Tuini Moetū Haangū Ngāwai (5 May 1910 – 12 August 1965) was a

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 Co ...

songwriter, performer, teacher, shearer and cultural adviser. Through contemporising Māori waiata during World War II, Ngāwai contributed to the

Māori renaissance 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 th ...

Biography

Her

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to the ...

and her

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

is Te Whanau a Ruataupare. Born at

Tokomaru Bay Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community on the remote Gisborne District, East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi (Gisborne), Moun ...

, her twin sister died in infancy, and Moetū was given the name Tuini, a transliteration of twin. Ngāwai taught Māori culture in schools, leaving in 1946 to work as a shearing gang supervisor. Her niece

Ngoi Pēwhairangi Te Kumeroa "Ngoingoi" Pēwhairangi (29 December 1921 – 29 January 1985) was a prominent teacher of, and advocate for, Māori language and culture, and the composer of many songs, including '' Poi E''. She spearheaded the Māori Renaissance in ...

was also a composer. The

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

holds a photograph of Ngāwai and Ngoi Pewhairangi performing with Ngāwai's concert party Te Hokowhitu-ā-Tū.

Performance work

Tuini Ngāwai composed many songs using European tunes, to encourage Māori pride to raise morale among Māori at home and at the war. Her legacy is recognised by contemporary kapa haka performers and composers, and it is thought she created over 200 concert party works. She was considered a protégé of

Āpirana Ngata Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata (3 July 1874 – 14 July 1950) was a prominent New Zealand statesman. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have served in parliament in the mid-20th century, and is also known for his work in ...

. Many, such as "Hoki mai e tama mā" and "E te Hokowhitu-a-Tū" (to the tune of "In the Mood") are still sung today. In 1939 she founded the Te Hokowhitu-ā-Tū Māori kapa haka group, this was to acknowledge the local men and boys who went to war with C Company as part of the 28th Māori Battalion. The religious song "Arohaina Mai" became the unofficial hymn of the Māori Battalion. Recordings of some of her work are held in the sound collection of Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision and the

Alexander Turnbull Library The National Library of New Zealand () is charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga) Act 2003). Under the ...

. Ngāwai's songs were used to promote and demand the honouring of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

by Māori activists.

Death

Ngāwai died in August 1965. Her funeral ceremony (

tangihanga , or more commonly, , is a traditional funeral rite practised by the Māori people of New Zealand. were traditionally held on , and are still strongly associated with the tribal grounds, but are now also held at homes and funeral parlours. Wh ...

) was held in the meeting house Te Hono-Ki-Rarotonga, at Pakirikiri Marae in

Awards

In 2022 Ngāwai was inducted into the

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

References

External links

1956 Interview in Te Aou Hou magazine
Ngāti Porou people 1910 births 1965 deaths People from Tokomaru Bay New Zealand Māori women singers 20th-century New Zealand women singers {{Māori-bio-stub