Niho Nguru

The nguru is a traditional nose flute that is unique to Aotearoa New Zealand. It has an up-turned snout end, into which the player exhales through one nostril, and two perforated holes, or ‘note-stops’ (wenewene), along the length of the stem, which produce melodious, low-sobbing notes that invoke the voice of Hineraukatauri, the female ancestral spirit of Māori music. Nguru can be made of wood, stone, or whale ivory (as in this example), and were often played at times of great sorrow, such as tangihanga (funerary events).

It is believed that only persons of importance, tohunga (priest) or rangatira (chief), ever possessed whale ivory nguru such as this. This nguru is carved in the Nga Puhi style.

A resurgence in the manufacture and performance of taonga puoro (Māori musical instruments) in recent years will help to ensure that this living art form survives into the future.

The spiritual significance of the niho nguru

Celebrated taonga puoro practitioner/composer Jerome Kavanagh Poutama (Puoro Jerome) hails from the iwi of Ngāti Maniapoto – Matakore, Mōkai Pātea, Kahungunu, Ngāti Rangi – Awa Whanganui, Tūwharetoa (Māori) as well as Caomhanach (Irish) ancestry.

In the video below, he speaks powerfully of the spiritual significance of both the nguru, and the whales they were sourced from.

Over the past 21-years Jerome has become a full-time, independent taonga puoro practitioner and has come to be one of the most prolific providers of puoro in Aotearoa. He is an established producer and composer of taonga puoro music for film, television series and commercial campaigns both in Aotearoa and overseas.

During his career Jerome has toured taonga puoro extensively all over the world, performing at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the Sydney Opera House and the British Museum. Jerome was a featured solo artist and lyricist on the two-time Grammy award-winning album Calling All Dawns for his track Kia Hora te Marino recorded at Abbey Road studios, with the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Over the past decade he has also been sharing the “ORO ATUA” (a Māori sound journey experience) and has toured the ORO ATUA extensively around Aotearoa and throughout Australia, Europe, UK, Indonesia and the USA.

At present, Jerome and his hoa rangatira Ruiha continue to share their taonga puoro kaupapa throughout Aotearoa in a vast range of settings, including their interactive live show “Power to the Puoro” and the “ORO ATUA”. The duo work in balance as taha wahine and taha tane, reviving the balanced practices of our Tūpuna.

Website: www.puorojerome.co.nz

In the next step we will look at some whale bone/teeth treasures – and the meanings behind them – from other cultures around the Pacific

Further resources

Jerome Kavanagh presenting a TedX talk (19mins) on a variety of taonga puoro (Māori musical instruments)

Taonga puoro | Māori musical instruments, Te Papa