Whirimako Black is a New Zealand Māori recording artist

Whirimako sings mostly in Te Reo Māori, uses traditional Māori musical forms and collaborates with traditional Taonga pūoro

Taonga pūoro

Taonga pūoro are the traditional musical instruments 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,...

 instruments.

Her musical achievements include composing and singing the titles for the acclaimed Television New Zealand

Television New Zealand

Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....

 series, 'The New Zealand Wars', as well as composing with Hori Tait the initial title music for the Māori news programme, Te Karere

Te Karere

Te Karere is a New Zealand news and current affairs programme broadcast in the Māori language. Te Karere is broadcast on Television New Zealand's TV ONE at 4:45 pm on weekdays and repeated 6:00 am the following day. It is available in Windows Media format from 5:00 pm after the...

. In 1991, she formed the female Māori band Tuahine Whakairo but left in 1993, to start a solo career.

Born in Whakatane

Whakatane

Whakatane is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region, in the North Island of New Zealand, and is the seat of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Whakatane is 90 km east of Tauranga and 89 km north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatane River.The town has a population of , with...

, Whirimako is of Ngāti Tuhoe

Tuhoe

Ngāi Tūhoe , a Māori iwi of New Zealand, takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. The word tūhoe literally means "steep" or "high noon" in the Māori language...

, Ngāti Tuwharetoa

Ngati Tuwharetoa

Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua at Matata across the central plateau of the North Island to the lands around Mount Tongariro and Lake Taupo.The iwi is identified...

, Ngāti Ranginui

Ngati Ranginui

Ngāti Ranginui is a Māori iwi centred in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Ngāti Ranginui is one of the three Tauranga Moana tribes, maintaining close ties with Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga. In the 2001 census, 6,120 people claimed affiliation to the iwi, representing 9 hapu...

, Kahungunu, Te Whakatohea

Te Whakatohea

Te Whakatōhea are a Māori iwi located in the eastern Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. The iwi comprises six hapu: Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ruatakena and Te Ūpokorehe. In the 2006 Census, 12,072 people claimed an affiliation with Te Whakatōhea.The iwi is...

, Te Whanau-a-Apanui

Te Whanau-a-Apanui

Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is a Māori iwi located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand's North Island. In 2006, the iwi registered 11,808 members, representing 13 hapu.-Early history:Apanui Ringamutu is the founding ancestor of the iwi...

, Te Arawa

Te Arawa

Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plenty areas of New Zealand, with a population of around 40,000.The history of the Te Arawa people is inextricably linked to the Arawa canoe...

, and Ngāti Awa

Ngati Awa

Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand.Ngāti Awa comprises 22 hapu , with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns on the Rangitaiki Plain, including Whakatane, Kawerau, Edgecumbe, Te...

 descent.

Whirimako Black bears a striking traditional Maori female tattoo, or Ta Moko

Ta moko

Tā moko is the permanent body and face marking by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Traditionally it is distinct from tattoo and tatau in that the skin was carved by rather than punctured...

 on her face, a cultural symbol of pride and beauty.

She was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

New Zealand Order of Merit

The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...

 in the 2006 New Year Honours.

Discography

Date	Title	Label	Charted	Certification	Catalog Number
Albums
2000 2000 in music See also:* 2000 in music Record labels established in 2000-Events:*January – Gary Glitter is released from jail, two months before his sentence for sexual offences ends.*January 1**John Tavener is knighted in the New Year's Honours List....	Hinepukohurangi: Shrouded in the Mist Hinepukohurangi: Shrouded in the Mist Hinepukohurangi: Shrouded in the Mist is Whirimako Black's first album. Which won Best Maori Language Album at the 2001 NZ Music Awards.-Track listing:#"Engara Te Titi"#"Te Tini O Toi"#"E Kui Kumara"#"Moumou"#"E Kui Mareta"#"Torete Te Kiore"...	Muscle Music	-	-
2003 2003 in music -January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...	Hohou Te Rongo: Cultivate Peace	Mai Music	-	-
2004 2004 in music See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....	Tangihaku	Mai Music	-	-
2005 2005 in music -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...	Kura Huna	Mai Music	-	-
2006 2006 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....	Soul Sessions	Mai Music	-	-
2007 2007 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...	Whirimako Black Sings	Mai Music	-	-