taonga Puoro became a pastime of recreation, something you do when you had nothing more important to do.
Much of these musical traditions had been lost over time because of the spiritual reservations Maori people had against them but sensitive researchers and enthusiasts such as Dr. Richard Nunns, Hirini Melbourne and Brian Flintoff have done considerable restorative work and provided a wealth of knowledge and information around the sounds, history and stories of these taonga, ensuring their preservation for future generations.
Today, these instruments are used more often by people at most Māori or grand ceremonies.
See videos of these taonga puoro (musical instruments) and waiata (song) - Video of Te Hekenga-a-Rangi (Excerpt 1) and
(Excerpt 2)
The kōauau
is a small flute, ductless and notchless, 10 cm to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches) long, open at both ends and having from three to six fingerholes placed along the pipe. Kōauau resemble flutes the world over in tone quality and in the range of sounds that can be produced by directing the breath across the sharp edge of the upper aperture. Māori kōauau players were renowned for the power it gave them over the affections of women (notably illustrated by the story of Tūtānekai, who, by playing his kōauau to cause Hinemoa to swim to him across Lake Rotorua
). Kōauau are made of wood or bone. Formerly the bone was of bird bone such as albatross
or moa
; some instruments were also of human bone and were associated with chiefly status and with the traditional practice of utu
.
The nguru is a small vessel flute in the Helmholtz oscillator class, like an ocarina
or xun
. It is made of wood, soapstone or bone and shaped like a whale's tooth. Sometimes it is made from a whale's tooth. It is from 5 cm to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) in length, wide at the blowing end and tapering to the lower where it is slightly turned up. It has two or three fingerholes and an extra hole bored on the underside, near the curved end, through which a cord could be passed so that it could hang round the owner's neck. It is played in the same way as a kōauau and produces a similar pure flute-like sound. The nguru is sometimes classified as a nose flute perhaps because the word nguru means to sigh, moan, or snore. This is unlikely because the large end is too wide for a nostril and, if the curved end were placed in that same position, the flute would lie at an impossible angle for the player to reach the fingerholes.
A long flute with a closed top and a transverse blowing hole and finger holes like a pōrutu.
A long flute with a notched open top which is the blowing edge and a single finger hole near the end - the instrument was chanted through and was traditionally played over the fontanelle of an infant to implant songs and tribal information into the child's subconscious.
The pūtōrino
is known for its wide range of voices including a male voice (trumpet) and a female voice (flute). The pūtōrino varies in length from 20 cm to 50 cm (9 to 20 inches) and has an uneven bore, swelling out to the centre and diminishing evenly towards the lower end, where the pipe is narrow, and has either a very small opening or none at all. The outer shape is carved from a solid piece of wood, split in half lengthwise, hollowed out like two small waka and then lashed together again with flax cord or similar subtitute for binding. At the widest part of the pipe there is an opening shaped like a grotesque mouth. The finest specimens are decorated at both ends with carved figures, and the open mouth is part of a head which is outlined on the flat surface of the pipe. It can be played with bugle technique, with closed lips which are set in vibration by the rapid withdrawal of the tongue. Small variations of pitch can be produced by moving the forefinger over the centre opening.
Example of the Pūtōrino
The pōrutu is a long version of the kōauau, usually measuring from 38 cm to 57 cm long (14 to 22 inches). The playing quality differs depending on the material it is made from. New Zealand native hardwoods such as mānuka, mataī, or black maire are suitable for a clean resonating effects. Like the pūtorino, it has 2 voices, the male (trumpet) and female (flute). The female voice can produce up to five harmonics depending on the bore.
The Pūkaea is a traditional Maori trumpet made of wood. There are several differing designs and lengths within the Pūkaea genre. Pūkaea were used to announce relay signals at times of conflict and were also used to announce the rituals associated with the planting of kumara (sweet potato) and other crops. The function of this instrument is to herald spiritual pathways. As a war trumpet they were used in announcing an oncoming war-party and were dedicated to Tumatauenga (god of war). In the announcement of harvest they were dedicated to Rongomatane (God of agriculture, arts and peace). Today they can be heard heralding the visitors onto the marae or at the opening and closing of important ceremonies.
