1) What is Māori music?
ANSWER: The music of the Māori performers you can hire from us is the traditional Māori music, or pūoro Māori. The native Māori people of New Zealand wrote and now perform this music. Furthermore, it includes a wide variety of different folk music styles that integrate with Māori poetry and dance. Consequently, it is common for clients to hire Māori performers who perform a wide range of Māori performing arts.
2) What instruments are typical of Māori musicians?
ANSWER: Taonga pūoro is the collective name given to traditional Māori musical instruments. These include various types of flutes, wooden trumpets, idiophones, percussion instruments and bullroarers. However, pre-European Māori music was predominantly sung and in the early 20th century, a revival of the vocal traditions was witnessed with the ‘action song’ (waiata-a-ringa) in which stylised dance movements with standardised meanings were synchronised with the singing. It was then that the sung entrance and exit, poi and the most famous of all the haka- the Māori war dance- was born.
3) Are Māori Arts part of Tiki culture?
ANSWER: No, even though we can trace the word “tiki” to New Zealand. Whilst ‘Māori Arts’ are real ‘Tiki culture’ is an invention of American popular culture. Tiki culture was born in California in the 1930s. It was inspired by the sentimental appeal of an idealized South Pacific, particularly Hawaii, Polynesia and Oceania, as viewed through the experiences of American tourists. Tiki Bars like Trader Vic’s opened borrowing imagery from Māori and Hawaiian cultures. For some people Tiki bars, which have become quite popular of late in the UK, represent nostalgia for earlier colonial times. Those critics would say that tiki bars have misused and exploited Polynesian iconography. Others would contradict this view and argue that Tiki Bars celebrate Polynesian culture. And we suspect those that enjoy drinking the Mai Tais don’t often care either way!
4) What events best suit the hire of Māori performers?
ANSWER: Any private or corporate party with a venue that is Polynesian or Tiki-themed in terms of its decor. Like a Tiki Bar, for example. Or any event with a New Zealand association such as a rugby match featuring or celebrating New Zealand’s All Blacks. In fact, any event that requires a big impact performance would welcome the haka!
5) Can I request a song from your Māori performers?
ANSWER: Yes, if it is part of the typical repertoire of their traditional folk performance arts. Like the haka, which is a performance with a massive impact at any event.
6) Are there soloist options from your Māori performers?
ANSWER: No. The traditional folk performances of the Māori work best with a minimum size of 10 performers.
7) What space do your Māori performers require for their performance?
ANSWER: No more than 1.5m x 1.5m is required for each performer, but for a full show as many as 10-20 performers may be involved.
8) Are all the Māori performers male?
ANSWER: Some performances like the haka may traditionally be all-male. However, our Maori groups will always feature women as well- equally so most-times.
9) Can I hire your Māori performers to perform as a roaming group?
ANSWER: The performances involve a lot of movement. Even so, the audience experience is best when the Māori performance is in one place. That place can be a dance floor or on a raised stage or platform.
10) Are Māori performers interactive with an audience?
ANSWER: Absolutely. Our Māori performers always include audience participation- unless you specifically instruct them not to do this, of course!