I’m still on the theme of breath today…I spent a good hour this morning trying to play a kōauau that Todd made me – not as easy as it seems! It’s all in how you use your breath, a bit like a normal flute…but once you get it, the sound is stunning…

As I was painting this rock I was listening to Hirini Melbourne’s Te Waonui a Tāne, an album of Māori waiata (songs) relating to our ngahere (forests) and within these waiata you can hear the birds, the trees, the insects, the water…
My ancestors connection to the environment enabled them to create amazing sounds with instruments fashioned from nature…the spiritual sound of the kōauau pongaihu – the gourd flute played with the nose and also the nguru, another type of flute which can be played with the nose or mouth…such beautiful music created with the breath…
Arohanui,
Jo x
I’ve painted this rock for Saul’s Dad whose birthday it is today 🙂