Taonga Puoro

Taonga puoro (traditional Māori musical instruments), like the pūkāea (wooden trumpet), hue (gourd), and pūtātara (conch shell trumpet) are undergoing something of a revival. During the 2004 Matariki festival, over Queen’s Birthday weekend, Richard Nunns, Brian Flintoff, Warren Warbrick, and James Webster demonstrated the art of making and playing these traditional Māori instruments.

Taonga puoro were originally used for many purposes - as a call to arms in warfare, as a signalling device, and to warn of imminent danger. They are also known to have been used to sound the dawning of a new day, to communicate with Māori gods, and to signify the planting of certain crops at different times of the year.