120 SiteS is licensed CC BY 4.0 unless otherwise speciﬁed. sites: new series · vol 15 no 1 · 2018 Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11157/sites-id350 – article – FILMING NGĀ TAONGA PŪORO: THE POTENTIAL OF EXPERIMENTAL FILM IN ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND ETHNOMUSICOLOGICAL ENQUIRY Sebastian J. Lowe1 & Peter I. Crawford2 ABSTRACT In this article we discuss the potential of experimental ﬁlm as an extended method of ethnographic enquiry within anthropology and ethnomusicology. Taking a point of departure in Aotearoa/New Zealand, with Māori carvers, composers, and musicians in and around the discourse of ngā taonga pūoro (traditional New Zealand Māori musical instruments), we examine how an- thropologists, through the medium of ﬁlm, may get closer to understanding alternative approaches to music-making within the discourse of the contem- porary taonga pūoro tradition. Drawing inspiration from ethnographic ﬁlm we explore the possibilities and also representational implications regarding the use of experimental ﬁlm-making as a research tool within the canon of anthropological and ethnomusicological scholarship. We argue that there is space for experimental ﬁlm in the anthropological discipline, especially when exploring multi-sensorial phenomena, such as music. Keywords: visual anthropology; experimental ﬁlm; ngā taonga pūoro (New Zealand Māori musical instruments); mimesis; Aotearoa/New Zealand INTRODUCTION is article takes its point of departure in the contemporary taonga pūoro (New Zealand Māori musical instruments) tradition and the potential of ex- perimental ﬁlm as a method in anthropological and ethnomusicological en- quiry. Fieldwork conducted in 2015 by Lowe involved working with many key people3 within the vanguard of the renaissance of the contemporary taonga pūoro tradition, including composers, musicians and wood carvers. Lowe explored how, and to what extent, ngā taonga pūoro practitioners approached music-making in relation to the markedly evocative concept of mimesis. An