- Title
- Flute (putorino)
- Culture
- Maori, Te Arawa People, Tuhourangi tribe
- Date Made
- 18th century
- Medium
- Wood, fiber, and Haliotis shell
- Dimensions
- 1 1/4 x 15 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (3.18 x 39.37 x 4.45 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.2008.66.36
- Collecting Area
- Art of the Pacific
- Curatorial Notes
Gallery Label
This long-form putorino flute is made of a cut and hollowed-out piece of wood carved very thin, with holes cut at each end and one into the side. The pieces of wood are then reattached with cord or resin to form a single-piece flute. A head or face is usually carved around the hole on the side, with the hole representing an open mouth. There are also additional carved tiki, or humanlike, figures above the hole near the top of the flute. This example is unique because the face around the hole is in profile.
Maori flutes did not provide a wide range of sound; they made no more than two notes. As such, flutes of this type were used as trumpets or bugles, not to make music but to gain the attention of the community for important events. The putorino is played from the larger end at the top, near the tiki carvings. Its signaling sound was a recognizable announcement typically heralding the return of chiefs and nobles from battle or long absence and for other ceremonial calls. Maori society was hierarchal based on the lineage of chiefs and their importance in the community. Because of their concentration of mana, or powerful life force, flutes like this were necessary in ritual contexts.
- Selected Bibliography
- Wardwell, Allen. Island Ancestors: Oceanic Art from the Masco Collection. [Seattle]: University of Washington Press, 1994.
