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Language Preservation and
Māori: A Musical Perspective
By Robert Wiremu
“Humanity today is facing a at worst can elicit a fierce response. will return to this. In the meantime,
massive extinction: languages However, in her article “Why we we should look at a highly publicized
are disappearing at an unprec- need to pause before claiming example of alleged appropriation,
edented pace. And when that cultural appropriation,” Ash albeit one that appears to have had
happens, a unique vision of Sarkar explains: “The appropriation a positive outcome.
the world is lost. With every debate peddles a comforting lie that A legal dispute arose over the Ger-
language that dies we lose an there’s such thing as a stable and man band Enigma’s use of a song
enormous cultural heritage; authentic connection to culture that sample by two aboriginal Taiwan-
the understanding of how can remain intact after the seismic ese singers in the band’s (ironically
humans relate to the world interruptions of colonialism and mi- named) song “Return to Innocence.”
around us; scientific, medical gration.”3 Enigma saw the song reach number
and botanical knowledge; and The questions then arise. Can one in four countries and the top ten
most importantly, we lose the appropriation be positive? Can the in six others. Producer Michael Cre-
expression of communities’ apparent benefits outweigh the neg- tu claimed that he believed the sam-
humor, love and life. In short, atives? Western music faces similar ple was in the public domain, while
we lose the testimony of centu- questions. Is it appropriation or ar- the original singers, Difang and Igay
ries of life.”1 tistic theft? Appropriation or cultur- Duana (Chinese name Kuo), were
al pastiche? Appropriation or valid initially unaware of this use of their
To a young and inexperienced, arrangement? Appropriation or def- recording. Enigma denied them any
classically trained musician, the erential homage? If we extrapolate recompense, forcing them into liti-
practice of Māori kai-tito waiata from our second quotation at the gation. Eventually the case was set-
(songwriters) borrowing from west- start, appropriation is when mem- tled out of court for an undisclosed
ern music seemed illicit, rule-break- bers of a powerful (often first-world) amount, and all further releases of
ing, taboo. Appropriation, which culture exploit those of a subordi- the song were credited, with royal-
is defined as “the taking or use of nate (often third- or fourth-world) ties, to the Duanas.
another culture involving a power culture, with negligible benefit to the Another example of appropria-
differential, in which the powerful latter. According to this definition, tion, and a very high-profile one in
appropriate from the subordinate appropriation cannot be commit- the New Zealand context, has not
people,”2 is not usually seen in a pos- ted by third- or fourth-world parties been resolved so cleanly. The All
itive light; it’s awkward at best and against first-world groups, but we Blacks, the national rugby team, are
CHORAL JOURNAL March 2020 Volume 60 Number 8 41
Deadline: October 1 • visit acda.org/brock for more information and to apply
Language Preservation and Māori: A Musical Perspective
famous not only for their winning Property Office has since declined ELP also identifies a shift from a fo-
record but also for the “haka” they every application. Ngati Toa says cus just on church and marae (the tra-
chant before every game. It begins their aim is acknowledgement, not ditional meeting place for a tribe or
somewhat ominously with the words restriction or commercial gain. This extended family) for language pres-
“Ka mate! Ka mate!” (To die! To is appropriation writ large with text, ervation to educational facilities, and
die!). It was composed in about 1820 meaning authorship, “ownership,” projections of decline are in stark
by the great chieftain Te Rauparaha and cultural significance all neglect- contrast to a swing toward revitaliza-
as part of a longer chant4 that makes ed or deliberately ignored. Some tion in recent times. Adult learning
the context clearer, but despite its Māori composers have contributed classes for Pākehā (European New
universal familiarity amongst New to the preservation of their language Zealanders) and Māori have wait-
Zealanders, few would know what it by means of reverse appropriation ing lists for te reo courses,8 and news
means or even who wrote it. Worse, through the adaptation of Western announcers on radio and television
the haka’s popularity has led to melodies to new Māori texts. use Māori greetings regularly. Un-
its unsanctioned performance all fortunately, the census will no longer
around the world, notably by young monitor Māori language proficiency
expatriates in the UK who use it An Endangered Language indicators.
