MAORI MUSIC

MAORI MUSIC

by M.M.

MAORI MUSIC

The chants and songs of the New Zealand Maoris are an archaic survival, perhaps the most ancient known to man, from a far-distant past when the Polynesian people lived somewhere on the mainland of South-East Asia. During many centuries of isolation in the Pacific, the Maori people had been free to perpetuate their ancient culture, undisturbed by outside influences of any kind. The songs which fell so strangely on the ears of the early Pacific explorers and which they described as “a dreary monotone”, “slow and solemn”, “monotonous”, “doleful”, were an echo from a forgotten past, dating back perhaps a thousand years.

Music in a primitive society tends to be one of the steadiest elements of culture because it is inescapably bound up with the ritual of religion, magic, healing, sorcery, and other kinds of occult practice. In pre-European Maori society, invocations, charms, spells, and incantations remained sacrosanct and therefore not subject to change while fundamental beliefs and concepts of life were still held; but suddenly these gave way when they were challenged by the influence of Western thought and ways of living.

Karakia

The most sacred lore of the Maori was embodied in the karakia, a rhythmic, monotone chant defined as:

“Chant, spell, incantation, particularly the ancient rites proper to every important matter in the life of the Maori.”

The chant was performed by two tohungas, one continuing till his breath gave out and the other “riding in” at the right moment to prevent a break. A perfect performance was considered necessary to bring about the desired results. The karakia had all the essential qualities of an art form, as the following rules for its proper performance will show:

“Ka tara te karakia ka ngahou, he ora tena.”

(When the karakia is recited with a quick (lively) rhythm, is learnt well and comes from the heart, it is an omen of life.)

Ritual chants were performed on all important occasions – over a new-born child, to initiate a seer (matakite), to dedicate a new pa, to make a messenger fleet-footed, to bless the kumara crops, to bring success in bird snaring or fishing, to cure sickness, to calm the sea, to appease the spirit of a felled tree, to bring peace, and so on.

Patere

This is also a monotone, rhythmic chant with a more secular purpose than the karakia, sung at a faster tempo and accompanied by defiant gestures to emphasise the mood of the recital, which is usually abusive. The words often recall personal or tribal quarrels or recount injuries done to ancestors. Sir A. T. Ngata said that “when an abusive song is given on the marae the scene often resembles a riot”.

Other types of monotone chant are the “ngeri” and “hanihani”, but these are more often shouted than sung and are more accurately described as action songs of the haka type.

Waiata

The largest number of songs comes under the heading of laments (waiata tangi) and love songs (waiata aroha). The distinction between the two types of waiata is not clearly defined, either in the sentiments expressed by the words or in the kind of melodies to which the words are set. “Tangi” means to weep, utter a plaintive cry; “aroha” means love, yearning, pity. In the dirge-like wailing of these songs, the Maori people give expression to their deepest feelings and, even today, when tribal gatherings take place, the upsurge of racial feeling which is characteristic of those occasions is intimately connected with the singing of their ancient love songs and laments.

The melodies move within a small range, varying from a second to a fourth. The most archaic type consists of a chanting note, the pitch of which is decided by the leader of the group or individual singer. The intoning note is decorated with auxiliary notes both above and below which are often intervals smaller than a semitone. These microtonal intervals and the practice of sliding from one sound to another give Maori waiata their plaintive, wailing character. The less archaic chants have a slightly wider range; movement is mostly stepwise with the occasional use of a minor or diminished third, but the intervals are non-European in character and the ability to sing them is fast disappearing. Even in a Westernised form this type of melody and the style of singing remain characteristically Maori.

Other types of song which use the same chant-like melodies but vary in content and purpose are:

Oriori: Lullaby used for the dual purpose of lulling a child to sleep and imparting knowledge.

Pao: A derisive song and dance used for entertainment.

Apakura: A lament for the dead sung during mourning ceremonies.

Tuki waka: A canoe song sung to give the time to the paddlers.

Whakaaraara pa: A watchman's song sung by the watch on duty in the pa at night to give warning of danger.

This list is by no means complete; many others come under the heading of the “poi” and “haka” which are action songs and posture dances rather than waiata.

Performance

The Maori singing voice is reedy and slightly nasal, the women having more pleasing voices than the men. The women have a rich quality in the middle register but tend to shrillness in the high register. A most characteristic effect is produced when the women use the chest voice and sing in unison with the men, a practice which may be due to the difficulty the women experience in singing high notes with tight throat muscles, which is their normal method of voice production. Both sexes have a highly developed sense of rhythm which is shown in the dignified, slow-moving ritual chants as well as in the animation and precision of canoe and action songs. Group singing is more usual than solo singing, the leader setting the pitch and tempo and sometimes continuing with some meaningless syllables at the end of a section. It is considered essential to keep perfect unison in both melody and rhythm, and memory-lapses are regarded as an omen of evil. In some songs it is a common practice to end a verse with a sudden expulsion of the breath and a glissando slide of the voice on some such syllable as A! Ae! E! Ei! This effect is sometimes called “hianga”.

