Moana & The Tribe Feat. Inka Mbing (Taiwan) Release New Single ‘TŌKU REO’

Honouring the importance of all native languages.

Inka Mbing is the stunning guest vocalist on 'Tōku Reo', a music collaboration
with the singer from the Atayal tribe, one of 16 indigenous tribe in Taiwan. Inka defied the taboo on women not singing traditional songs and had been punished – like Māori - for speaking their native language in school.

Now she is celebrated for helping keep the language alive. Moana Maniapoto and producer Paddy Free visited Inka and started a conversation with her about the loss of language and its revitalisation in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

They recorded the song Tōku Reo, based on the lyrics by Scotty Morrison, sung in Atayal and Māori, both of which belong to the Austronesian language family. Tōku Reo pays tribute to the language of both cultures and is released worldwide on Friday, September 18th, 2020.

Toku reo, toku ohooho
My Language, my awakening
Tohu reo, toku oho kaikakau
My Language, my strength

Mai e te tipua, mai e te tawhito, mai e te kahui o nga ariki,
In the beginning, before there was Light, under the cloak of the gods

Mai e tawhiri atu ki ngā atua i te ora kua hanga mai o te ao i te putaketanga nei o tatou reo
From that ancient time when the ancestors and gods created a means to speak to each other,
Out of the darkness and their chatter in the Void, came…

Reo Waiti, Reo Waita
This Language of Sweetness,this Language of Eloquence
Reo i wehi mai e nga matua ko Ranginui e tu nei
This Language used by sacred forces to plot and plan the separation of Rangi Sky Father

‘Tōku Reo’ is the second single to be released from the forthcoming album from Moana & the Tribe, Ono.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2020, has brought back for many their earliest memories of speaking te reo. 'AEIOU', the classic Moana & the Moahunters’ anthem, was a funky dance track created to make proper pronunciation of Māori vowels accessible to all.

“It’s a global thing been happening for a while, because we choose to learn about ourselves” was a call to action.

The very first NZ On Air funded music video, Moana and director Kerry Brown pulled a cast of thousands into an underground carpark in Auckland including MC Slave, actor Temuera Morrison, artivist Rosanna Raymond and even Moana’s father Nepia - up for a rugby test.

The crew then shot out to St Stephens College where college students incorporated the kapa haka. With Teremoana Rapley absolutely nailing her rap and Mina Ripia trilling those harmonies on the Stuart Pearce track, despite a lack of airplay, AEIOU will always be a groundbreaker.

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