during their annual ANZAC (World The Māori language (known in As the urbanization of the
War veterans) pub-crawl and by oth- New Zealand as “te reo Māori” or mid-twentieth century brought
er international sports teams, often just “te reo”) has had a problemat- many more Māori and Pākehā into
in parody! ic history since colonization. Lan- close proximity, the speaking of te
According to the All Blacks web- guage transmits knowledge, history, reo was often discouraged. Policies
site, “Many sports teams and indi- and culture. Loss of language means to prevent its use in schools were
viduals travelling from New Zealand loss of all these.6 This is particularly implemented, and corporal punish-
overseas tend to have the haka ‘Ka true of cultures that are orally trans- ment against children who spoke it
mate’ as part of their programme. mitted and have no written record. (even in the playground) was widely
The sports team that has given the Māori knowledge, history, and cul- administered. Māori themselves be-
haka the greatest exposure overseas ture were all transmitted orally; they gan to question the relevance of te
has been the All Blacks, who per- were not recorded in writing until reo in a Pākehā-dominated world;
form it before their matches. It has the late 1700s. Māori language pres- some Māori leaders even advocat-
become a distinctive feature of the ervation is crucial in preserving all ed for the full adoption of western
All Blacks.”5 This may be true, but three of these human constructions, culture and the English language at
it was used by the team for nearly a and music— globally and locally—is the expense of their own. By 1980,
century years without the consent of one of the most important vehicles fluency in their own language, and
Te Rauparaha’s Ngati Toa tribe who for their preservation. the sense of pride that would have
owned it or, more correctly, were its The Endangered Languages Proj- accompanied it, had been denied to
guardians. The All Blacks first per- ect (ELP) defines the Māori language entire generations of Māori people.9
formance of the chant was before a as endangered.7 Statistics from the In 1982, Kōhanga Reo (language
match against Scotland in 1905, but 2013 New Zealand Census show nests) were introduced, with the pur-
it was not until the mid-2000s that that most fluent Māori-speakers pose of immersing infants in te reo
Ngati Toa reached out and offered a are sixty-five or older. Of 600,000 prior to attending primary school.
formal arrangement between them- people who identify as Māori, just Kura Kaupapa Māori (language
selves and New Zealand Rugby. In- 127,000 speak te reo either as their immersion schools that included sec-
cidentally, the first attempt by Ngati first or second language. For the next ondary school programs) appeared
Toa to trademark “Ka mate” was fifteen years or so, the statistics offer in 1989. This has provided a full
refused in 1988, and the Intellectual worsening projections. However, the schooling plan for linguistic and cul-
42 CHORAL JOURNAL March 2020 Volume 60 Number 8tural continuity and has brought a end William Williams, that gained The simplest defence of reverse
decided improvement in attitudes to primacy with his Māori Dictionary appropriation as a method of lan-
te reo, certainly among Māori and of 1844.10 Williams’s volume was an guage preservation is survival. Te
to an extent in the wider community. impressive achievement for its time, reo Māori is not likely to be adopt-
(These initiatives are in stark con- but it is remarkable that it took 150 ed globally, or even nationally, and
trast to the native schools of the ear- years (during which time scholar- will therefore remain a marginal
ly twentieth century, which can be ship had, of course, advanced con- language. With 417 languages on
regarded as assimilation institutions, siderably) for the first such work by the verge of extinction (according
even though they were considered Māori scholars to appear: the 1993 to UNESCO’s Atlas of Languages in
unduly important by native commu- English-Māori Dictionary by H. M. Danger of Disappearing), the suprem-
nities; often the school principal was Hgata and his son, Whai. acy of the major languages (Man-
the most politically powerful person
in such places.)
