Taonga Puoro

... or traditional Maori musical instruments.

As a musician, Ian combines his love of carving with a study of the traditional Maori musical instruments. The following are a sample of the things Ian's created.

$350 Koauau Trinity	$350 Purerehua Pou	$400 Purerehua Whale

$350 "Karanga Manu" (Pounamu)	$800 "Koauau Kaimoana" (Greywacke)	$150 "Koauau" (Ostrich Bone)

$400 Putorino with Moko (Ostrich bone)	$450 Koauau with Weave and Paua (Ostrich bone)

$1200 Koauau (Pounamu)	$300 Koauau with Scales (Red Gum)	$450 Nguru Fantail (Granite)

$500 Nguru (Whaletooth)	$250 Porotiti (Maire)	$300 Porotiti (Whalebone)

$500 Nguru (Hahei Petrified Wood)	$400 Nguru (Nelson Soapstone)

$450 Purerehua (Takaka Marble)	$1400 Putatara (Conch and Kauri)	$700 Woven Koauau (Ostrich Bone)

$500 Pounamu Purerehua	$400 Koauau Weave	$400 Puupuu Pounamu

Koauau Iwi Moa (ostrich egg)

... and then there's:

Koauau Iwi Moa/Kiwi

This is an exciting rediscovery I made recently whilst making some of these instruments. I had an emu egg on my bench partially carved and it occurred to me to see if it could make a sound. I added an extra hole at the opposite end to the blow hole and a couple of small ones on the side. The sound is awesome! I asked Hirini Melbourne, an expert on Maori instruments, if he had any knowledge of moa or kiwi eggs being uses as koauau. He didn't but a week later, he rang and told me of an archaeologist's discovery of kiwi egg fragments with holes in them. I then obtained some ostrich eggs and the beautiful sound confirmed the strong likelihood that eggs were used for this purpose. Hopefully, this will become a valued addition to the revival of the use and knowledge of Taonga Puoro.