Maori music

The music of the Māori in New Zealand is characterized above all by the great importance of song . Many styles of singing have different characteristics. The roughest classification is based on sung or recited styles. Furthermore, the Māori music is characterized by their abundance of syncopation . However, many traditional elements of the music have been replaced by Western influences, so that hardly any conclusions can be drawn about special features of the original melody.

Instruments

The traditional musical instruments that are used to support the vocal performance seem rather sparse at first glance. Although there is no classical Māori orchestra, there are instruments that are preferred and used in different vocal styles. Common musical instruments include flutes , shell horns, and drums.

Nguru and Koauau

The nasal flute ( nguru ) consists of a wooden pipe or bone with a pipe. It is between 5 and 20 cm long and has two to four finger holes. The flute is comparable to a harmonics of the European culture. It is not blown with the mouth, but with the nose. Posture and playing technique are comparable to a flute . So there is no single or double reed that is made to vibrate by the blowing pressure, but the sound is produced by the blower forming a flat jet of air that hits the edge of the blowing hole. Due to the material and the type of blowing, which leads to a relatively strong noise component in the sound, the Nguru receives a warm, but at the same time scratchy, rough tone.

Another well-known type of flute is the Koauau , which is made of wood or bone, similar to the Nguru . It is blown with the mouth and is open at both ends.

In order to tune all flutes to a uniform keynote, the Māori take a sheet of paper before making music together, roll it up and insert it into the shortest flute. Then shorten or lengthen it by pushing it in or out further until you get the tone you want.

Putara

The conch shell ( putara ) consists of a shell as a resonance body, the spiral end of which is cut off. A bamboo tube is inserted into the hole, which serves as a mouthpiece. Vigorous blowing creates a catchy, rough tone with a signal character. However, this only occurs when there is sufficient lip tension, as these are the actual vibration generators. Originally the Putara had the function of leading the entourage or going before the chief and announcing his coming.

Pahu

The drum ( pahu ) is made from the totara tree and consists of the hollowed-out tree trunk that stands vertically on the ground and shark skin stretched over it. The instrument is played with individual fingers, the palm or the whole hand. By tapping lightly with one hand while simultaneously touching the drum at different points, even harmonic tones can be produced, as is the case with the timpani.

Neither the Pahu nor the Putara originally had a primarily musical function, but served as signaling instruments for communication over large areas. Gradually they were also used for making music.

Other instruments

In addition to these important instruments of Māori culture, there are pan flutes or simply lyres with three to four strings, which produce a muffled sound, but also have drone strings .

In addition to these instruments, there are a number of other hand drums that are used to keep the beat or to decorate the rhythm acoustically. They usually give off a rattling or dry sound. They include tete , small mother-of-pearl plates that are struck together like castanets . There is also an Ofe , a bamboo tube that is slit lengthways and which is beaten with two small sticks, or Simple , bamboo tubes that are open on one side and that are used to hit the ground. However, these instruments play a comparatively minor role, since the Māori prefer to use their bodies by stamping or clapping to create rhythms.

Chants

Māori dance group at the Nambassa Festival in 1981

For the Māori, singing is the most important element of their music. The timbre of the voices is described as garish and sharp. Women mostly sing falsetto in the vocal register , while the male voices are a little more lithe. The singing is often interrupted by gutturals , i.e. throat sounds, or by brief exhalations, sighs or sobs. The voice is therefore systematically used and employed as an element, regardless of the words sung. Opinions differ on the authenticity of traditional singing. While Victor Segalen speaks of classical chant being "infected by all too European elements", Mervyn McLean and Margarett Orbell consider traditional Māori chants to be as existent today as they were in the 18th century, when the first European explorers landed.

The Māori songs are shrinking, which means that fewer and fewer songs can be performed by fewer and fewer Māori . Despite this, there are still different styles of singing, which are divided by the Māori . Basically you can make a rough division into sung and recited presentation styles. The songs sung include waiata, pao, poi, oriori and karanga . The main recited styles karakia and tau, paatere and kaioraora , and haka . Every single song is characterized by certain characteristics, which underline the great importance that the Māori attach to singing.

