Photograph: Dick Hofma, Wanganui. it. And then, as she tells it: I recognised the tune and said to myself—Boy! This is the same song we sang back in Toko. I let it go. After that she learned by listening. Miss Ngawai is often asked by other tribes to teach them action songs. She will teach them her songs that are appropriate, but she will not teach them their own songs concerning their histories as she feels this would be quite wrong. She notices though that these groups usually revert to their own styles after her teaching has finished and this disappoints her. Although Miss Ngawai has a knowledge of paos and pateres she does not teach them. She believes that because of their tapu nature they cannot be taught along with action songs, but need to be taught in specially consecrated practices. Her musical gifts are extensive and varied. She has a dance band and has taught herself a band-load of instruments; starting off on the mouth organ and ukulele and following these up with jews harp, koauau, saxophone, piano, drums, violin and others.

Words, Music and Action Tuini Ngawai's complete works comprise over two hundred songs. Many have a subject matter that occurs in most poetry—love, death, war, the peace of God. Others are songs of everyday life. Particularly in her shearing songs Miss Ngawai has given lively and accomplished pictures of New Zealand. Many songs again are on subjects peculiarly Maori such as the numerous welcome songs. In the main, she bases her style of action songs on the tradition made by Sir Apirana Ngata, Paraire Tomoana and others who developed the