A born and bred Chatham Islander, from the largest island, Rēkohu, musician Ajay Peni says the wildness, the ocean, the ruralness all feeds into his music. Ajay can trace his hokopapa, his genealogy, back to indigenous Moriori who first settled these islands and today he is playing his part in the revitalisation of Moriori culture, through bringing traditional Moriori songs, rongo, into contemporary times.
Ajay Peni Photo: University of Otago
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Rongo
Through a collaboration with the Hokotehi Moriori Trust Ajay has already created two collections of rongo – Hokotehi Me Rongo – featuring Ta Rē Moriori lyrics long ago recorded by Alexander Shand and Hirawanu Tapu.
He is currently working on another collection of rongo with the Trust, and alongside this, creating music for the Moriori, music and manawa project based at the University of Otago, with fellow musician Alistair Fraser.
Instruments from Rēkohu. Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ
Two remaining Moriori bone flutes
Dr Jennifer Cattermole is one of the co-leads of this project. An ethnomusicologist, she studies music in its social and cultural contexts. After scouring different sources of information, two remaining Moriori bone flutes were identified: one in the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, the other in the Bishop Museum in Hawai’i.
But careful preservation of these mīheke oro (treasured musical instruments) in museums means that no one can touch them with their hands or play them. So how can they be used as part of the Moriori cultural revitalisation that has been happening for many years now?
Listen to the full episode to learn how modern technology has helped these Moriori bone flutes to be played once more.
