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"Kei a te Po te timatatanga o te waiatatanga mai a te Atua. 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 first 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. Humans use music to define, 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) ritual 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.
This brief encounter with Maori music will provide an interweaving of culture and musical knowledge. It intends to serve as a kuaha or gateway for choral conductors and performers to explore Maori performance practice. Learning to navigate the intersections of music's sonic and cultural relevance in Maori life provides the foundation for a more complete realization of the rich and complex role music plays in Maori society.
MAORI HISTORY
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people!
-Maori Proverb
While the exact date that the Maori discovered New Zealand is debatable, it is largely believed that they arrived on the islands just prior to and during the thirteenth century. Navigating a long voyage originating in Eastern Polynesia in...