Example of a large Pūkaea
A traditional Maori conch shell trumpet which had a variety of roles from signaling to ceremonial and ritual use.
Example of the Pūtātara (second instrument only)
This Maori musical instrument is made of wood and a jade / greenstone gong and was used in the whare purakau (house of learning). Part of it is made of the jaw bone of the upokohue (pilot whale) and the striker is made from akeake, a native hardwood.
The Pūrerehua can be made of bone, wood or stone, they are blade-like and swing on a long cord producing a loud, deep whirling that can be heard from a distance. A rapid spinning motion will start the music of the Purerehua'a song as it rotates and flutters. Uses vary from luring lizards, summoning rain, communicating and attracting a soul mate.
Example of a non-traditional Pūrerehua
This Maori musical instrument was used as a bird lure. It was made by hollowing a gourd, drilling holes on either side and attaching a cord by which it could be swung around the head creating a whistling, chattering voice that attracted birds.
and award winning, Whale Rider and are becoming more widely used in television and film music to produce authentic natural sounds rather than artificially generated sounds.
New Zealand composers such as Gillian Whitehead
and David Hamilton have used taonga pūoro extensively in the genre of art music combining the traditional Maori instruments with western instruments. In 2010, British film and orchestal composer, Paul Lewis
collaborated with master taonga pūoro practitioner, Horomona Horo, to produce, Legends of Rotorua, a fifty minute composition for a wide variety of taonga pūoro, string quartet
, harp
, flute
, storyteller
and soprano
.
Horomona Horo, student of the late Hirini Melbourne
and Richard Nunns
was the winner of the first inaugural concerto competition. He has collaborated with numerous artists such as Moana and the Moahunters
(later Moana and the Tribe), Canto Maori and Irish group, Green Fire Islands, incorporating taonga pūoro into hip-hop, chamber music
, pop, and opera
. Salmonella Dub
, Tiki Taane
and Fat Freddy's Drop
have all used taonga pūoro on their albums.
The University of Waikato
Conservatorium of Music has established a programme to study the instruments in a formal academic capacity under composer and director of The New Zealand Music Research Group, Martin Lodge. Richard Nunns
was granted an honorary doctorate by the university in recognition of his contribution to New Zealand Music and the revival of taonga pūoro. He is also a research associate at the University of Waikato.
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s of the Māori people of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Taonga pūoro were revived over the past thirty years by Hirini Melbourne
Hirini Melbourne
Hirini Melbourne was a Māori composer, singer, university lecturer, poet and author. He was from Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Kahungunu Maori tribes.He is known in New Zealand for his work surrounding the revival of Māori culture...
, Richard Nunns
Richard Nunns
Richard Nunns QSM is a Māori traditional instrumentalist of Pākehā heritage. He is particularly known for playing the Taonga pūoro and his collaboration with fellow Māori instrumentalist Hirini Melbourne. Since Melbourne's death, he is regarded as the world's foremost authority on Māori...
and Brian Flintoff. The instruments previously fulfilled many functions within Māori society including a call to arms, dawning of the new day, communications with the gods and the planting of crops. They are significant in sacred ritual and also fulfill a story-telling role. Many of the sounds of the instruments and tunes are imitations of the sounds of nature, including the wind, the seas and the natural world of birds and insects.
Classifications
There are several classifications of sound types and instruments. The tunes are called rangi, while the extensive collection of gourd instruments have been personified as Hine Pū Te Hue. There are also instruments that imitate the songs of birds or the sounds of insects, a variety of numerous shell instruments (including horns), wind instruments (including trumpets such as the PūtātaraPūtātara
The pūtātara is a type of trumpet used by the Māori people of New Zealand. It is customarily made with a carved wooden mouthpiece and a bell made from New Zealand's small native conch shells or triton shell...
), many forms of flutes and percussive instruments.
