SPIRIT AND SONG OF THE MAORI OF {} ANN CLEMENTS “Kei a te Po te timatatanga o te waiatatanga mai a te . Ko te Ao, ko te Ao marama, ko te Ao turoa.”1

It was in the night that the gods sang the world into existence. From the world of light, into the world of music.

MAORI are the indigenous people of Aotearoa (island of the “long white cloud”) or New Zealand. According to Maori mythology, music called the world into creation. As soon as the gods turned night into light, they turned light into music. The connotation of this story is that when life fi rst appeared, it brought with it the complexities of living experience, including emotions that are most easily and genuinely expressed through music. All Maori songs (waiata) stem from the emotions that the gods displayed during creation. “There are songs of sorrow, anger and lament; of loneliness, desire and joy; of peace and love.”2 These aesthetic attributes of music echo music’s functions and uses globally. use music to defi ne, represent, symbolize, and unify or disrupt society. Music is an expression of our social, political, spiritual, and self and group identity. Within Maori culture, music plays all of these roles—from its imperative position in sacred (tapu) to its unifying task in the preservation, creation, and demonstration of group identity. Music is a primary social adhesive that has sustained Maori culture and heritage for hundreds of years.

Ann Clements Associate Professor of Music Education The Pennsylvania State University School of Music [email protected]

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This brief encounter with Maori Over several centuries in relative iso- an independent dominion in 1907 and music will provide an interweaving of lation, these Polynesian settlers refined supported the United Kingdom militarily culture and musical knowledge. It in- a unique language (te Reo), a rich my- in both World Wars. tends to serve as a kūaha or gateway thology, distinctive crafts, and complex In recent years, the government for choral conductors and performers performing arts. While many modern has sought to address longstanding to explore Maori performance practice. Maori take pride in the collective name Maori grievances stemming back to the Learning to navigate the intersections of “Maori,” which is loosely translated as . Among the disputes music’s sonic and cultural relevance in natural or common, it is important to are that the signed Maori and English Maori life provides the foundation for recognize that Maori were not a united treaties are different and that many of a more complete realization of the rich indigenous population until colonization, the rights guaranteed to Maori were and complex role music plays in Maori when non-Maori settlers (Pakeha) called ignored. To help rectify this, the Waitangi society. for a distinction between the indigenous Tribunal was established in 1975. It has population and the Europeans. Tribal ruled on a number of claims brought affi liation, when known, still plays a domi- by Maori tribes, and compensation has MAORI HISTORY nant role in genealogical self-identity. been granted in many cases. While dis- The first European explorer to agreements over the terms of the treaty He aha te mea nui o te ao? He sight New Zealand was continue to this day, it is still considered tangata! He tangata! He tangata! on December 13, 1642,4 but he was New Zealand’s founding document.7 unable to come ashore because of the Today, New Zealand is home to over What is the most important “hostile natives.”5 Captain James Cook, 4.4 million people. According to data thing in the world? It is people! who reached New Zealand in Octo- from a recent national census,8 approxi- It is people! It is people! ber of 1769 on the fi rst of his three mately 71 percent of New Zealanders voyages,6 was the fi rst European able identify themselves as being of European —Maori Proverb to negotiate with the Maori, allowing descent, with just over 14 percent iden- him to circumnavigate, survey, and map tifying as Maori. The remaining people While the exact date that the Maori New Zealand. From the late eighteenth identifi ed themselves primarily as being discovered New Zealand is debatable, century forward, explorers and other of Asian and Pacifi c descent. A dispro- it is largely believed that they arrived sailors, , traders, whalers, and portionate number of Maori face signifi - on the islands just prior to and dur- sealers arrived with the largest wave of cant economic and social obstacles. With ing the thirteenth century. Navigating settlers arriving in the earliest decades of lower life expectancies and incomes a long voyage originating in Eastern the nineteenth century. For many inland compared with other New Zealand in the open Pacifi c, their large and highland Maori, there was limited ethnic groups, they face higher levels of canoes () were guided by expert cultural disruption or change beyond crime, health problems, and educational navigators who used ocean currents, the the appearance of new goods. For the under-achievement.9 Socioeconomic- winds, and stars. The ancestors sailed on coastal and lowland Maori, however, based initiatives have been implemented vessels such as Te , , Takitimu, change was occurring at an unprec- aimed at closing the gap between the Mamari, and . These vessel edented speed due primarily to the Maori and other New Zealanders. names live on as the names of the tribal introduction of the musket and the con- groupings () with which Maori as- version of many Maori to Christianity. sociate themselves genealogically. Many In 1840, Maori chieftains entered into MAORI MUSIC Maori can trace their family genealogy a compact with Britain called the Treaty () back to the specifi c navi- of Waitangi in which they ceded sover- Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka gator and canoe from which they are eignty to Queen Victoria of Great Britain ora ai te iwi. descended. “During the voyage they dis- while retaining territorial rights. That played remarkable powers overcoming same year, the British began the fi rst With your food basket and my many dangers, and on their arrival they organized colonial settlement. A series food basket the people will introduced valuable resources such as of land wars between 1843 and 1872 thrive. the kumara () and karaka ended with the defeat of the Maori. The tree.”3 British colony of New Zealand became —Maori Proverb

