Can It Survive In Traditional Form?

Te Ao Hou, September 1964, Page 38

Can It Survive In Traditional Form? While Mr McLean is performing a most valuable service in preserving a fast-dying art form, I am myself most dubious as to whether it will be possible for Maori chant in its present form, to survive as a living part of our culture. If asked to give one short answer to Mr McLean's question, ‘Can Maori chant survive?’ I would, I think, have to say, ‘No, because not enough younger Maoris care sufficiently to help it to survive.’ I should like to explain my reasons for thinking this, and then offer a suggestion as to how, in a somewhat less traditional form, it might have a much better chance of true survival. When primitive Maori society was thrust so abruptly into the modern world, the future of Maori chant would have been sure only if the elders, on realising the difficulties of the new environment, had really exerted themselves and done all within their power to make it as easy as possible for the chant to survive. But this they could not do. The shock of transition was too great, and by the time that the Maori-Pakeha wars were over, and the race had been greatly reduced in numbers and brought to the lowest point in its morale, the next problem was not the survival of the chant, but rather the survival of a race. Naturally enough, if this is your target you will not place too much emphasis on the survival of unnecessary non-physical extras. So the race rallied and lived, and the action song came into its own. I sometimes wonder whether it would be better to have no music at all rather than a bastardised Maori version of European pop tunes. It's such an easy way of making music. And with all due respect to those Maoris who will disagree with me, Maoris like to get things easily. I do myself.