Origins
Taonga pūoro and their uses and classifications are intimately connected with Maori culture and religious practice. The instruments are all part of the families of the gods and the classifications are directly related to the gods and the creation story where "The Gods sang the Universe into Existence". The universal building blocks of music, melody(rangi) and rhythm(papa)are named for the Sky Father and Earth Mother(Ranginui & Papatuanuku or Rangi and PapaRangi and Papa
In Māori mythology the primal couple Rangi and Papa appear in a creation myth explaining the origin of the world. In some South Island dialects, Rangi is called Raki or Rakinui.-Union and separation:...
) respectively. The instruments classifications are derived from their children. The god of the winds is Tawhiri and from him come the wind instruments. The shell instruments are from Tangaroa
Tangaroa
In Māori mythology, Tangaroa is one of the great gods, the god of the sea. He is a son of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, Sky and Earth. After he joins his brothers Rongo, Tūmatauenga, Haumia, and Tane in the forcible separation of their parents, he is attacked by his brother Tawhirimatea, the god of...
, god of the sea and Tane
Tane
In Māori mythology, Tāne is the god of forests and of birds, and the son of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, the sky father and the earth mother, who lie in a tight embrace...
and his daughters Hine Pu te Hue and Hine Raukatauri govern the other instruments derived from forest and earth materials. Today, at times substitute materials are used in the making of the instruments and several instruments fall into more than one family being a combination of materials.
Traditional usage
The use of these instruments, as part of the toolkit of the TohungaTohunga
In the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, religious or otherwise. Tohunga may include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, builders, teachers and advisors. The equivalent term in Hawaiian culture is kahuna...
(Maori priests) seemed to be exclusively used as a “cell phone” or an oral flux between Ira Tangata (man) to Ira Atua (the Divine/Gods) or the temporal and the spiritual, which is why the Maori held them with awe and respect because they were profoundly regarded in the tapu (sacred/taboo) domain as items of use from the Tohunga. When used for entertainment and for recreation, it was a hidden and private practice.
Music later on, in a western sense, had veered away from the spiritual sense although largely hymn singing had become very important to the Maori people in the 19th Century but it veered away from the spiritual and Taonga Puoro became a pastime of recreation, something you do when you had nothing more important to do.
Much of these musical traditions had been lost over time because of the spiritual reservations Maori people had against them but sensitive researchers and enthusiasts such as Dr. Richard Nunns, Hirini Melbourne and Brian Flintoff have done considerable restorative work and provided a wealth of knowledge and information around the sounds, history and stories of these taonga, ensuring their preservation for future generations.
Today, these instruments are used more often by people at most Māori or grand ceremonies.
See videos of these taonga puoro (musical instruments) and waiata (song) - Video of Te Hekenga-a-Rangi (Excerpt 1) and
(Excerpt 2)
Kōauau
The kōauau
Koauau
A kōauau is a small flute, ductless and notchless, four to eight inches long, open at both ends and having from three to six fingerholes placed along the pipe....
is a small flute, ductless and notchless, 10 cm to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches) long, open at both ends and having from three to six fingerholes placed along the pipe. Kōauau resemble flutes the world over in tone quality and in the range of sounds that can be produced by directing the breath across the sharp edge of the upper aperture. Māori kōauau players were renowned for the power it gave them over the affections of women (notably illustrated by the story of Tūtānekai, who, by playing his kōauau to cause Hinemoa to swim to him across Lake Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
). Kōauau are made of wood or bone. Formerly the bone was of bird bone such as albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
or moa
Moa
The moa were eleven species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about ....
; some instruments were also of human bone and were associated with chiefly status and with the traditional practice of utu
Utu
Utu is the Sun god in Sumerian mythology, the son of the moon god Nanna and the goddess Ningal. His brother and sisters are Ishkur and Inanna and Erishkigal....
.
Nguru
The nguru is a small vessel flute in the Helmholtz oscillator class, like an ocarina
Ocarina
The ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body...
or xun
Xun
The xun is a globular, flute-like, Chinese musical instrument. The xun is made of clay or ceramic, similar to an ocarina but without a fipple mouthpiece. Other Chinese flute-like instruments, such as the Wudu and Taodi, however, include a fipple....
