National Library of New Zealand - Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa Services to Schools - Supporting literacy and learning

Home › Culture, Identity & Heritage › Primary Sources › Galleries › Māori Gallery › Māori flutes

Primary Sources

Explore these primary sources and discover how they add to our understanding of New Zealand's past.

Māori flutes
Flutes of the New Zealanders, by Samuel Polack, 1840. Alexander Turnbull Library. PUBL-0064-2-173

Description

The most widely known traditional Māori instrument was the flute. Flutes were carved from wood, bone, stone, and even sperm whale teeth. Some wooden flutes are particularly noteworthy for the rich detail of their carving. The most common type of flute was the kōauau. It was a relatively short hollow tube of wood or bone (usually albatross or human) with three holes drilled in it.

Description

What were some other types of flute?

Usage statement
You can copy this item for personal use. It cannot be used commercially without permission, please ask us for advice. If reproducing this item, please maintain the integrity of the image (for example don't crop, recolour or overprint it).

Teachers if your students want to use an item from this site in their work, they must cite it correctly. The easiest way to do this is to copy and paste the caption accompanying each image into their document.