Tahitian Music
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Tahitian Music
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the music of Tahiti was dominated by festivals called '' heiva''. Dancing was a vital part of Tahitian life then, and dances were used to celebrate, pray and mark almost every occasion of life. Examples include the men's ʻōteʻa dance and the couple's 'upaʻupa. Professional dance troupes called ʻarioi were common, and they moved around the various islands and communities dancing highly sensually and erotically. In the early 19th century, however, colonial laws severely restricted these and other dances, which were considered immoral. Herman Melville celebrated one such dance (he called it the 'lori-lori') for its sensuality. They were replaced instead by genres of Christian music such as himene tarava. The word 'himene' is derived from the English word 'hymn' (Tahiti was first colonized by the English). Likewise, the harmonies and tune characteristics / 'strophe patterns' of much of the music of Polynesia is western in style and derive ...
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Tahitian Ukulele 1
Tahitian or Tahitians may refer to: * someone or something from or associated with the island of Tahiti ** Tahitians, people with an indigenous Tahitian or ethnic identity ** Tahitian language, an Eastern Polynesian language used as a ''lingua franca'' in much of French Polynesia ** Tahitian mythology Tahiti and Society Islands mythology comprises the legends, historical tales, and sayings of the ancient people of the Society Islands, consisting of Tahiti, Bora Bora, Raiatea, Huahine, Moorea and other islands. It is considered a variant of a mor ..., their ancient folk religion See also

* * {{disambiguation ...
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Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Australia. Divided into two parts, ''Tahiti Nui'' (bigger, northwestern part) and ''Tahiti Iti'' (smaller, southeastern part), the island was formed from volcanic activity; it is high and mountainous with surrounding coral reefs. Its population was 189,517 in 2017, making it by far the most populous island in French Polynesia and accounting for 68.7% of its total population. Tahiti is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity and an overseas country of the French Republic. The capital of French Polynesia, Papeete, is located on the northwest coast of Tahiti. The only international airport in the region, Faaā International Airport, is on Tahiti near Papeete. Tahiti was originally settled by Pol ...
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Dancing
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements, or by its historical period or place of origin. An important distinction is to be drawn between the contexts of theatrical and participatory dance, although these two categories are not always completely separate; both may have special functions, whether social, ceremonial, competitive, erotic, martial, or sacred/liturgical. Other forms of human movement are sometimes said to have a dance-like quality, including martial arts, gymnastics, cheerleading, figure skating, synchronized swimming, marching bands, and many other forms of athletics. There are many professional athletes like, professional football players and soccer players, who take dance classes to help with their skills. To be more specific professional athletes t ...
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'ote'a
The ōtea (usually written as ''otea'') is a traditional dance from Tahiti characterized by a rapid hip-shaking motion to percussion accompaniment. The dancers, standing in several rows, may be further choreographed to execute different figures (including tamau, varu, otamu, ami, and fa'arapu) while maintaining the hip-shaking. The hip motion itself may in some choreographies be synchronized amongst multiple dancers and may be further coordinated with the accompanying percussion arrangement. The dance is with music only (drums) at a fast rhythm, and no singing. The drum can be one of the different types of the ''tōere'', a lying log of wood with a longitudinal slit, which is struck by one or two sticks. Additional drum types accompanying the dance may include the ng drum covered with a shark skin and struck by the hands or with sticks) played at a slower rhythm, or the smaller ''faatētē'' drum. The ōtea is one of the few dances which already existed in pre-European times as a ma ...
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'upa'upa
The upaupa (often written as upa upa) is a traditional dance from Tahiti. It was mentioned by European explorers, who described it as very indecent. It is not quite clear how similar the gestures at that time were with the now immensely popular tāmūrē. In both dances the performers form groups of pairs of a boy and a girl, dancing more or less in sexually oriented movements. History After having arrived on Tahiti in 1797, the LMS missionaries quickly intimidated the local rulers of the island and fixed themselves in a position of power. Although this enabled them to abolish such habits as infanticide, cannibalism and tribal wars, it also enabled them to introduce the idea of sin, which was unknown on Tahiti until then. The joy of dancing, so dear to the Polynesian heart, was one of the first to be axed. The famous Pōmare code of 1819 declared the upaupa (and tattooing in the same line) to be bad and immoral habitudes, severely to be opposed. The Leewards followed suit soo ...
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Arioi
The Arioi or Areoi were a secret religious order of the Society Islands, particularly the island of Tahiti, with a hierarchical structure, esoteric salvation doctrine and cultish and cultural functions. They included both men and women of all social strata, though men predominated. The Arioi principally venerated the war god 'Oro, whom they considered the founder of their order. Polynesian society In order to understand the comparable societies on other islands of the Polynesian Triangle, it is necessary to understand Polynesian societal order in classical times, i.e. before Europeans made contact with islands. In most of Polynesia, society was divided and structured according to a strict hierarchy comprising several social strata. This division did not always manifest itself the same way, but it can be found in Tahiti, Samoa, Hawaii, the Marquesas Islands, Austral Islands, Cook Islands, and even in the remotest corner of the Polynesian Triangle on Easter Island. There were in ...
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Herman Melville
Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and ''Billy Budd, Billy Budd, Sailor'', a posthumously published novella. Although his reputation was not high at the time of his death, the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a #Melville revival and Melville studies, Melville revival, and ''Moby-Dick'' grew to be considered one of the great American novels. Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler ''Acushnet'', but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. ''Typee'', his first b ...
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Himene Tarava
Himene tarava () is a style of traditional Tahitian music. Music The style is started by one person singing a stanza. Other singers gradually join in and rhyme with the person. The men sing in a deep voice for punctuation, while the women sing in a light voice. History One of the earliest forms of himene tarava originated in Tubuai, French Polynesia in 1844. Similar hymns originated due to the fact that the country was becoming more Christian since it became a French Territory in 1832. During the 20th century, French Polynesians preserved the music. In the 1950s children were taught how to sing himene tarava. Forms of himene tarava There are different forms of the music in each country. Source: * In the Windward Islands of Tahiti and Mo'orea, there are five vocal parts of the song. * The islands of Rimatara and Rurutu use between 10 and 12 vocal parts. * Raivavae and Rawa have thirteen lines. * It is popular in the Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook ...
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Nose Flute
The nose flute is a musical instrument often played in Polynesia and the Pacific Rim countries. Other versions are found in Africa. Hawaii In the North Pacific, in the Hawaiian islands the nose flute was a common courting instrument. In Hawaiian, it is variously called ''hano'', "nose flute", by the more specific term ''ʻohe hano ihu'', "bamboo flute ornose," or ''ʻohe hanu ihu'', "bamboo ornose breath". It is made from a single bamboo section. According to ''Arts and Crafts of Hawai`i'' by Te Rangi Hiroa, old flutes in the Bishop Museum collection have a hole at the nose area for the breath, and two or three fingering holes. In the three-finger-hole specimen, one fingering hole is placed near the breath hole. Lengths range from . Oral tradition in various families states that numbers of fingering holes ranged from one to four, and location of the holes varied depending on the musical taste of the player. Though primarily a courting instrument played privately and for p ...
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Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a percussion mallet, to produce sound. There is usually a resonant head on the underside of the drum. Other techniques have been used to cause drums to make sound, such as the thumb roll. Drums are the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years. Drums may be played individually, with the player using a single drum, and some drums such as the djembe are almost always played in this way. Others are normally played in a set of two or more, all played by the one player, such as bongo drums and timpani. A number of different drums together with cymbals form the basic modern drum kit. Uses ...
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