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Music is a universal phenomenon. section and provide additional sources presentation and can create a unique There is not a single culture on the of information on a broader variety of introduction to a set of Maori songs in planet that does not manifest musical song styles. concert. Other forms of karanga such . One must bear in mind, as those intended to be sung at funerals however, that the concept of music as we commonly consider it to be is not TRADITIONAL WAIATA universal. All music is sonically and cul- turally specifi c. Ethnomusicologist John Traditional waiata, both sacred and Blacking, in his highly infl uential text How secular, come in principally three forms: Musical is Man?, defi nes music as “hu- lullabies (oriori), love songs (waitata manly organized sound.”10 In this defi ni- aroha), and laments (waiata tangi). They tion the sonic elements of music such as are sung as solos, in unison, or at the timber, meter, mode, melody, harmonic octave. Early European documents structure, and form weigh equally with indicate that the singing was originally the cultural meanings embedded within microtonal.12 Melodically, traditional the music by its creators and perform- waiata incorporate the small range of a ers. For Blacking, the meanings of music minor third. Within this range, however, are as much cultural as they are sonic. there are shifts smaller than semitones, Defi ning music in this way provides a and melodic contours are enhanced meaningful framework for understand- through the use of ornamentation and ing the world’s musics and the challeng- embellishment such as glissandi and ing yet copious path conductors and the bending of the pitch.13 Traditionally, performers must take to make the most waiata end by falling away vocally at the of all the music they encounter. end of the fi nal line. It is considered a Prior to colonization, the Maori had bad omen, and certainly bad form, for no formal written language. The great a song to be interrupted by breath. quantity of mythology, stories, geneal- Groups singing traditional waiata prac- ogy, and cultural knowledge was carried tice staggered breathing, while soloists forward to future generations through strive to maintain the full line within one weavings, carvings, song, and chant. “Just breath. Modern renditions of traditional as the universe took its physical shaping waiata are infl uenced by western tonal- from the singing of the gods, music can ity and microtonal singing, which is a rare be perceived as creating shapes in the ability these days. Microtonal elements silence.”11 The analogy of making music in modern singing of traditional waita as pleasing shapes brings the musical have been maintained to some degree process closely in line with the process through the continued use of vocal of carvers, weavers, and other visual art- slides and ornamentation. ists in terms of forming and reforming A popular example of a traditional the physical world. waiata is the karanga. Karanga are brief Maori are prolifi c musicians. The poetic statements that are melodic styles and subgenres of Maori music chants. They are regarded as treasured are vast. Consequently, this article will or precious (taonga). According to focus on only a few song styles that are cultural protocol, older women of the most easily accessible and appropriate tribe typically sing them. Karanga are for western choral performance. Specifi - wailing calls of welcome that are per- cally, brief descriptions of 1) traditional formed by women to signal the start waiata, 2) modern waiata and waiata of a gathering (hui) or formal welcome a ringa, and 3) will be provided. ceremony (pōwhiri). Particular forms of The full texts are available in the notes karanga may be appropriate for stage

