Pūtōrino

Pūtōrino Flute with Stand
Flute Size (mm): 500 x 40 x 37
Hole diameter: 18mm & 13mm
Hand-carved from Mahogany
The Pūtōrino is a wooden wind instrument, or bugle flute, made from two split pieces of wood, hollowed and bound together. At one end is a mouthpiece through which the performer exhales into, while at the other end is either a solid end-point or a small pierced hole. The putorino has no series of note-stops, but rather a single oval aperture in the centre of the instrument, usually forming the mouth of a carved face, which the performer uses to regulate the sound. The putorino is said to have a feminine voice representing the female ancestor Hineraukatauri, who personifies flute music. Its sound has been described as the sound of water being poured from a gourd.