Moana and the Moahunters
| Moana and the Moahunters | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New Zealand |
| Years active | 1991–1998 |
| Past members |
Moana Teremoana Rapley Mina Ripia |
Moana and the Moahunters (and successor group Moana and the Tribe), was a New Zealand Māori hip-hop and roots group. led by singer Moana that actively promoted Māori culture, traditions and history through their music.
Moana's first release was a 1991 12" single, "AEIOU(Akona Te Reo)”, which translates as “Learn the Language”. The song was a plea for the Maori youth to work actively to preserve their culture, learn about their history and keep traditions alive by learning the language. The song combined rap, which had recently become popular in New Zealand, with traditional Maori songs, which not only showed the increasing localization of rap in New Zealand, but was used to attempt to appeal to the Maori youth to encourage them to study their own culture and not simple blend into the growing global culture. The song was nominated for several awards in 1991 and again in 1995, after it was remixed. They released two full-length albums in the 1990s, after which they were invited to play international festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the Womadelaide in Australia.
Their second album was titled Rua and also combined pop, hip-hop and Maori music. Not only did the songs on the album deal with themes important to the Maori people like spirituality and prophecy, but the album cover used traditional Maori symbols, replacing the graffiti often seen on covers of hip-hop albums with an image more pertinent to the Maori people. Other songs even discussed colonial issues, such as the Treaty of Waitangi, signed between the Maori people and the British government during the 1840s. These songs bring information about Maori history to the youth in the form of hip-hop. The group scored a gold record in New Zealand and a hit single; Moana retired the group after performing at the 1998 Vancouver Folk Festival.
Moana and the Moahunters from New Zealand combined rap, soul, and reggae with traditional Maori chants, haka (Maori posture dance) and musical instruments (taonga puoro). This group has won a New Zealand industry award for best Maori rap song “Learn the Language.” This group had a unique style by innovating hip hop genre by adding their Maori language, which comes from Polynesia. Moana Maniapoto who has led the group, has been described as the diva of the Maori music. Moana and her group have impacted a large population because of their style and message to the public.
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