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are the more diffi cult to perform and are generally not appropriate for stage presentations. They often take years of study to learn and are a means of hon- oring the deceased and the bereaved family and remain common within Maori culture. Karanga are a meaningful part of the formal Maori welcoming ceremony, which signifi es two groups coming to- gether and negotiating the terms of their engagement, fi nishing with guests joining their hosts as one. It is a religious journey where the earthly and the spiritual are acknowledged, ancestors remembered, and kinship ties reinforced.14 Traditional waiata remains primarily an aural and oral art, resulting in few formal transcriptions. This should not be viewed as a discouragement. Due to the Traditions live on through school girls performing a modern waiata a ringa18 easy access to material culture through the internet, videos, transcriptions, and audio of traditional waiata are widely Ngata popularized action songs by fea- occurs naturally. Observers of Maori available. One such resource is the ka- turing them in concerts across the coun- singing have described the effect of ranga Haere Mai,15 which translates into try to benefi t the Maori Soldiers Fund. these layers of vocal harmony as be- “come here” or “welcome.”16 Accompanied by modern instruments ing hit by a wave of sound, and some such as the guitar, action songs break have jokingly stated that the two main away from a primarily unaccompanied dynamics of Maori singing are loud and MODERN WAIATA AND singing . louder. The cause of this sonic wave-like WAIATA A RINGA Waiata a ringa follows a combination characteristic is more accurately caused of western harmonic infl uences and by the melodic line being placed in a Waiata a ringa (song with hands), Maori musical sensitivities. First, it must chest voice register, the highest male commonly known as action songs, were be made clear that Maori men sing. part frequently singing at the top of their fi rst utilized during the Maori cultural Unlike many modern western societ- range, and the Maori preference of sing- revitalization in the early part of the ies such as the mainland of the United ing in very close harmony. twentieth century. While there is debate States, where singing is often viewed as a There are several modern waiata and over the originator of this form of song feminine pursuit, singing in Maori culture waiata a ringa that are easily available to and dance, the role of Sir Apirana Ngata is equally executed and valued by both western choirs. Hine e Hine, a modern (1874–1950) was unquestionably vital, genders. This is due in part to the long Maori lullaby written by Princess Te and some call him the “father of the history of specifi ed male and female Rangi Pai (born Fanny Rose Porter) action song.”17 Action songs are a com- musical roles in combination with tradi- in 1907, has been arranged for SSATB bination of movements, often physically tional and modern musical forms such choir by New Zealand composer David describing the lyrics being sung, with the as waiata a ringa, which have specifi c Hamilton.19 The text Maori Action Songs: use of western or westernized tunes. In roles for each gender to play. Harmony Words, Music, Action, and Instruction by some cases popular western tunes, such can occur in four to eight parts, often Reupena Ngata and Alan Armstrong20 as songs that were heard in dance clubs with the melody housed in the alto line is an unprecedented collection of waiata and on the radio, were literally translated with harmony created above and below a ringa that includes vocal transcriptions into Maori; but just as frequently, the it. Even children’s choirs sing harmony and detailed drawings of all movement. tunes were used as a vehicle to share a with multiple parts. Since the 1930s, action songs have distinctively Maori lyric, story, legend, or As singing remains, to a large degree, been propagated by Maori clubs and message. During the First World War, a way of cultural life, harmonic singing Haka ensembles that operate

