The Problem Of Tradition

Te Ao Hou, September 1964, Page 39

The Problem Of Tradition Mr McLean raises the point that tradition can be a barrier to people wishing to learn this music. And he is right. Why people should worry so much now about tradition, when their whole way of life has been changed and will never be the same again, is very hard to understand. This traditionalism has meant the loss of very many chants and customs, and I have even been told by old people that they would rather something died with them, than that they should do the wrong thing and pass it on. He is also right when he says that one important barrier to the passing on of songs is that of song ownership. If there were a genuine desire amongst Maori people, particularly the elders, to see the chant survive, surely the tribal barriers could be broken down. If some young Maori wants to learn a particular song, he is at least showing a desire to retain his culture, and in these times that is far more important than clutching jealously to oneself a song which should be handed on. I was refused permission to learn one of the old instruments by one of the few people left who know how to play it because I was told that I did not belong to the tribe. And yet that same person showed and explained to a European musicologist (not Mr McLean) the basic rudiments of playing it. Ironically enough he showed me. In my opinion this is quite unfair. You must surely be consistent and either show nobody except your own tribal members, or else show anybody who genuinely wants to learn.