Today was a special day for the students of Forest Lake School in Hamilton, New Zealand. James Webster, a prominent member of the Haumanu Collective, a group dedicated in preserving and promoting Māori culture, delivered to the school a large collection of Taonga Pūoro, traditional Māori musical instruments. The students sat in awe as James explained the cultural significance of each instrument. The taonga will be used to aide the school’s efforts in educating their students about traditional Māori customs and practices. The students were thrilled to be given this unique opportunity to learn in a way that wasn’t available to them before.
The massive collection made for Forest Lake School included Pūkaea, Pūtātara, Lōauau, Kōauau Ponga Ihu, Nguru, Pūtōrino, Hue, Poi Āwhiowhio, and many more. Over 30 pieces in total feature in the school’s new taonga pūoro collection.
James was joined by Haumanu taonga pūoro whānau on the day and as James explained each instrument they played them and engaged with the school students by sharing additional knowledge, pūrākau, kōrero and waiata associated with the taonga pūoro.
The students, parents and staff are extremely excited at what the future might bring by having these amazing resources onsite for the future learning of the children.
This works towards Haumanu Collective’s goals of supporting the retention and revitalisation of critically endangered mātauranga Taonga Pūoro, working in partnership with hāpori, pūkenga, experienced and emerging practitioners.
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