September 18, 2020
Moana single shares tale of language loss
Moana Maniapoto is drawing on the history of colonialism around the world for her new single released today.
Tōku Reo, co-written with long-time collaborator Scotty Morrison, celebrates the survival and revival of not just te reo Māori but other languages like the Atayal language of Taiwan's indigenous people.
Maniapoto says it features Inka Mbing, a kuia of Taiwan's Tayal tribe, who was at first apprehensive about singing over Paddy Free's electronic beats.
"So I was pretty nervous. I thought the whole thing was going to grind to a halt. But once we started talking about colonisation in Taiwan from the Japanese and the Chinese and the impact that had on their tribal languages, and I told her what happened in our country, we though yeah, same same but different," she says.
Tōku Reo is the second single released from the forthcoming Moana & the Tribe album, Ono.
Copyright © 2020, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com