Carved Manuka Wood Putorino (flute) by Alex Sands

Carved Putorino by Alex Sands New Zealand Manuka Wood 33.5cm x 4cm x 4cm About Putorino: Pūtōrino are unique to Māori, they occur nowhere else in the world. They can vary dramatically in length, the shortest museum examples are around 22cm and the longest just over 65cm. Pūtōrino are unique musical instruments as they can produce several voices. The main two voices are seen as male and female. The male voice is played with an embouchure similar to that of a trumpet, producing a unique wailing sound that is varied in both volume and pitch by the playing pressure and hand movement over the instrument. The female voice is played with a cross blown technique to produce a flute like tone. Because of the variety of sizes pūtōrino come in and the variety of their voices, they are a highly valued and unique taonga (treasure) to Māori. About Manuka