. It is made of wood, soapstone or bone and shaped like a whale's tooth. Sometimes it is made from a whale's tooth. It is from 5 cm to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) in length, wide at the blowing end and tapering to the lower where it is slightly turned up. It has two or three fingerholes and an extra hole bored on the underside, near the curved end, through which a cord could be passed so that it could hang round the owner's neck. It is played in the same way as a kōauau and produces a similar pure flute-like sound. The nguru is sometimes classified as a nose flute perhaps because the word nguru means to sigh, moan, or snore. This is unlikely because the large end is too wide for a nostril and, if the curved end were placed in that same position, the flute would lie at an impossible angle for the player to reach the fingerholes.
Rehu
A long flute with a closed top and a transverse blowing hole and finger holes like a pōrutu.
Pūmotomoto
A long flute with a notched open top which is the blowing edge and a single finger hole near the end - the instrument was chanted through and was traditionally played over the fontanelle of an infant to implant songs and tribal information into the child's subconscious.
Pūtōrino
The pūtōrino
Putorino
Putorino is a small settlement in northern Hawke's Bay, in New Zealand's eastern North Island. It lies on State Highway 2 between Tutira and Mohaka.Putorino is at the border for the Hastings and Wairoa Districts, within Hawke's Bay....
is known for its wide range of voices including a male voice (trumpet) and a female voice (flute). The pūtōrino varies in length from 20 cm to 50 cm (9 to 20 inches) and has an uneven bore, swelling out to the centre and diminishing evenly towards the lower end, where the pipe is narrow, and has either a very small opening or none at all. The outer shape is carved from a solid piece of wood, split in half lengthwise, hollowed out like two small waka and then lashed together again with flax cord or similar subtitute for binding. At the widest part of the pipe there is an opening shaped like a grotesque mouth. The finest specimens are decorated at both ends with carved figures, and the open mouth is part of a head which is outlined on the flat surface of the pipe. It can be played with bugle technique, with closed lips which are set in vibration by the rapid withdrawal of the tongue. Small variations of pitch can be produced by moving the forefinger over the centre opening.
Example of the Pūtōrino
Pōrutu
The pōrutu is a long version of the kōauau, usually measuring from 38 cm to 57 cm long (14 to 22 inches). The playing quality differs depending on the material it is made from. New Zealand native hardwoods such as mānuka, mataī, or black maire are suitable for a clean resonating effects. Like the pūtorino, it has 2 voices, the male (trumpet) and female (flute). The female voice can produce up to five harmonics depending on the bore.
Pūkaea
The Pūkaea is a traditional Maori trumpet made of wood. There are several differing designs and lengths within the Pūkaea genre. Pūkaea were used to announce relay signals at times of conflict and were also used to announce the rituals associated with the planting of kumara (sweet potato) and other crops. The function of this instrument is to herald spiritual pathways. As a war trumpet they were used in announcing an oncoming war-party and were dedicated to Tumatauenga (god of war). In the announcement of harvest they were dedicated to Rongomatane (God of agriculture, arts and peace). Today they can be heard heralding the visitors onto the marae or at the opening and closing of important ceremonies.
Example of a large Pūkaea
Pūtātara
A traditional Maori conch shell trumpet which had a variety of roles from signaling to ceremonial and ritual use.
Example of the Pūtātara (second instrument only)
Pahū Pounamu
This Maori musical instrument is made of wood and a jade / greenstone gong and was used in the whare purakau (house of learning). Part of it is made of the jaw bone of the upokohue (pilot whale) and the striker is made from akeake, a native hardwood.
Pūrerehua
The Pūrerehua can be made of bone, wood or stone, they are blade-like and swing on a long cord producing a loud, deep whirling that can be heard from a distance. A rapid spinning motion will start the music of the Purerehua'a song as it rotates and flutters. Uses vary from luring lizards, summoning rain, communicating and attracting a soul mate.
Example of a non-traditional Pūrerehua
Poiawhiowhio
This Maori musical instrument was used as a bird lure. It was made by hollowing a gourd, drilling holes on either side and attaching a cord by which it could be swung around the head creating a whistling, chattering voice that attracted birds.