Musical Instruments

The Maoris had no drums but kept time by foot stamping and slapping the chest and thighs with the hands. Their musical instruments were all of the flute and trumpet variety, hollowed out of wood, stone, whale ivory, albatross bone, or human bone (usually the bone of an enemy). The surfaces of their instruments were often elaborately carved and were the prized possessions of their owners.

Koauau: A small native flute from 4 to 8 in. long, open at both ends and having from three to six fingerholes placed along the pipe with no apparent system. They resemble primitive flutes the world over both 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. Maori flute players were envied and feared because of the power it gave them over the affections of women.

Nguru: A small wooden, stone or bone flute shaped like a whale's tooth and sometimes made from an actual tooth. It is from 2 to 6 in. 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 koauau 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 even for a stout Polynesian nostril and, if the curved end were placed in that same position, the flute would lie at an impossible angle for the player to manipulate the fingerholes.

By using the three fingerholes of a koauau or nguru, a European player can produce, quite naturally, the four notes of a tetrachord; but wind instruments are of no exact pitch and the sequence of sounds can be varied according to the pressure of the breath and the actual intervals the player has in mind. There is evidence to show that Maori flute and trumpet songs were in no way different from their chants and waiata and consisted of decorations round a pivot note. An old gramophone recording of flute playing in the possession of the Dominion Museum, Wellington, proves this point and displays a three-note tune which remains within the compass of less than a minor third.

Putorino: The putorino is a purely Maori invention, occurring nowhere else in Polynesia or in any other part of the world. It is a wooden trumpet varying in length from 9 to 20 in. and has an uneven bore, swelling out to the centre and diminishing evenly towards the lower end, where the pipe is quite narrow and either completely closed or has a very small opening. The outer shape was carved from a solid piece of wood, split in half lengthwise, hollowed out like two small canoes and then lashed together again with flax cord. 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. An expert horn or trumpet player can produce scale passages covering two octaves or more but it is unlikely that the Maori explored its full range. A song for a putorino would be similar in range to a sung chant and would be associated with a particular set of words. The fundamental sound is reedy, penetrating, and alto in quality and pitch. Peter Buck said he was told that it was used as a speaking trumpet, like a megaphone; but, if the legend of Tutanekai and Hinemoa can be accepted as evidence, Tutanekai played a love song on the putorino which was wafted across the water from Mokoia Island and heard by Hinemoa on the mainland at Rotorua.

Instruments Used for Non-musical Purposes

Pukaea: A long wooden war trumpet very like the solemn-sounding ceremonial trumpets of Tibet. It has a length of from 4 to 6 ft, a diameter of 1¼ in. at the blowing end and widens out to about 8 in. at the bell end. It is made in the same way as the putorino, hollowed out in sections and joined together again. The flare at the lower end is made by joining together a number of triangular wedges of wood which are gummed and bound to the end of the pipe. A few inches above the bell end, a tonsil or vibrating reed has been inserted in the pipe, perhaps in imitation of the human throat, but the purpose of this device remains in doubt. Compared with the simplicity of the koauau, nguru, and putorino, the pukaea, with its vibrating tonsil and bell-shaped end seems to be out of character. It gives forth a loud booming sound like the siren of a large ocean liner, and was used to sound an alarm in time of danger or to terrify an enemy by shouting curses through it.

Putara or Pumoana: A shell trumpet found in many places in the world and known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as a Triton's trumpet. The Maori version was made by cutting off the spiral end of a conch shell and fitting on a wooden mouthpiece. When blown by a lusty lunged Maori, it produced a loud, clear note suitable for signalling. It was also used for ceremonial purposes such as to announce the birth of a male child of rank, or to gather people together for a special occasion.

Pahu: The only percussion instrument invented by the Maori. It was made from a slab of totara about 30 ft long, suspended from a ridge pole erected on an elevated part of the pa and beaten with a heavy club, like a gong. The sounds could be heard miles away and reverberated round the hills like a loud peal of thunder.

by M.M.

  • A Pacific Bibliography, Taylor, C. R. H. (1951)
  • Studies in Maori Rites and Myths, Johansen, J. P. (1958).

MAORI MUSIC 22-Apr-09 M.M.