Ātahu from Moana Maniapoto

Renaissance Wahine and National Treasure.

We are blessed in Aotearoa with certain people that you might call National Treasures—those with great talents and a strong affinity for this place they are the custodians of. It’s not an official list; the people you think of might differ from those I think of.

What are the attributes of these people? Well, they’re authentic and positive, and they are magical in how they make us feel. They engender feelings of pride, speaking from the heart without bullshit or spin, and their words reach us.

One of the people on my list is Moana Maniapoto. Now, a Renaissance Man or Woman is described as “a person who is well-educated and sophisticated and who has talent and knowledge in many different fields”—yeah, that sounds like her—so she is both a National Treasure and a Renaissance Wahine.

Do you know what else she sounds like? Well, put it this way: when we all freaked out about people like Susie Ferguson and Kim Hill leaving their roles and asking how they could ever be replaced, there was still a voice doing incredible long-form interviews - it just wasn’t on RNZ any more.

Sounds are apt, of course; we don’t only know Moana for her well-spoken views, her documentary work (see the clip below for one from earlier this year, but please don’t read the YouTube comments) and her interview technique but also her music.

Sometimes, when people who know a lot try to communicate a message via a song, it is all sorts of cringe-inducing—think rapping scientists or some such—but never Moana. Her work has always been contemporary and perfectly capable of standing on its musical merits rather than being a well-intentioned vehicle for learning—even if it was that too.

I remember her songs with the Moa Hunters from the early 90s, a third of a century ago - gee, we all got old, eh? Some of us wear it better than others. I mean her, not me, just in case that wasn’t clear.

Last night, I was trying to think of something to write about. I’d vaguely decided on a horror theme, with today being Mischief Night. I would babble on about foreign traditions and find some particularly evil actions from our coalition - not the most challenging research.

I was listening to AC/DC’s Hells Bells, which I thought might be a good accompaniment, but to be honest, I wasn’t feeling it. A message popped up as I was about to scrap it and start afresh.

It was from Moana, who suggested I might like to share her new song, adding, “It’s quite a soothing track, actually. I think we all need a bit of soothing, don’t you?” That sounded good to me; I would much rather have something fresh. Soothing seemed like a better vibe than horror—we get enough of the latter in the news.

I took a listen. Very nice. Then, I messaged back, saying I’d love to and that I thought it captured the magic theme mentioned in the description of the waiata—finishing, “We could do with some of that, too.”

L-R: Scotty Morrison, “the Professor”, Moana Maniapoto, “some lady with a big idea”, and Paddy Free, “the Dubadelic”. Photo: Rolling Stone/Stephen Tilley

The song was released on Monday, which was not only Labour Day but also “the date of the signing of 1835 He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni which reaffirmed sovereignty of Māori tribes or nations.” Moana made the following post that day in recognition:

“October 28. A profound day. One that commemorates Independence and recognises sovereignty of tribal nations. Today we also acknowledge all our workers and unions organisers. The two are related aren't they? A recognition that collective rights, duties and responsibilities are so powerful and important…”

Watching the video, I loved the contrast between the red and black colours of Māoridom lighting Moana and the blue and green landscapes, beautiful too.

Scotty Morrison’s Te Reo lyrics softly soaring above the throbbing introduction…

Hau nui ana rā ko te hau—e
Waha mai te ipo, e te hau—e

The beat begins, underpinning things like a heartbeat, as we travel across the sea and over the motu visually. Lyrics are spoken as if incanting a spell. Moana is our shaman; the imagery is intense and real as the sounds become increasingly urgent and transcendent of the non-magical.

Then another voice implores us, I do not know what to do - it doesn’t matter, I don’t need to know what the words mean. Which isn’t to say that I don’t wish I did.

The song features guest Hawaiian vocalist Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole. From this piece in Rolling Stone, Maniapoto says:

“I was keen to find a Hawaiian vocalist for our final song but struggled. I mentioned it to reo advocate Hemi Kelly and he recommended Kaumakaiwa. My manager Sol tracked her down and I flew to O‘ahu to be with her when she recorded her vocals. Kaumakaiwa reminded me that we’d met 20 years ago amid the dusty, majestic ruins of Greece. My group represented Aotearoa New Zealand in the Cultural Olympiad that led up to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Kaumakaiwa was a teenager then, the star of the Hawaiians’ group. Since then the transgender Hawaiian (mahu wahine) has been described as “the voice of a generation”. It was astounding and perhaps prescient that we ended up collaborating again twenty years after – like it was meant to be.”

Images from the video made by Vinnie Carter (Vido Media)

As I mentioned earlier, the YouTube description says, “The theme of the waiata is magic.” I think that brief has been well met. Magical it is indeed.

What a treasure we have in Moana Maniapoto. Have a great day, all you lovely people, and I hope you enjoy Ātahu as much as I did.

To finish, before the clip, this is the post that Moana made upon the song’s release:

“I always feel like popping a glass of champers to this groove. Maybe because it’s about love, magic and seduction - time out from the chaos around us. Maybe it’s relief from the hard yakker of journalism & trying to be useful. Maybe cos songwriting and singing is so much fun. If you could spread the love by sharing this, I’d appreciate it. I’ll put the jug on. PS Pre-save album here https://music.drm.co.nz/ono”