Forms sung

Waiata

Waiata , although this term is sometimes incorrectly used for all songs, denotes a specific type of song. These are basically love songs , and these can be more precisely differentiated. There are Waiata tangi , lamentations , which mostly deal with the subject of death or other accidents. They often begin with an element from nature such as lightning and thunder, which serves as a portent for the approaching disaster. Mourning over the death of a person is often associated with rain or the roar of the sea. This again shows the connection of the Māori with nature and at the same time the great importance that is attached to death. Often the circumstances of death are mentioned and, if armed conflicts represent the cause of death or the deceased was killed by witchcraft, plans for revenge are touched on in the text. The grief is also described by highlighting the loss suffered, making loneliness a recurring theme in this genre of songs. Waiata tangi have such a social function, because by singing these funeral songs in the community you feel that you are not isolated from the rest of the group. The members find out that they depend on solidarity and that this gives them more security. The Māori are waiata tangi most commonly found and about comprise half of the entire song good. This can also be explained by the fact that the lamentations are sung at themost important social ceremoniesfor Māori , the funerals .

Other forms are waiata whaiaaipo and waiata aroha . These two types differ from each other in that the former deals with the inner life of a person and his relationship with another, whereas waiata aroha can be seen more generally and, for example, can also have the love of the land and nature on the subject. Sung waiata unison by a group of singers. There is a lead singer who starts the song and sings short solos at the end of each line while the rest of the group can take a breath. These solos connect the individual lines with one another and have a transitional function. They often consist of meaningless syllables, hianga , which, if not for the content, at least for the beauty of a song, provide important ornamentation. Whoever starts the song usually sings the solos until the end of the piece, even if others could sing them better. Long solos are not favored by the Māori because they want to avoid pauses for breath. In a long solo, you inevitably hear the singer's breathing, whereas it is not noticeable in group singing, as each individual stops at a different point. Generally you try to sing until you run out of breath. This can happen in the middle of a word and is not planned, which can be seen from the fact that two performers playing the same song pause in different places.

Pao

This style is a less serious song compared to waiata. One can speak of entertainment or theme songs. They can be subdivided into pao whaiaaipo, pao poroproaki and pao whakautu . Pao whaiaaipo are love songs that can have very open and direct lyrics. Pao poroporoaki , on the other hand, are used to say goodbye and are often sung on the evening before a funeral. Explicit texts, some of which contain insults, can be found in pao whakauta , with which one reacts to mockery or taunts.

Pao are often improvised and therefore have comparatively short stanzas that consist of only two lines. Each verse is sung by the lead singer and then repeated by a choir. During this time the lead singer thinks about another stanza and then recites it. Compared to other singing styles, the number of notes and the range of notes used are larger. In addition, the songs are rich in rhythmic decorations. The melodic movement is mostly directed downwards and does not fluctuate, as in other styles, sometimes above or below the keynote.

Poi

Poi today are usuallysungin conjunction with the poi dance, while the songs used to be recited. The dance is performed with balls attached to a string, the poi balls, which the performers hold by their hands and swing around their bodies. The dance is danced by women and was originally performed at gatherings of different tribes. With poi there are no solos, but the group sings the song together from beginning to end. Accordingly, there are no breaks, interruptions or hianga . The melodies are simple and often have no more than three different notes, which are in an interval of often no more than a major second. This melody is repeated over and over. The poi balls beat against the prevailing meter in the melody and set a fast tempo.

Oriori

These songs are written by parents and grandparents for their children, both boys and girls, if they come from families of chiefs or warriors. They are by no means comparable to European lullabies or lullabies, as they have an educational function and are intended to convey tasks and duties to the child that are appropriate to their status. For this reason there are many references in the texts to myths and traditions of the descent group. The children can often only understand these texts later because they are still too young to grasp the complexity. However, the musical elements of the songs are just as simple as we know children's songs, so that the Māori children can easily memorize them and find easier access to the lyrics. This mainly relates to clear melodies, whereas the rhythms are played additively and at a similar speed to those of the poi . In addition, there are no decorations at the end of the lines that are typical of waiata. However, it sings without pauses, without interrupting at the end of a line. There are solos either at the beginning or at the end of a song. These are more melodic than the rest of the piece.

Karanga

Karanga stand between recited and sung songs. They are calls from women who either greet ( poowhiri ) or say goodbye ( poroporoaki ) to visitors. They are usually short and have no musical form. In the end there is a utterance that resembles a loud sigh. Karanga are often improvised, which is noticeable as soon as several women call out, as in such cases there is an overlap, which leads to a more difficult understanding of the words.

Recited forms

Karakia

Karakia are assigned to the recited styles and denote quickly spoken spells that can contain up to 400 syllables per minute. Accordingly, the music is fast, monotonous notes. They are drawn out and descended at the end of a phrase. The texts often come from deceased ancestors and priests and deal with various topics. Many Karakia serve as a battle song for warfare and have the aim of weakening the enemy or strengthening their own warriors. This can be done through spells that destroy the weapons of others or weaken the fighting spirit.

