Taonga pūoro are Māori musical instruments. Taonga pūoro translates to singing treasures, gives insight to how highly valued the instruments and the stories they tell are regarded. These Māori instruments mimic the sounds of nature, such as the wind and the seas.
Keran Varaine and Jen Cattermole are Ōtepoti taonga pūoro practitioners, and in this performance they take you on a journey through a soundscape taking the route followed by Ōwheo (the Leith River), starting at Whawha-raupō (Swampy Summit) and Kapukataumahaka (Mount Cargill) and eventually reaching the ocean.
In this improvised duet, they play a variety of instruments, including pahu kohatu (stone gong), tumutumu (hand-held percussion), purerehua (bullroarer), kōauau (flute), pūtōrino (an instrument that has flute and trumpet voices), karanga manu (bird caller), poi āwhiowhio (swung gourd), whakai-o-tama (shell) and pūtātara (conch trumpet).
For more information on taonga pūoro, please visit: www.jeremycloake.com/taonga-p...
Thanks to New Zealand on Air.
Production by Adelaide Dunn
Video by Dave Borrie
Production assistance from Riley Aitken