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throughout New Zealand. A major There are many forms of haka used to as whole song immersion. A singer or activity for these clubs and ensembles in a variety of situations, including the group of singers begin the melody, and is participation in festivals and formal welcoming of visitors to a meetinghouse as the tune or text of the song become competitions. Since 1972 a biennial (), formal meetings, on signifi cant familiar to the learner, they join in. Mer- New Zealand Polynesian Festival, now cultural occasions, for military purposes, riam also makes note that “the future named the Aotearoa Maori Performing and at funerals. specialist must always undergo some Arts Festival, has been held at various The most well-known haka is Ka form of formal instruction.”26 Certainly locations. In order to compete at this Mate.22 Part of its enduring popularity both of these approaches are utilized in festival, ensembles must have is due to it being performed prior to Maori culture. won a regional competition. the start of every All Blacks (the New Informal learning practices within Kapa Haka festivals contain multiple Zealand national rugby team) game.23 Maori culture have been sustained forms of maori music, including “waiata is attributed to , throughout time. Prior to the mid- tira (a warm-up song), whakaeke (en- war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe. The twentieth century, before mass media trance song), waiata ā ringa (action Ka Mate haka is classifi ed as a haka and recordings and when many more song), haka (challenge), pou or mōteatea taparahi—a ceremonial haka—and is Maori lived near or in their ancestral (old-style singing), (coordinated about the cunning ruse Te Rauparaha homelands, it is probable that most swinging of balls attached to cords), and used to outwit his enemies. It tells the Maori learned simply by listening to whakawātea (closing song).”21 Full per- story of being on the precipice of life others sing. formances can last up to forty minutes and death, not knowing which will be An informal teaching technique called and may include multiple selections in your fate.24 “prompting” is widely used to encourage the same style of song and dance. Festi- the learning of songs. In this technique, vals are leveled by age, and many school the lead soloist will sustain the end of children, both English-speaking schools MAORI MUSIC TRANSMISSION the line (to drag the line), allowing for and in Kura Kaupapa Maori (Maori lan- another singer to prompt the lyrics of guage immersion schools), participate The famous ethnomusicologist Alan the next verse aloud. In particular forms in school Kapa Haka ensembles as an Merriam has stated that the simplest of song when no drag is provided, the extracurricular activity. form of learning music is imitation.25 He lead singer will sing out the fi rst word suggests that in many societies, most prior to the start of the verse and re- members learn in this way. In educa- peat it with the choir as it enters. Both HAKA tional circles, this method of informal of these techniques are part of rehearsal teaching and learning is often referred and performance practice. Easily the most recognizable song style of the Maori is the haka. “Ha” meaning breath and “Ka” meaning fi ery, Haka means fi ery or scorching words. Haka is a posture-dance with shouted UNIVERSITY vocal chanting accompanied by hand MUSIC SERVICE actions, foot-stamping, and facial expres- sions. The movements during an impas- 0/"OXs(ERSHEY 0! sioned haka are extreme, and dancers 2OSS7%LLISON 0H$ /WNERAND-ANAGER can injure themselves by striking and scratching their bodies. The vocal tim- $ISCOUNTON#HORAL-USIC ber of the haka is equally severe, and s0ROMPT PROFESSIONALSERVICE performers must use strong breathing s&RIENDLY KNOWLEDGEABLESTAFF and vocal technique to support their s3PECIALISTSINCHORALMUSIC sound. A large performance group lowers the risk of vocal strain. Though 0HONE  &AX   many people associate haka with men WWW5NIVERSITY-USICCOME MAIL3ALES 5NIVERSITY-USICCOM and war, there are also forms of haka “Serving the choral profession since 1979” performed by women and children.