These sayings can also relate to nature and pursue the calming of the waves or the averting of a storm for the seafarers. Karakia are practiced and practiced in all ages and areas of life, such as childbirth, illness, marriage and divorce or funeral. However, they are not spoken by a choir, as is often the case with the Māori , but rather recited by individuals. Several hundred relate to witchcraft and sorcery and the turning away from forces evoked by spell . Because of this diversity, it is not surprising that there are at least 130 different terms for the different forms of Karakia . Since this form of singing is the most sacred for the Māori, i.e. it has a particularly large amount of tapu , they are reluctantly sung for recordings or released for publication. For this reason there are few published authentic karakia.

Paatere and Kaioraora

These are fast and expressive chants that are usually used in response to ridicule and scorn. This concern is emphasized through improvised gestures and facial expressions. They are similar to pao whakautu , but they are more direct. The authors do not respond to the taunts by uttering insults or curses, but rather speak in their songs of their own relatives and deceased chiefs who belong to their ethnic group. The purpose of this unusual way of dealing with insults is to show other Māori that the allegations made cannot be true with such noble relatives. Paatere are generally written by women.

Kaioraora are presented similarly, but the textual content is more aggressive and has a more direct reference to the mocking person than is the casewith paatere . For example, fatal vengeance is sworn or threats to eat the brain if it is a matter of defeat in a military conflict. It is possible to incorporate elements from kaioraora into a paatere . These are usually in the last part of the song.

Both forms are clearly different from karakia , as they are performed by a group. In addition, the tempo is not as fast and the notes are not drawn out as long as in other recited styles with musical accompaniment. Most of the time the pitch is the same, but at the end of a verse the voice is raised before it drops again. Rhythmically, in most cases it is a binary meter, but this can be resolved by dividing it into several groups and playing syncopations to form polyrhythms.

Haka

The term describes a certain dance style ( Haka ) on the one hand, and the songs that are played for this dance on the other. In most cases today , when one speaks of haka , one means war dances , but originally there were different forms of this style. Some were performed for pleasure, others to greet visitors. Today we speak of haka taparahi when it comes to a song without weapons: If it is practiced with weapons, however, it is called peruperu . The songs can be recited by men or women, or together. There are just as little fixed rules for this as for singing in a choir or solo. Sometimes the songs are performed in the group from start to finish, sometimes there is a lead singer who does the opening part alone. There might just as well be an interplay between the solo singer and the choir by singing a line solo and the group the following. Both men and women can take on the leadership role. To give the texts rhythmic expression, they stamp their feet on the floor, hit their upper arms or clap their hands. The movements that they make with their bodies range from rolling their eyes, making faces and gesticulating that appear hectic. For this reason, haka are usually described as terrifying and scary. This is not least due to the type of singing, which is a kind of roar and screech. The tempo is slower than with the other recited styles, but it is above the song forms sung. While the regular stamping of the foot is undoubtedly the most important element of a haka , other patterns can be added, creating syncopated effects in the music. Often these characteristics, as in many other styles, have adapted to western music practice.

See also

• Music from Tuvalu

Web links

• Waiate - Maori song . New Zealand Folksong,accessed April 3, 2016. 
• Maori Music . In: An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Alexander Hare McLintock , April 22, 2009,accessed April 3, 2016(English, and six other websites below). 

Individual evidence

1. ^ Maori Music - Musical Instruments . In: An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Alexander Hare McLintock , April 22, 2009, accessed April 3, 2016 .  
2. ↑ Victor Segalen : Dead Voices: Māori Music . Merve Verlag, Berlin 2006.
3. ^ Mervyn McLean : Towards the differentiation of music areas in Oceania . In: Anthropos . tape  74 H. 5./6. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft , 1979, p. 717-736 (English).
4. ^ Mervyn McLean, Margaret Orbell : Traditional Songs of the Maori . 2nd Edition. Auckland University Press , Auckland 1979, ISBN 978-1-86940-314-0 (English).
5. ^ Allan Thomas : Report on survey of music in Tokelau, Western Polynesia . Department of Anthropology, University of Auckland , Auckland 1988 (English).
6. ^ Mervyn McLean : Maori Music . Auckland University Press , Auckland 1996, ISBN 1-86940-144-1 , pp.  35 (English).