Navigation (2021)

"The ongo fakafa‘ahikehe (minor sound) of the fangufangu or nose-flute is played by Meleseini Haitelenisia Fifita ‘O Lakepa Lolohea Fetu‘u Tuai, tā/ifi fangufangu nose-flutist, (recorded Tuesday 27 July 2021). The first two kupu verses of a 25-verse long voyaging sung and danced poetry called Me‘etu‘upaki.

The first two kupu verses of the Me‘etu‘upaki are prayers to the gods of peau / ngalu waves (or tahi sea) Lulu, and matangi winds, Lātū for divine protection and favourable voyaging conditions. The remaining verses articulates the knowledge and skills of our ancestors to have traversed the great moana ocean from Kiribati and Tuvalu, through Futuna and ‘Uvea, Sāmoa and Fiji to Tonga where they celebrated their safe voyage with kava, singing, and dancing.

'Navigation' pays homage to the daring and brave navigators of the moana. From the recorded sounds of the fangufangu Faletau extracts the audio wave spectrum which gives him a material to create kupesi from. This material ranges from frequencies of high, medium, and low."