Moriori Rongo (songs) Launched

Hokotehi Moriori Trust announced today that 15 traditional Moriori rongo will be launched to digital music platforms on 19 November.

The words to the songs were recorded in the 1800s by a former island magistrate, Samuel Deighton, who compiled records of songs, chants, words and history with Moriori elders but no audio recordings were ever made.

With funding assistance from the Māori language body, Te Mātāwai, and Hokotehi Moriori Trust the rongo have had beautiful music composed by Chatham Island musician and song-writer Ajay Peni, with assistance from Paora Pohatu for 7 of the songs. The rongo also feature recorded sounds of the island landscapes recorded by the team at Tawera Productions (Toby Mills, Guy Tichborne, Will Voigt) and miheke heauoro (taonga pūoro) from Alistair Fraser and James Webster.

Ajay has worked on these rongo for over a year and feels as though it is one of his most important achievements: “they are raw and natural just like home…. To be involved musically with my bloodline is something I can’t describe fully, but it is definitely something bigger than most things I’ve accomplished so far. The main thing I can say is there is no ego… it’s channelled straight through me, and the deeper I dive into my soul in relation to music (all music) the more it makes sense. As if there’s a bigger picture”.

Ajay’s talent is not confined to music – he also designed the stunning cover image pictured here.

The spotify pre-save link is: https://smarturl.it/preHMTrongomoriori

Search for these rongo after 19 November on any digital music platform (Spotify, You-tube, Itunes) using any of the following search terms:

• Rongo Moriori

• Hokotehi Moriori Trust

• Black Robin

• Taonga Puoro

For additional resources see the Moriori youtube channel and our website https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqCX1A_mHDTN7YqrWpFtoCQ

www.moriori.co.nz

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