Creator: Tui Kaivelata, Hikule'o 'o Ono'aho
Artform: Traditional Music
Timeframe: 2025 – 2026
Location: Māngere-Ōtāhuhu
About
This project is a unique cultural initiative that focuses on reviving, teaching, and innovating ancient musical instruments such as the nose flute (fangufangu), stamping tubes, and Jew’s harp. These koloa (treasures) are significant components of our indigenous heritage, offering both educational and creative value to our communities.
Over the past year, we have successfully revived several of these instruments and introduced them to to'utupu (youth). Building on this success, we now seek support to run 8 in-depth workshops over 6 months, expanding training to more youth and introducing newly invented instruments inspired by traditional designs.
These include:
Fanguna: A newly designed fangufangu (nose flute).
Nafa: Newly designed drums.
Lali: Sliding wooden drums.
Enhanced conch shells.
Workshop Details
We propose to run 8 workshops over 6 months in the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board area, each lasting approximately 3 hours. The workshops will be held at a local venue accessible to participants aged 12–25. Each session will include:
Cultural and Historical Introduction: Exploring the significance and origins of the instruments.
Hands-On Training: Teaching participants how to play each instrument.
Creative Experimentation: Encouraging participants to explore and innovate with new instruments, such as the Fanguna and modified conch shells.
Collaborative Practice: Group improvisation and practice sessions to build confidence and teamwork.
We aim to work with 30–50 young people, training them in playing both ancient and newly innovated instruments. This initiative will not only strengthen their cultural identity and pride in traditional arts but also ensure these Moana Pasifika traditions are preserved for future generations.
“In reviving these Moana Pasifika traditional musical instruments, we keep up the tradition for future generations and develop pride among the youth and community.” – Tui Kaivelata
About The Creator - Tui Kaivelata
I am an experienced and skilled artist with expertise in crafting, tuning, and playing ancient musical instruments. My passion lies in sharing this knowledge with young people, teaching them the art of traditional music, and fostering pride in our cultural heritage.
Through my work, I aim to ensure that these koloa remain a vibrant part of our community, inspiring future generations to embrace and innovate upon our traditions