While Pākehā acceptance of te
reo has warmed noticeably, there Glossary of Māori Terms
are still areas in which the European
majority is tone-deaf. Many places Māori: Ordinary, normal, plain, usual, common, natural, indigenous
in New Zealand have retained their
traditional Māori names, while other Kai-tito waiata: Composer
names have been lost or memorial- -“kai” as a prefix indicates the person doing an action
ized only in historical records. How- - “tito” is to create, fabricate, and compose
ever, the names that continue to exist - “waiata” can be used as a verb and/or as a noun for “singing”
are very often subject to unintention- or “song”
al or deliberate mispronunciation
by non-speakers, which can render Marae: the traditional communal space of the family/subtribe/tribe
them unrecognizable to those who with buildings for meeting, eating and cooking, food storage, and
speak the language. Despite the sta- sleeping
tus of te reo as one of the two official
spoken languages of New Zealand, it Kohanga reo: Language nest, pre-school level
is incomprehensible to many Māori
that its pronunciation is problematic Kohanga: nest
for most New Zealanders, especially
Reo: language
since it was first transcribed phonet-
ically by English speakers and is en- Kura Kaupapa Māori: Māori Immersion School
tirely consistent in the pronunciation - “Kura” is a transliteration of the English “school”
of its vowels and consonants. - “Kaupapa” is agenda, topic, policy
Early attempts at transcribing the - “Māori” is indigenous
Māori language date back to Captain
James Cook’s journals of 1769, but Haka: posture dance
it wasn’t until 1815 that missionary
Thomas Kendall, with the support Ngati Maniapoto: a tribe in the Tainui Confederation of Tribes in the
of chiefs Hongi Hika and Titore, western central region of the North Island
made efforts to discern a vocabulary
and grammar. However, it was the Waikato: a western central region of the North Island
work of another missionary, Rever-
CHORAL JOURNAL March 2020 Volume 60 Number 8 43Language Preservation and Māori: A Musical Perspective darin, English, Hindi, Spanish, and Māori pop singer Hinewehi Mohi tic products such as poetry, painting, Arabic) increases. The predicament also swapped the verse order. The and carving, and the act of perform- of te reo is unsurprising: language reaction was immediate and intense. ing, as in singing, playing instru- and culture are organic, the Māori Debate raged in the community and ments, and dancing. It also includes language is not useful economically, the media; Mohi was targeted as a the preparation and sharing of food. and there are too few Māori to have troublemaker and subjected to bully- What may be strange to non-Māori a significant effect on global markers ing and threats of physical violence. is that this concept of divinity can of success. Consequent rejection of Eventually the furore died down, also extend to children as the most the language by Māori themselves and today Hinewehi Mohi’s version sacred creative product of all. Such because of its perceived lack of rele- has become the norm.11 products and activities elevate the vance is virtually its death knell. While this may not quite be an ex- mana (dignity) of the producer/per- Perhaps the greatest boost to the ample of reverse appropriation, it is former and the recipient/audience, health of te reo Māori, at least with- clear evidence of how a tune import- through sharing and inspiration. in the wider New Zealand setting, ant to the colonial majority can be Creativity is a corporate concept. came from an unexpected source. used as a vehicle to popularise, and This might be seen as “having it New Zealand has two national an- perhaps help preserve, the indigenous both ways”: that members of a third- thems: “God save the Queen,” language. Recently, the twentieth an- world culture or colonized people which is shared throughout the niversary of that controversial event object to having their culture misap- British Commonwealth, and “God was celebrated with the release of an propriated and yet are prepared to Defend New Zealand.” The latter album of New Zealand pop classics justify their own borrowings on the anthem, the only one still regularly performed in the Māori language by grounds that art is communal prop- performed, is very much of colonial the original bands and singers, some erty. We can, however, return here to origin—it came from a poem by Irish of whom are not Māori and do not our original definition of appropria- immigrant Thomas Bracken, with a speak te reo. New Zealand seemed to tion, which presupposes that any act hymn-like tune later composed for have healed that 1999 wound and in- of appropriation must happen with- it by Australian-born John Joseph deed transformed it into something in the context of a power imbalance. Woods. Even its translation into positive. Most Kiwis now sing the The use of the term reverse appro- Māori was done by English-born first verse of the anthem with