CHENNAI : As wars continue being waged, hate spreads, and communities are torn apart, the fleeting concepts of harmony and peace are deemed nearly unattainable. However, throughout history, folklore, artistes, and writers have pointed us in the right direction: love has always been inseparable from resistance, revolution, and the fight for justice. As the saying from the indigenous Maori community in New Zealand goes, “Ko Tea Mea Nui, Ko Te Aroha” (the greatest gift you can give someone is love).
This line and a clip of towering mountains from New Zealand greet viewers at the beginning of ‘Whanaungatanga’, a fusion te reo Maori, Tamil, and English song released by musician, speaker, and cultural intelligence facilitator Wilbur Sargunaraj, on June 14. Love and Whanaungatanga (kinships, connections) are the base of this song.
This Maori saying stood out to him while he was working on a book Exploring Cultural Intelligence. “Another similar word is whakawhanaungatanga which is a verb. In order to ‘come together’, we need to take action! I feel that this song is a step to establish whanaungatanga not just in Aotearoa (New Zealand) but all around the world by joining together, looking out for each other, and sharing aroha (love),” says Wilbur.
Set in a traditional marae (meeting house) of the Maori community with red designs and grassy terrain, the song begins with a traditional Maori Kapa Haka (Maori ceremonial dance and chant). Expanding the boundaries of music, the song blends parai, rap, and bass. Shot in Whakatane, Whangarei, and Auckland, it signifies two cultures learning from each other, Wilbur explains.
Youngsters in lungis and black saris from Chennai City Gangztas from Auckland dish out infectious kuthu moves; it features Dr Pouroto Ngaropo, the Ngati Awa Kapa Haka Dancers, Horomona Horo who plays the Taonga Puoro (Maori traditional instruments), bassist Turanga Morgan-Edmonds from the band Alien Weaponry, Maori vocalist Amba Holly.
Growing up hearing parai or thappu in his village in Madurai, the infectious sounds left a deep impression on Wilbur. “(The parai drum) embodies a celebration of simplicity and its rhythmic beats echo the resilience and spirit of people who are often overlooked and discriminated against in Tamil Nadu due to the caste system. In this way, the parai drum works not only as a musical instrument but also as a symbol of cultural solidarity and empowerment, bringing marginalised cultures together in a celebration of their shared heritage,” he says.
Amid differences, Wilbur strongly believes “love, embraced as a guiding orientation of other-centeredness, will always lead us to do the right thing!... It’s a divine and unconditional counter-cultural love that loves others even when it is hard to love them. This is the love that helps us cross those bridges of differences so we can start connecting with people who we perceive are different than us!”
Roots of resistance
For anybody scouring through Tamil YouTube in the 2010s, Wilbur Sargunaraj would undeniably pop up on their feed. Donning a black tie and white shirt, his songs including Love Marriage and Chicken 65 were hard to classify; from fusion, upbeat, comedy, and commentary, it had it all. As a child, the Tamil Nadu native recalls moving around with his family and meeting new people, indulging in different food, and cultures. “Going in and out of these settings, whether it was an international school, living in rural or urban India, small town Canada or sprawling Tokyo, I was exercising CQ (cultural intelligence) without knowing and understanding the concept!,” he says.
Currently based in Treaty 6 Territory, Canada, and India, the artiste spent the last decade working with indigenous communities in Greenland, Australia, and Canada. Pondering over how colonisation and reconciliation manifested in regions around the world, Wilbur began educating himself and flipping through pages of books on the Maori people, and Aotearoa (New Zealand).
The song was born after meeting Dr Pouroto Ngaropo, a leading cultural ambassador for Maori knowledge customs, at his marae. Every time there was a recording or video filming session for the song, a karakia or a prayer for spiritual guidance was offered. In the project, the elder featured in the song delivers a karakia: “Let all negative forces be silenced. Emerge into the pathway of light. Be unified as one, unify together across the world Let us be unified as one people, I sneeze forth the breath of life.”
The musician hopes the song will inspire people around the world to develop meaningful relationships regardless of their differences. “I also hope this song can help people on their journey towards mataraunga Maori (Maori knowledge) so they can have an understanding, respect, and reverence for this knowledge,” he says.
Soon, Wilbur will be back to travelling between countries, meeting different communities, and promoting his book. Peppered with personal narratives and tales of cross-cultural communication, “The book challenges people to move beyond tolerance and enter into a world in which they celebrate difference and embrace learning through cross-cultural relationships,” he notes.
As for the future, the artiste hopes to return to music and resurrect his band Wilbur & the Simple Superstars. At the core, his vision will continue to punctuate every work, making “the common extraordinary using my platform and to spread the message of being a counter-cultural simple superstar who lives simply so others can simply live!”
Apart from the importance of aroha, Wilbur reminds us, “When people are going through difficult times, we need to be simple superstars and show them genuine aroha by walking with them through their valleys! Indeed, there is more to life than clicks, likes or followers — It’s all about people and relationships!” Signing off with a Maori proverb, he says, “He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata he tangata he tangata!” meaning: What is the most important thing in the world? It is people it is people it is people!
‘Whanaungatanga’ is streaming on all music platforms. The video is available on the YouTube channel: Wilbur Sargunaraj. Follow Wilbur @wilburworldwide on all social media platforms.
Meet Wilbur in Chennai at the ‘Exploring CQ’ book launch in Chennai on October 28, 5 pm at The Folly, Amethyst.