Activity C: The sounds of the land
Take a deep dive into the woven relationship mana whenua have with whenua through taonga puoro.
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He pitopito kōrero Taonga puoro, Māori instruments, were originally used for a wide range of reasons including for health and ceremony, both by tohunga, and by whānau as part of daily life. These purposes include:
Taonga puoro represent many different atua and are a way for Māori to interact with them. For example, Hine Pū Te Hue, the Māori deity of peace and hue, has a range of instruments that help us to breathe in a way that encourages mindfulness. Te Papa has a wide range of taonga puoro in its collections and supports the revitalisation of these practices. |
Can you match the descriptions below with the images on the carousel? Sketch an image of each taonga puoro beside it’s description. Listen to the example that is linked, and see if you can describe the sound it makes in words.
The sound of the pūtātara heralds arrivals to a marae or the birth of a child. It is also used to summon people for formal learning or as a call to arms. Pūtātara are highly prized. The triton shell is rarely found in Aotearoa, only occasionally washing up on beaches in the Far North. It is regarded as a special gift of Tangaroa, the atua of the sea. Listen to the pūtātara in the video below, or watch the pūrākau about Hine Mokemoke.
The pūkaea is used to welcome people and announce events or occasions of importance, and was also a war trumpet. Pūkāea vary considerably in length, with some known to be over two metres long. The mouthpiece end is the kōngutu. The bell-shaped end is called the whara. Listen to the pūkāea in the video below.
The karanga weka is an instrument used to mimic the call of the weka. Māori have many instruments for imitating bird calls – leaves and grasses, tubular plant stems, hollow stones, and pounamu. Listen to the karanga weka below.
The pūtōrino is shaped like the cocoon of the tūngou ngou. It is said to possess both female and male ‘voices’. Some instruments emit a third voice, said to be a wairua voice. Pūtōrino are made from split and hollowed hardwood, sealed together with natural gums and bound by fine split vines. Listen to the pūtōrino below, or watch the pūrākau about Hine Raukatauri. Hine Raukatauri is the spriitual deity for all Māori flutes. She is a daughter of Tānemahuta.
The koauau sound is an attempt to replicate the sound made by the empty cocoon of the case moth. Listen to the koauau in the video below.
Hine Pū te Hue is the spiritual entity for hue. She is associated with calming storms, and the sounds created from the hue are soothing and peaceful, like the spirit of Hine Pū te Hue – a daughter of Tānemahuta (god of the forests and birds).
The hue is a marrow-like vegetable that was brought to Aotearoa and cultivated by Māori. Dried and hollowed gourds were used as containers for water and preserved food. Smaller ones were used as containers for perfume.
Taonga puoro were also made from hue, including the hue puruhau, kōauau pongaihu, poi āwhiowhio or ‘whistling gourd’, and hue puruwai. Listen to the hue puruhau and hue puruwai in the videos below.
Contemporary Māori musicians are incorporating taonga puoro into their music. We’ve linked to a couple of music videos below, from Ia for you to enjoy. See if you can identify the taonga puoro that they are using, or simply sit back and enjoy the beautiful sounds!