gusto, priation would, therefore, imply that Thomas Henry Smith, a judge in the and all under the age of about forty it confers some benefit on the less Native Land Court. know it by heart. powerful party. Such a context out- For most of its life, “God Defend In Māori traditional thinking, one come might generally be perceived New Zealand” was sung only in En- belongs to one’s creative work as as positive, even in the first world, glish, with the Māori verse (not a much as the creative work belongs given that it is more likely to promote direct translation) occasionally ap- to its creator; it is like belonging to greater third/fourth-world self-de- pended. Perhaps the first time this a place as opposed to owning it. In termination, monetisation, creative was reversed in public was when the cases where the individual creator ownership, cultural expansion, and NZ National Youth Choir performed is anonymous or where the creative potential for collaboration. the anthem with its Māori verse first work has been made corporately, at- A practice that certainly could at their 1982 recital in London’s tribution is assigned to the collective. be termed reverse appropriation is Wembley Concert Hall with Kiri Te Creativity of all sorts is considered the way Māori composers have con- Kanawa. For reasons no doubt fa- sacred (or “tapu,” from which we get tributed to the preservation of their miliar to choral readers, this was not the English word taboo). Creativity is language through the adaptation widely publicised. Seventeen years rooted in the “divinity” of the per- of Western popular songs to new- later, before an All Blacks match son and is therefore considered a de- ly composed Māori texts. Bradford at Twickenham (also in London), ified product. This can include artis- Haami defines this process in his 44 CHORAL JOURNAL March 2020 Volume 60 Number 8
book Ka mau te wehi: Taking haka to that it was reverse-appropriated but the other hand, “hokowhitu” (the
the world: “The art of adaptation by also that it alluded to the sacrifice of number 140 in the song) is a relic
kai-tito waiata [composers] was the many Māori for a distant war in a of a now archaic numbering system
skill of knowing how to fit an old place that had no cultural historical based on 20. (Hoko means “a score”
song or tune to new settings to im- significance for them. or 20, and “whitu” 7, so “hokow-
press an audience; there was no such Another song in similar vein, hitu” is 20x7.) The dominance of the
thing as copyright. Paraire Tomoana, though with a less involved backsto- Western decimal system would have
Kingi Tahiwi, Tuini Ngawai, Ngoi ry, is “Arohaina mai” (“Show com- subsumed this pre-colonial form had
Pewhairangi, Tommy Taurima, Bill passion”). In 1940, composer Tuini it not been for songs like this.
Kerekere, and various known and Ngawai was asked by the prominent
unknown collectives adapted foreign New Zealand statesman Sir Apirana
songs and tunes from their era, ei- Ngata to write a song for families to Conclusion
ther translating them into Māori or sing at the dock as more young men The more examples we study of
rewriting the words to create new sailed off to yet another European such borrowings, the more it be-
songs which would appeal to the war. As its tune, she chose George comes clear that there was never
people.”12 Gershwin’s “Love Walked In” from an intention to offend the original
The Goldwyn Follies for its familiari- composer or to consider them a
ty, immediate appeal, and aptness quid pro quo in retaliation for colo-
Compositions of mood. Gershwin’s original was nization. But whatever a particular
Clement Scott’s “Swiss Cradle about driving away shadows and writer’s motives were at the time of
Song” (published in Australia by unspoken love; the lyrics here asked composition, the results have been
W.H. Paling13 in 1913) was originally for a blessing of protection over the mostly positive: the preservation of
written as a piano solo. It became a young soldiers. The song became the certain language patterns and words,
song with words, called “Pō atarau,” unofficial anthem of the country’s the retention of significant histori-
when the boys of Te Aute College in 28th (Māori) Battalion and remains cal and institutional knowledge, the
New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay sang it popular today. promotion of te reo within the wider
as a farewell to fellow students and In her “E te hokowhitu a Tu,” Tu- community. We will never know how
graduates departing for war in 1914 ini Ngawai adapted not a film song much of the language had already
and 1915, although the source of the this time but a chart-topper, Glenn been lost and of the knowledge, his-
Māori lyrics has been lost. Original- Miller’s “In the mood” of 1940. This tory, and culture that went along with
ly a cradle song in 4/4, it was trans- song exhorts the young men to brav- it, but songs undoubtedly helped halt
formed into a sad waltz in 3/4 and ery when fighting for God, King, the slide.
