Maui Dalvanius Prime (16 January 1948 – 3 October 2002) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

entertainer and songwriter. His career spanned 30 years. He mentored many of New Zealand's

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

performers, and was a vocal and forthright supporter of Māori culture.

Early life

Born and raised in

Patea Patea ( ) is the third-largest town in South Taranaki District, New Zealand. It is on the western bank of the Pātea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Whanganui on . Hāwera is 27 km to the north-west, and Waverley 17 km to the ea ...

, Prime was of

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are ...

, Ngapuhi,

Ngati Ruanui ''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written an ...

, Tuwharetoa, Nga Rauru, Pakakohi and

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point ...

descent. The sixth of 11 children, Prime grew up in a musical household. He attended the

Church College of New Zealand Church College of New Zealand (CCNZ) was a private secondary school in Temple View, Hamilton, New Zealand, that was operated by the Church Educational System of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was closed at the en ...

located in Temple View,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

during his high school years.

Career

In the late 1960s Prime moved to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

and worked as a cook by day and musician at night. His involvement with The Shevelles, a Māori female vocal trio from Porirua, lead to several trips to Australia. In 1970, Prime travelled to Australia and performed at the opening of the Sydney Opera House. The dismissal of Australia's Prime Minister

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the ...

in 1975 inspired the song ''Canberra, We're Watching You'', a cover of ''Washington, We're Watching You'' by

the Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21 ...

with lyrics adapted to the situation. In 1983 he formed his own production company, Maui Records. And he became increasingly involved with

Māori music Traditional Māori music, or pūoro Māori, is composed or performed by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, and includes a wide variety of folk music styles, often integrated with poetry and dance. In addition to these traditions and musi ...

. In 1984, Prime recorded ''

Poi E "Poi E" is a New Zealand 1984 number-one hit song by the group Pātea Māori Club off the album of the same name. Released in 1984, the song was sung entirely in the Māori language and featured a blend of Māori cultural practices in the song ...

'' with the

Pātea Māori Club Pātea Māori Club is a New Zealand cultural group and performance act formed in the South Taranaki town of Pātea in 1967 as the Pātea Methodist Māori Club. In 1983, the group began to release Māori-language pop and hip hop music, produ ...

. The album was very popular in New Zealand, attaining

platinum certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. He appeared in the film ''Te Rua'' in 1990 and sang the theme song "Chudka Pā Poy", which is about

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. He also worked closely with Ngoi Pēwhairangi, who helped develop Te Kohanga Reo, Māori language pre-school system. He provided the music for many of her lyrics.

Advocacy

Later, Prime became a campaigner for the return of

mokomokai Mokomokai, or Toi moko, are the preserved heads of Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, where the faces have been decorated by tā moko tattooing. They became valuable trade items during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century. Moko M ...

(preserved, tattooed human heads) from overseas museums. Prime was an advocate for young people involved in court cases and victims of domestic violence. At the 1999 general election, Prime stood for the

Piri Wiri Tua Movement Piri Wiri Tua Movement was a Māori political party in New Zealand associated with the Ratana movement. It was formed in 1999 with the aim of establishing a separate Māori assembly that would work in a partnership alongside Parliament to adminis ...

in the

Te Tai Hauāuru Te Tai Hauāuru electorate boundaries used since the Te Tai Hauāuru is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives, that was first formed for the . The electorate ...

electorate, placing seventh. During the campaign he endorsed Ken Mair who was running for the affiliated

Mana Māori Movement The Mana Māori Movement was a New Zealand political party. It advocated on behalf of the Māori people. It was founded by Eva Rickard, a Māori activist. Rickard was originally a member of Mana Motuhake, another Māori party, but quit when Mana ...

Death

Prime died in 2002 in

Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was established ...

after a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. He was buried in his family urupa at Nukumaru, South Taranaki, New Zealand.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Production and songwriting credits

Notes

References

External links

Obituary: Dalvanius Prime - New Zealand HeraldAudioCulture profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prime, Dalvanius 1948 births 2002 deaths APRA Award winners New Zealand songwriters Male songwriters New Zealand musicians New Zealand Māori male singers People educated at the Church College of New Zealand Ngāti Tūwharetoa people Ngā Rauru people 20th-century New Zealand male singers Unsuccessful candidates in the 1999 New Zealand general election People from Patea Māori-language singers