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CONCLUSION NOTES maoriculture_powhirimaoriwelcome_ feature.cfm. 1 15 Whāia te iti kahurangi Ki te tūohu Brian Flintoff, Monga Puoro Singing Treasures “Haere Mai,” Karanga of the Maori on koe, me he maunga teitei. the Musical Instruments of the Maori Folksong.org.nz, accessed May 1, 2014, (Nelson, New Zealand: Craig Potton http://folksong.org.nz/haere_mai/). 16 Pursue excellence—should you Publishing, 2005), Reprint Second, 12. Folksongs.org.nz has provided a 2 Ibid, 12. transcription of the melody, the lyrics, stumble, let it be to a lofty 3 mountain. Margaret Orbell, A Concise Encyclopedia of an audio track fi eld recording of a Maori and Legend (New Zealand: performance, and a brief description Canterbury University Press, 1998), 6. of the role karanga play in welcoming —Maori Proverb 4 John Wilson, European Discovery of New ceremonies. The site also lists four Zealand—Abel Tasman in Te Ara—the additional karanga with transcriptions The Maori are a proud people with Encyclopedia of New Zealand, last and audio tracks. a long history to which they are deeply modifi ed July 9, 2013, accessed April 17 McLean, Maori Music, 387. tied. Experiencing Maori music is to 18, 2014, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ 18 Photo by Tony taken on February 6, 2012. experience Maori culture, and the two european-discovery-of-new-zealand/ Creative Commons Copyright: https:// should never be divided. While sensitiv- page-2. creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/ ity to issues of authenticity is strongly 5 Ibid. Photo found at https://www.fl ickr.com/ encouraged, it should be noted that 6 Captain James Cook, Cook’s Endeavour photos/42371658@N00/6826684977/ authenticity is a spectrum and not a Journal, available through the National in/set-72157629193003259. defi nitive determination. When perfor- Library of Australia, accessed April 19 “Hine e Hine,” by Princess Te Rangi Pai, mance practice is based on culturally 18, 2014, http://southseas.nla.gov.au/ arranged by David Hamilton, (Corvallis, inclusive music research, and when it journals/cook/17691007.html. OR: earthsongs Publishing, 1997). is approached with a sincere desire to 7 “Treaty of Waitangi,” newzealand.com, 20 Reupena Ngata and Alan Armstrong, Maori understand and apply musical culture, accessed April 19, 2014, http://www. Action Songs: Words, Music, Action, and issues of authenticity should not stand newzealand.com/us/feature/treaty-of- Instruction (Auckland, New Zealand: in the way of exploration and experi- waitangi/. Reed Publishing, 2002). 8 21 mentation. There is a tremendous spirit “CIA Facebook—New Zealand,” New More information about Kapa Haka of hospitality (manaakitanga) in Maori Zealand—The World Factbook, Festivals can be found through the Te culture. A traditional saying states, “He accessed May 8, 2014, https://www. Matatini Kapa Haka Aotearoa website tangata takahi manuhiri, he marae pu- cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- http://www.tematatini.co.nz. factbook/geos/nz.html. 22 A step-by-step guide to performing Ka ehu.” Translated it means “a person who 9 mistreats his guest has a dusty Marae “Maori Extreme Disadvantage—UN Mate can be found at Folksong.org.nz http://folksong.org.nz/ka_mate/1chant. (meeting house).” Maori understand that Report,” New Zealand Herald, accessed May 2, 2014, http://www. html. if you want visitors, you must invite them nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_ 23 More information about the All Black’s in. This inviting Maori spirit welcomes all id=1&objectid=10707993. rendition of Ka Mate can be found of us to explore Maori culture and music 10 John Blacking, “How Musical Is Man? The on the All Black’s website http://www. and to bring this performance practice John Danz Lectures” (Seattle: University allblacks.com/Teams/Haka. to life within our choirs. of Washington Press, 1973), 3. 24 More information about haka can be found 11 Flintoff, Monga Puoro, 23. at http://www.newzealand.com/us/ 12 He waka eke noa! Mervyn McLean, Maori Music (: feature/haka/. There are also many texts Auckland University Press, 1996), 1-24. and articles available in English from 13 Dorothy Buchanan and Keri Kaa, a variety of sources and media such A canoe that we are all in with “Traditional Maori music in Discover: Te as video and audio available through no exception! (We are in this Kohanga Taonga,” accessed May 2, 2014, Youtube and other online sources. together!) 25 http://discover.natlib.govt.nz. Alan P. Merriam, The Anthropology of 14 “Pōwhiri,” Pōwhiri—The Maori Welcome Music (Evanston, Ill: Northwestern —Maori Proverb on Newzealand.com, accessed May UniversitycPress, 1964), 150. 26 3, 2014, http://www.newzealand.com/ Ibid. travel/en/media/features/maori-culture/

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