Putorino are unique to Maori. They have several voices, often referred to as male and female voices. The female voice is played with a cross blown technique to produce a flute like tone that varies in pitch and volume according to the players facial tension and the volume of air being blown.The male voice is played with an ombiture 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 central mouthpiece. The central mouthpiece can also be played cross blown and most often produces a slightly deeper and more breathy note than the other voices. Putorino are made from wood.


All of the Maori flutes came down to us from Hine Raukatauri, the daughter of Tanemahuta, the god of the forest. Hine Raukatauri is best known as the goddess of flute music and she loved her flute so much that she chose to live inside it. She is now personified as the casemoth that hangs from branches of trees in a long slender cocoon.This cocoon is where the Putorino gets it's unique shape from.