Modern usage
Taonga pūoro are currently used for their traditional purposes, but also in many genres of music from classical, orchestral, chamber music, trough to pop, alternative and in film music. They were used in the musical sound tracks of films such as Once Were WarriorsOnce Were Warriors
Once Were Warriors is New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling first novel, published in 1990. It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence. It was the basis of a 1994 film, directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Rena Owen and Temuera...
and award winning, Whale Rider and are becoming more widely used in television and film music to produce authentic natural sounds rather than artificially generated sounds.
New Zealand composers such as Gillian Whitehead
Gillian Whitehead
Dame Gillian Karawe Whitehead, DNZM is a New Zealand composer.She studied at the University of Auckland from 1959–62, and Victoria University of Wellington in 1963, graduating BMus Hons in 1964. She then studied composition at the University of Sydney with Peter Sculthorpe from...
and David Hamilton have used taonga pūoro extensively in the genre of art music combining the traditional Maori instruments with western instruments. In 2010, British film and orchestal composer, Paul Lewis
Paul Lewis
Paul Lewis may refer to:*Paul Lewis , American architect and professor at the Princeton University School of Architecture*Paul Lewis , African American activist who lived in London, Ontario...
collaborated with master taonga pūoro practitioner, Horomona Horo, to produce, Legends of Rotorua, a fifty minute composition for a wide variety of taonga pūoro, string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, storyteller
Storyteller
- Films and television :* Narradores de Javé , a 2003 Brazilian film by Eliane Caffé* The Storyteller , a 2009 American horror film* The Storyteller, a 1988 television series by Jim Henson...
and soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
.
Horomona Horo, student of the late Hirini Melbourne
Hirini Melbourne
Hirini Melbourne was a Māori composer, singer, university lecturer, poet and author. He was from Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Kahungunu Maori tribes.He is known in New Zealand for his work surrounding the revival of Māori culture...
and Richard Nunns
Richard Nunns
Richard Nunns QSM is a Māori traditional instrumentalist of Pākehā heritage. He is particularly known for playing the Taonga pūoro and his collaboration with fellow Māori instrumentalist Hirini Melbourne. Since Melbourne's death, he is regarded as the world's foremost authority on Māori...
was the winner of the first inaugural concerto competition. He has collaborated with numerous artists such as Moana and the Moahunters
Moana and the Moahunters
Moana and the Moahunters , was a Māori hip-hop and roots group from New Zealand, led by singer Moana that actively promoted Māori culture, traditions and history through their music....
(later Moana and the Tribe), Canto Maori and Irish group, Green Fire Islands, incorporating taonga pūoro into hip-hop, chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
, pop, and opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
. Salmonella Dub
Salmonella Dub
Salmonella Dub are a Dub/Drum n Bass/Reggae/Roots band from Kaikoura, New Zealand. They were formed in 1991 by Andrew Penman, David Deakins and Mark Tyler...
, Tiki Taane
Tiki Taane
Tiki Taane is a New Zealand musician and former member of leading New Zealand band Salmonella Dub. Taane left Salmonella Dub on 1 January 2007 to pursue a solo career...
and Fat Freddy's Drop
Fat Freddy's Drop
Fat Freddy’s Drop is a seven-piece band from Wellington, New Zealand, whose musical style has been characterised as any combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, and techno. Originally a jam band formed in the late 1990s by musicians from other bands in Wellington, Fat Freddy’s Drop...
have all used taonga pūoro on their albums.
The University of Waikato
University of Waikato
The University of Waikato is located in Hamilton and Tauranga, New Zealand, and was established in 1964. It has strengths across a broad range of subject areas, particularly its degrees in Computer Science and in Management...
Conservatorium of Music has established a programme to study the instruments in a formal academic capacity under composer and director of The New Zealand Music Research Group, Martin Lodge. Richard Nunns
Richard Nunns
Richard Nunns QSM is a Māori traditional instrumentalist of Pākehā heritage. He is particularly known for playing the Taonga pūoro and his collaboration with fellow Māori instrumentalist Hirini Melbourne. Since Melbourne's death, he is regarded as the world's foremost authority on Māori...
was granted an honorary doctorate by the university in recognition of his contribution to New Zealand Music and the revival of taonga pūoro. He is also a research associate at the University of Waikato.