Pere Te Ruru o te Ramana Wihongi (born ), sometimes known mononymously as PERE, is a New Zealand musician, voice actor, choreographer, and

kapa haka Kapa haka is the term for Māori action songs and the groups who perform them. It literally means 'group' () and 'dance' (). Kapa haka is an important avenue for Māori people to express and showcase their heritage and cultural Polynesian identi ...

performer. She is part of the award-winning music groups

Maimoa Maimoa is a New Zealand musical group. Formed from current and former presenters from the Māori Television show ''Pūkana'', the group debuted in 2016 with the single "Maimoatia", which was released to celebrate te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Since ...

and Te Kākano.

Early life

Wihongi was born and raised in

Herekino Herekino is a locality in Northland, New Zealand. It lies 26 km south west of Kaitaia. The Herekino Harbour, also called the Herekino River, is an estuary and inlet from the Tasman Sea to the west. The Herekino Forest, which contains a stand ...

. The family moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

when Wihongi was 9, and she began attending the Te Kura Kaupapa Māori ā Rohe o Māngere

immersion school Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction ...

. While there she competed in and won the Ngā Manu Kōrero speech competition. She then attended South Seas Film & Television School to pursue a career in television.

Career

Television

Wihongi's first job was as a production assistant, but eventually she worked her way up to be a reporter on news and current affairs shows such as ''

Te Karere ''Te Karere'' is a news and current affairs show that was New Zealand's first Māori language television programme. ''Te Karere'' is broadcast on Television New Zealand's TVNZ 1 at 3:55 pm on weekdays and repeated 1:05 am and 5:35 am the f ...

'' and ''

Marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

'', and presenting the children's show ''Pūkana''. In 2019, Wihongi started doing music and voice acting for the children's cartoon ''Pipi Mā''. In 2021, Wihongi was a judge on the talent show ''5 Minutes Of Fame''.

Music

In 2015, Wihongi formed the music group Pūkana and Whānau with fellow ''Pūkana'' presenters. They changed their name to

in 2017. Maimoa appeared on the reality television shows '' Voices of Our Future'' and ''Waiata Nation'', which documented the creation of their second single "Wairua" and their debut album ''Rongomaiwhiti'' respectively. Wihongi formed another music group, Te Kākano, in 2018. Wihongi had her solo debut in 2019 with the single "High on Ingoingo". She won Best Māori Male Solo Artist at that year's Waiata Māori Music Awards, alongside winning Best Traditional Album and Best Māori Pop Album for Te Kākano's self-titled debut album.

Film

In 2022, Wihongi joined the production company

Matewa Media Matewa Media is a New Zealand production company that dubs Disney animated films into the Māori language. Productions ''Moana Reo Māori'' (2017) Matewa Media was formed by Tweedie Waititi and Chelsea Winstanley in 2017 after seeing how popul ...

as the co-musical director alongside

Rob Ruha Rob Ruha (born 1980), is a New Zealand musician from Wharekahika, Gisborne District. He debuted as a solo musician in 2013, and is known for his singles sung in te Reo Māori, including "Kalega" (2017), " Ka Mānu" (2019), " 35" with Ka Hao (2 ...

for the Māori dub of the 1994 Disney film ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...

''. In addition to this role, she also provided the voice of

Olaf Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...

in the dub of '' Frozen''.

Kapa haka

Wihongi has competed in

competition

Te Matatini Te Matatini is a nation-wide Māori performing arts festival and competition for ''kapa haka'' performers from all of New Zealand. The name was given by Professor Wharehuia Milroy, a composite of ''Te Mata'' meaning ''the face'' and ''tini'' deno ...

since she was 15. She founded the kapa haka group Angitu. At Te Matatini 2023, Angitu broke gender norms by having Wihongi and Tuhoe Tamaiparea perform in the poi line.

Personal life

Wihongi identifies as

takatāpui ''Takatāpui'' (also spelled ''takataapui'') is a Te Reo Māori (Māori language) term, which is used in a similar way to LGBTQI+. ''Takatāpui'' can also refer to an individual who is SOGIE diverse. When speaking te reo Māori, LGBTQI+ people o ...

and has used both masculine and feminine pronouns but states in her social media profiles the she/her are her preferred pronouns. Her

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

are

Te Rarawa Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Rūnanga and marae Te Rarawa has 23 foundation marae: *Korou Kore Marae, '' Ahipara'', represents the hapū of Ng� ...

Ngāti Kurī Ngāti Kurī is a Māori iwi from Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kurī trace their whakapapa (ancestry) back to Pōhurihanga, the captain of the waka (canoe) Kurahau ...

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

Ngāti Rehua Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

and

Ngāti Wai Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Singles as featured artist

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Guest appearances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wihongi, Pere Living people 1990s births People from the Northland Region Te Rarawa people Ngāti Kurī people Ngāpuhi people Ngāti Wai people Takatāpui New Zealand LGBT singers LGBT choreographers New Zealand choreographers New Zealand Māori musicians Māori-language singers New Zealand male voice actors