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Poi E


In 1983 a duo in New Zealand composed of linguist Ngoi Pewhairangi and musician Dalvanius Prime wrote “Poi E” as a way to inspire cultural pride among Māori youth. Prime couldn’t find a record label to release the song so he formed his own label and worked with the Māori performing group, the Patea Maori Club to sing it. In 1984 a TV news story about the song introduced the population to it and it became an instant hit among Māori and non-Māori alike. It even became popular in the UK, where the Patea Maori Club toured to share the vibrant Māori culture.

Not only does “Poi E” reference the Māori tradition of dancing with poi, which are weights on tethers that dancers swing along to the rhythm, the “Poi E” video also introduced a  nation of youth from New Zealand a the burgeoning American art — hip hop!

 

These Strong Ocean Waves Can’t Keep Us Apart


Yesterday we met “Pokarekare Ana,” an adored Māori song about love enduring across a threatening sea. When we sing the song we sway like the ocean waves. Sing along!

“Pōkarekare ana, ngā wai o Waiapu, I cry and cry because I miss you.

E hine e, you have my heart, these strong ocean waves can’t keep us apart.”

New Zealand’s Favorite Love Song


“Pokarekare Ana” may be New Zealand’s best-known song, and it’s certainly one of the nation’s most beloved. The song originated some time around World War I, perhaps as early as 1912, though its specific authorship is in dispute. Many ascribe it to Māori soldiers who were training for battle, though notable Māori lyricist and political leader Paraire Tomoana also claimed ownerhip. The Folksong.org.nz page about “Pokarekare Ana” provides extensive background about the song, and delves into the question of the song’s origin — did soldiers write it and Tomoana codify it into an “action song” for his performing group in 1917? Did the song develop instead from lyrics that Tomoana himself wrote in 1912, a Māori love song as part of his courtship of Kuini Raerena? Whatever the song’s origin, its lyrics tell the tale of two people in love, separated by water — in our version, “strong ocean waves” — that will never be strong enough to keep the two apart.

Only Māori Priests Played Instruments


Before Europeans landed in Aotearoa, much Māori vocal music was similar to that found elsewhere in Polynesia–energized chanting, often done without instrumental accompaniment and with the vocalists singing either solo or in unison. Before Western colonial contact, Māori priests were exclusively allowed to play instruments in public because of musical instruments’ power as a form of communication between humans and gods. (Non-priests played instruments, but in private or even in secret.) There were several kinds of flutes such as the bird-bone Kōauau and the flute/horn Pūtōrino, conch shell trumpets like the Putatara and spinning instruments like the whirling, whirring Purerehua. When Missionaries arrived they brought church-based harmonies and Western instruments; as a result, most Māori instruments were “lost” and have only a experienced a revival since the 1980s.