New Zealand's indigenous Maori history has been maintained by descendants only in epic-length, stylized songs and chants memorized and handed down through the generations. The use of oral histories is very specific and very complex. It entails a prescribed etiquette that must be maintained, includi...
Some of these songs have undergone multiple changes to their lyrics, melody, and usage over the decades. Several songs of Maori origin are now sung worldwide, including a "meaningless" international pre-schoolers' chant that was written ninety-seven years ago as a sexually explicit and very ...
They’d heard the words ‘song writing’ and missed the creative writing part, so straight away I was getting these guys offering me songs. The first song one of the guys played had the lyrics “It’s your birthday today and I’m not with you.” It was to his two year old daughter...