Tell Me WAI

From: Homelands Productions
Series: Worlds of Difference
Length: 03:54

To the sounds of Maori-influenced dance and techno music, musicians Mina Ripia and Maaka McGregor speak about their desire to move their culture forward rather than leave it behind. A tightly edited, non-narrated piece by producer Dmae Roberts. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Tell Me WAI
From: Homelands Productions

Waiconch_small Dmae Roberts spent a month in beautiful Aotearoa in New Zealand, touring Maori towns and attending traditional performances and concerts. What stood out, she says, was the palpable sense of pride felt by both performers and audiences. It seemed a new pride, fresh and hopeful. And in fact she learned that it was new, having emerged largely after the Maori language became "official" in 1987. Dmae was especially impressed by how the revival of the language and the resurgence of interest in Maori traditions had not just boosted the morale of the Maoris, but of white New Zealanders as well. Everywhere in New Zealand, Maori is present alongside English in street signs, in advertising and on television. Every New Zealander she met used the Maori phrase kia ora an all-purpose greeting, goodbye and exclamation. Her piece features a couple, Mina Ripia and Maaka McGregor, who have toured the world playing modern popular music influenced by traditional Maori chants and rhythms. Image: Maaka McGregor and Mina Ripia

Also in the Worlds of Difference series

Amuesha Map (09:43)
From: Homelands Productions

In the jungle of Peru, an American anthropologist and an indigenous tribesman work against time to create a high-tech "cultural map" of the tribe's ancestral territory.

Roma Love Story (11:32)
From: Homelands Productions

A Roma couple who married as teenagers campaign against child marriage.

Sarvodaya: An Alternate Path? (10:59)
From: Homelands Productions

An enormous grassroots network in Sri Lanka seeks to provide an alternative to conventional economic development.

Maasai Education (07:10)
From: Homelands Productions

After generations of resistance, the Maasai of Kenya are looking to education as a way to keep their culture from dying.

Ho'omau Ke Ola (07:49)
From: Homelands Productions

A drug-treatment program on Oahu's depressed west coast uses traditional teachings to combat methamphetamine addiction among native Hawaiians.

Cotopaxi Pilgrimage (05:45)
From: Homelands Productions

Native artists in the Ecuadorean Andes return to their people's sacred mountain.

The Street of the Cauldron Makers (13:26)
From: Homelands Productions

A well-known Turkish novelist confronts her country's modern history on a nondescript street in Istanbul.

Resurrecting the Zapara (14:33)
From: Homelands Productions

With just four surviving native speakers, a tiny tribe of Amazonian Indians tries to revive its dying culture.

The Free Monks (06:40)
From: Homelands Productions

Jon Miller visits a nationalistic rock band comprised of Orthodox monks in Greece.

Competing for Souls (07:00)
From: Homelands Productions

Producer Alan Weisman reports on how evangelical Christianity is spreading rapidly across South Korea, and coming into conflict with the traditional Buddhist culture.

Piece Description

Dmae Roberts spent a month in beautiful Aotearoa in New Zealand, touring Maori towns and attending traditional performances and concerts. What stood out, she says, was the palpable sense of pride felt by both performers and audiences. It seemed a new pride, fresh and hopeful. And in fact she learned that it was new, having emerged largely after the Maori language became "official" in 1987. Dmae was especially impressed by how the revival of the language and the resurgence of interest in Maori traditions had not just boosted the morale of the Maoris, but of white New Zealanders as well. Everywhere in New Zealand, Maori is present alongside English in street signs, in advertising and on television. Every New Zealander she met used the Maori phrase kia ora an all-purpose greeting, goodbye and exclamation. Her piece features a couple, Mina Ripia and Maaka McGregor, who have toured the world playing modern popular music influenced by traditional Maori chants and rhythms. Image: Maaka McGregor and Mina Ripia

Broadcast History

Aired 07/26/04 on NPR's Day to Day

Timing and Cues

INTRO: Musicians Mina Ripia and Maaka [ma-AH-ka] McGregor are Maoris, from New Zealand. But they didn't learn their ancestral language until college. Today they are part of a revival of Maori language and culture. Ripia and McGregor's group is called WAI [wye] -- the word means water. They sing almost exclusively in Maori. Producer Dmae [DEE-may] Roberts dropped in on them at their home near Wellington.

OUTRO: That piece was produced by Dmae Roberts for Homelands Productions. It's part of the Worlds of Difference series on global cultural change.