Waiata Maori Songs in History

In waiata, our forebears spoke their hearts - in grief and celebration. For many hundreds of years this great oral tradition of song flourished in Aotearoa. During the second half of the nineteenth century, in times of rapid change, Māori scholars recorded for the future the words of thousands of waiata. Their manuscripts were preserved by Pākehā of foresight and commitment, and along with a vast body of other Māori writing they are now accessible in libraries throughout the…