Songs of a most happy fella

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34047, 10 January 1976, Page 8

Songs of a most happy fella

Inia Te Wiata’s Maori Songbook. A H. and A. W. Reed. 47 pp. N.Z. price $2.95

Ten j ears ago when Inia Te visited New Zealand, he recorded a number of Maori songs and chants. This book is an outgrowth of that recording. It is presented as a collection of “favourite songs and chants as arranged and recorded by Inia Te Wiata." There are 16 songs and chants in the book. They can be sung in either Maori or English, for versions in each language are supplied, and sung with various accompaniments Both full piano scores and chord symbols for adepts with the guitar are provided.

All the songs and chants are quite familiar to Maoris. Perhaps the book could be used in schools, so that New Zealand children can learn something more than to shout ‘ modern” school hakas at football matches or to warble “Pokarekare Ana” in primary school. The songs are illustrated with photographs of various aspects of Inia Te Wiata’s career as a singer and carver. They show how Inia Te Wiata, while pursuing a distinguished international career, never forgot his own country or his own cultural roots. He remains an inspiring model for young New Zealanders of both races who aspire to greatness elsewhere than on the sports field.