5. Tāwhirimātea: The Wind Voices
Clem Mellish created this pounamu porotiti to resemble one described in old literature as having ears. It produces slightly different sounds on each rotation and, as its rotation changes, the stone gives out a small ringing note.
Tāwhirimatea the God of the Winds, is usually acknowledged as a child of Rangi and Papa but sometimes as one of the wind children of Rangi and Pōharua te Pō. He and his family were some of those who opposed the separation of Rangi and Papa and, as we often observe, he and his wind children still do battle with the children of Tānemahuta, both plant and animal.
But the wind children are not always angry or mischievous and we appreciate them on a hot summer’s day, or when out sailing and especially when we want them to chase the cloud children into hiding. It was they who went to the aid of Tānemahuta when he was attacked by the evil forces of Whiro as he climbed to the topmost heaven to collect the three baskets of knowledge so vital to human existence.
The very special sounds made by the winds as they whistle and moan or swish and brush against us are acknowledged as being messages from the Spirit World, for the wind people have no physical body. These spirit voices evoke strange feelings: we know we are hearing something special and we can learn to listen to them.
Some instruments produce unexpected wind voices, and these are also considered special because they are perceived as spirit voices joining in with the song.
Porotiti
Porotiti, or humming discs, are usually oval discs with a cord looped through two off-centre holes. They are played by looping the cord around the hands, then twirling either cord or disc a little to start the spinning. By alternately applying pressure, then relaxing the cord each time it untwines, the disc will create its hum.
A group of porotiti showing how they can be created in a variety of shapes and materials.
Then, when the player blows gently on its vanes, it starts to sing and create its own songs. By varying the breath, new rhythms can be created. According to one informant, these instruments were named kōrorohū when they were just spinning, but kōrerohua when they were being blown on.
Although most living memories of them are as children’s toys, porotiti are also used as song catchers: the player listens to the sound of the porotiti to set the pitch and rhythm for the composition of mōteatea or songs. They were also used as accompaniment to karakia or prayers.
Porotiti also create ultrasounds and vibrations and they were moved from finger to finger with fluid movements to ease arthritis pains and keep the joints flexible. When played over the faces and chests of sleeping children it was believed they helped to clear the mucus from their sinuses. They are one of several instruments that create quiet, private sounds and they can also become beautiful, functional pendants.
The porotiti in the illustration show variations created by following up an old written record of an instrument carved with ‘ears’. Also included is a bird-shaped development that was suggested by these trials. The oval ones create more sound than the round ones but are a little harder to get started and must be well balanced. Those with holes or shapes cut into them sing louder, especially when blown on.
Porotiti can be made in a variety of shapes and from a variety of materials; even a strip of thick cardboard works well. Sometimes they were made from the circular discs that form the caps of whale vertebrae. The pilot whale or upokohue, which often strands on our shores, provides good-sized discs.
The rhythmic humming of porotiti as accompaniment to songs, such as the one that follows, adds an element of movement and a background of traditional sound which can complement the song in a strikingly powerful way.
A Soothing Porotiti Song
Tāirikiri taku porotiti
Tākumekume taku kōrorohū
Pupuhi nei kia kōrerohua
Taku kōrorohū
Pupuhi nei kia kōrerohua
Taku kōrorohū
Pūrerireri taku porotiti
Kōrerohua taku kōrorohū
Wēwete nei I ngā kakatitangi
Ngā uauatanga o tēnei ao
Hurihuri
Takawiriwiri nei.
Whizzing
Whirling
Spinning disc
Blowing healing breath
Soothing breath
keeping troubles
far away.
- Hirini Melbourne@
Pūrerehua
The pūrerehua, or rangorango is a bullroarer. Custom tells that the player’s spirit travels up the cord to create the sound, which then travels on the winds to take the words and dreams of the player to the listeners of the world.
This pūrerehua pounamu was made by Huata Homes and named in the southern dialectal variant as Hamumu ira gārara. It is shown here lying on its korowai cloak made by Puti Rare
As part of the revival journey we have been taken to special sites by various local iwi to return the voices of Taonga Pūoro to the land. When we went to Onetahua or Farewell Spit, we were shown by the God of Winds, Tāwhirimātea, how he played the pūrerehua. As Hirini held his pūrerehua in front of him the strong wind, which often lives there, took control of it and set it spinning. It soon had us awestruck as it sang its soul-stirring, whirling song in a way no human player could emulate.
There are many variations on the uses of these instruments. In Ngāti Porou some of these are famed as rain makers, causing tears of love to fall from the Sky Father, Rangi, on his beloved Papa, the Earth Mother. In Taranaki they are called mamae and sing a farewell to the dead. In the south they are named hamumu ira ngārara, which translates as the sound that stirs the lizards to life. When played, the sound would summon lizards from hiding, possibly because the vibrations simulate a blowfly’s flight, suggesting food was at hand. A legendary pūrerehua pounamu played at dusk from One Tree Hill in Auckland was so powerful that it could be heard simultaneously in the Waitemata and the Manukau.
Pūrerehua are made of wood, stone and bone and in a range of sizes. The flight pattern, especially of the lighter and fatter wooden ones, resembles the moths from which they take one of their names. The other name, rangorango, belongs to a special blowfly that will fly, then hover, fly and hover. The pūrerehua song is likened to the whirring of rangorango’s wings, varying in pitch as it darts and hovers, while the appearance of its flight is likened to that of a moth. When we were filming Taonga Pūoro one wet day at Ōhaka Tapu, we witnessed a korimako or bellbird dive perilously close to a pūrerehua that was being recorded. Unfortunately this was not captured on film but the bird’s reaction caused some extra excitement that reinforced the concept of the instrument’s southern use in replicating insect sounds.
Rongopai is a whalebone pūrerehua with rows of manaia faces along its sides representing the people singing their message of peace. The surface carving represents Ngā Hau e Whā the four winds.
A Song of Peace for the Pūrerehua
Pūrere rā te pūrerehua
Rewa rawa ki runga rā
Ripia rā ngā hau e whā
Ruia rā te rongopai
Ruia te pai
Ruia te pai.
Pūrerehua
Gliding
Riding
on the Four Winds
To sow seeds of peace.
- Hirini Melbourne* @ +
