Aotearoa Songbook

Waiata are traditional Māori songs from Aotearoa (New Zealand), encompassing a wide family of sung forms such as waiata aroha (songs of love), waiata tangi (laments), oriori (lullabies), waiata poi (songs performed with poi), and waiata-ā-ringa (action songs). The term “waiata” broadly denotes sung poetry—carriers of memory, genealogy (whakapapa), proverbial wisdom (whakatauākī), and community identity. Musically, older waiata are often chant-like, with free rhythm and narrow-range melodies led by group unison, heterophony, and vocables; they may feature subtle microtonal slides and speech-song inflections. In performance, they can be supported by movement (poi, hand actions) and taonga pūoro (traditional instruments such as kōauau flutes, pūtōrino, pūtātara, and hue). Since the 19th–20th centuries, many waiata have also been harmonised and accompanied by guitar and ukulele, blending Māori melodic contours with Western triadic harmony. Today, waiata live in both customary and contemporary contexts—from marae ceremonies and kapa haka (performing arts) to studio recordings in te reo Māori—remaining a vital expression of language, history, and collective voice.