4. Making music

You’re looking at some musical instruments – these are called taonga puoro, and are still used today. Taonga puoro all have individual voices – sometimes called women’s and men’s voices. Most of the instruments you see here are played like flutes or trumpets. They are carved from wood or bone.

The short instruments on the top and middle rows are flutes. Look for the ones with a curved end. They are called nguru and are played by blowing across the top with your nose.

Can you see the instrument made with a shell? It’s on the bottom shelf. What sort of noise do you think it might make? It makes a loud trumpet-like sound when you blow into the wooden bit. This instrument is called a putātara and they are used to welcome guests – like you were welcomed at the beginning of this tour – or at the start or end of a meeting. They were also used to call warriors to battle.

Turn around and walk past the map towards stop 7, the low case standing all by itself in the middle of the gallery with a village in it.