Kōauau

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Kōauau is a small Māori flute, about 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) long. It has no ducts or notches, is open at both ends, and has three to six fingerholes along the pipe. It is played by blowing across the sharp edge of the upper hole to produce a flute-like sound.

Kōauau can be made from wood or bone. Traditionally, bone could come from birds such as albatross or moa, and some instruments were even made from human bone, linked to chiefly status and utu (revenge).

In Māori culture, the kōauau is tied to romance and is used in rituals and celebrations across villages. A famous story says that a kōauau helped win the heart of Hinemoa when Tūtānekai played it, prompting Hinemoa to swim across Lake Rotorua to be with him.

The flute is also connected to the longest place name in the English-speaking world: Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukaka­piki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­ki­tana­tahu, which roughly translates as “the summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, played his kōauau (flute) to his loved one.”