was given an English translation by and Country in a war that, again, Kai-tito waiata like Ngawai, Pe-
Maewa Kaihau, who also altered may have seemed unconnected to whairangi, Taurima, Tahiwi and
the tune slightly and added another them. The main section glorifies the others used familiar pop songs as
Māori version. Because of its global 140-strong troupe of the War God, hooks and film soundtracks to appeal
success following the release of re- Tu, and tells them that success relies to younger Māori to keep their per-
cordings by Gracie Fields, Bing Cros- heavily on their ability to stay united. formance groups going. They used
by and many others in its best-known An additional verse commemorates the most readily available and plen-
version, “Now is the hour (when we the fallen hero Moana-nui-a-Kiwa tiful resources, “western” songs—the
must say goodbye),” “Pō atarau” has Ngarimu, whose posthumous award music that just happened to be pop-
enjoyed consistent popularity, partic- of the highest military honor, the ular in an increasingly marginalized
ularly among New Zealanders. It is Victoria Cross, gave great pride to minority. Māori culture had been
worth remembering, however, that all Māori and provided a model of systematically isolated, the language
its complex history includes the fact citizenship to other Māori men. On was stagnating, and pride in being
CHORAL JOURNAL March 2020 Volume 60 Number 8 45Language Preservation and Māori: A Musical Perspective
Māori was waning in the face of ag- Орлин Вълчев (July 5, 2014) The accessed January 20, 2020. https://
gressive modernisation. All these had Glenn Miller Orchestra -- (1941) In www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-
to evolve to survive. To date, music the Mood [High Quality Enhanced korihi/351351/hundreds-on-wait-
has played its part. Sound] [video file]. Retrieved lists-for-beginner-reo-classes
9
from https://www.youtube.com/ NZ History, “Te Wiki o Te Reo
Robert Wiremu is a professional watch?v=6vOUYry_5Nw Maori – Maori Language Week,”
teaching fellow at the University of accessed January 10, 2020, https://
Auckland and highly regarded New Ridpath, Ian (Feb 23, 2019) Wow!!! nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-
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Victoria University, the University an Rhapsody [video file]. Retrieved maori-language.
10
of Auckland, and Queensland Con- from https://www.youtube.com/ “ M a o r i L a n g u a g e, ” f r o m A n
servatory of Music. watch?v=mKCrrTuYnmU Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, ed. A.
H. McLintock, originally published
in 1966. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia
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11
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from https://www.youtube.com/ 2
W hat is Music of Fourth World; Mohi reflects on singing national
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Appropriation” (April 18, 2011), 2019; accessed January 20, 2020,
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(September 26, 2017) Po Atarau - h t t p s : / / e s q u i b l e. w o r d p r e s s. home/new-zealand/2019/09/
Now Is The Hour [video file]. Re- com/2011/04/18/appropriation- it-caused-a-sensation-hinewehi-
trieved from https://www.youtube. vs-reverse-appropriation/ mohi-reflects-on-singing-national-
com/watch?v=gzQgyBzNi6E 3
Ash Sarkar, “Why we need to anthem-in-m-ori.html.
12
pause before claiming cultural Bradford Haami, “Ka mau te wehi:
Members of the 28 Mäori Battal- appropriation,” in The Guardian taking haka to the world, Bub and
ion—Topic (March 17, 2015) Aro- (April 2019). Nen’s story,” published by The
haina Mai [video file]. Retrieved 4
“New Zealand in History,” accessed Ngapo and Pimia Wehi Whanau
from https://www.youtube.com/ January 10, 2020, http://history- Trust (2013).
13
watch?v=CCaUpdp2w8Q nz.org/rauparaha.html. Language historian Max Cryer notes
5 that Paling created the pseudonym
All Blacks; “The Haka,” https://www.
GoldenAgeMovies (May 7, 2011) allblacks.com/the-haka/ Clement Scott but refused to reveal
Kenny Baker sings Love walked in 6
For more information on Endangered his real identity. In 2000, family
(1938) [video file]. Retrieved https:// Languages, visit: http://www. of the late Albert Saunders sued
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W- endangeredlanguages.com Paling for failure to acknowledge
kbu12-cU 7
Endangered Languages Project, “Language Albert’s 300+ contributions, and
m e t a d a t a ” h t t p : / / w w w. particularly the “Swiss Cradle
Howard Morrison Quartet – Top- endangeredlanguages.com/ Song”—unsuccessfully, as it turned
ic (September 26, 2017) E Te Ho- lang/3571 out. However, the Australian
kowhitu [video file]> Retrieved 8
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui, “Hundreds National Library now holds a copy
from https://www.youtube.com/ on wait-lists for beginner reo of “Now is the Hour,” “composed
watch?v=XMlknVHerm8 classes,” RNZ (February 28, 2018), by A.B. Saunders.”
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