Pūrerehua

About this piece

Pūrerehua is the traditional name for a moth or butterfly and the sound it produces when swung on a string above the head of the player is an imitation of the sounds produced by beating wings. This  instrument is made from cow bone and is decorated in a variation of the  unaunahi pattern derived from fish scales and the symbol of abundance and  hospitality and mana that comes from the provision of manaakitanga.