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Vanuatuan Culture
This article presents an overview of the culture of Vanuatu. Social system and customs Vanuatu culture retains a strong diversity through local regional variations and through foreign influence. Vanuatu may be divided into three major cultural regions. In the north, wealth is established by how much one can give away, through a system of grade-taking. Pigs, particularly those with rounded tusks, are considered a symbol of wealth throughout Vanuatu. In the center, more traditional Melanesian cultural systems dominate. In the south, a system involving grants of title with associated privileges has developed. Young men undergo various coming-of-age ceremonies and rituals to initiate them into manhood, usually including circumcision. Music Traditional music (known in Bislama as ''kastom singsing'' or ''kastom tanis'') is still thriving in the rural areas of Vanuatu. Musical instruments consist mostly of idiophones: drums of various shape and size, slit gongs, as well as rattles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sand Drawing, Vanuatu
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of soil or soil type; i.e., a soil containing more than 85 percent sand-sized particles by mass. The composition of sand varies, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non- tropical coastal settings is silica (silicon dioxide, or SiO2), usually in the form of quartz. Calcium carbonate is the second most common type of sand, for example, aragonite, which has mostly been created, over the past 500million years, by various forms of life, like coral and shellfish. For example, it is the primary form of sand apparent in areas where reefs have dominated the ecosystem for millions of years like the Caribbean. Somewhat more rarely, sand may be composed o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chordophone
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the strings with their fingers or a plectrum—and others by hitting the strings with a light wooden hammer or by rubbing the strings with a bow. In some keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord, the musician presses a key that plucks the string. Other musical instruments generate sound by striking the string. With bowed instruments, the player pulls a rosined horsehair bow across the strings, causing them to vibrate. With a hurdy-gurdy, the musician cranks a wheel whose rosined edge touches the strings. Bowed instruments include the string section instruments of the orchestra in Western classical music (violin, viola, cello and double bass) and a number of other instruments (e.g., viols and gambas used in early music from the Baroque ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women's Rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behavior, whereas in others, they are ignored and suppressed. They differ from broader notions of human rights through claims of an inherent historical and traditional bias against the exercise of rights by women and girls, in favor of men and boys.Hosken, Fran P., 'Towards a Definition of Women's Rights' in ''Human Rights Quarterly'', Vol. 3, No. 2. (May 1981), pp. 1–10. Issues commonly associated with notions of women's rights include the right to bodily integrity and autonomy, to be free from sexual violence, to vote, to hold public office, to enter into legal contracts, to have equal rights in family law, to work, to fair wages or equal pay, to have reproduct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reggaeton
Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop music, hip hop, Latin American music, Latin American, and Caribbean music. Vocals include rapping and singing, typically in Spanish. Reggaeton is regarded as one of the most popular music genres in the Caribbean Spanish, Spanish-speaking Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, Panama, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela. Over the 2010s, the genre has seen increased popularity across Latin America, as well as acceptance within Pop music, mainstream Western music. Etymology The word ''reggaeton'' (formed from the word ''reggae'' plus the augmentative suffix ) was first used in 1988 when El General's representative Michael Ellis gave it that name to describe it as "''reggae grande''" (big reggae). The spellings ''reggaeton'' and ''r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zouk (musical Movement)
Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martinique and Guadeloupe faded away during the 1980s. Musicians from Martinique and Guadeloupe added MIDI instrumentation to their compas style, which developed into zouk-love. Zouk-love is effectively the French Lesser Antilles' compas.Popular Musics of the Non Western World. Peter Manuel, New York Oxford University Press, 1988, p74 Zouk gradually became indistinguishable from the genre known as compas. This light compas influenced the Cape-Verdean new generation. Zouk béton The original fast carnival style of zouk, best represented by the band Kassav', became known as "zouk béton", "zouk chiré" or "zouk hard". Zouk béton is considered a synthesis of various French Antillean dance music styles of the 20th century: kadans (cadence), konp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Of Vanuatu
The music of Vanuatu may refer to any kind of music played in the country of Vanuatu. Traditional music Traditional music (known in Bislama as ''kastom singsing'' or ''kastom tanis'') is still thriving in the rural areas of Vanuatu. Musical instruments consist mostly of idiophones: drums of various shape and size, slit gongs, as well as rattles, among others. In various regions, aerophones, such as conch shells, whistles or bamboo flutes, are (or used to be) played. Membranophones and chordophones were also found in some areas, but have fallen into disuse during colonial times. The large slit gongs which symbolize Vanuatu belong to these traditional instruments; they were most often used as musical drums to accompany certain dances, but also sometimes – though seldom – as a ritual means of communication; although widespread throughout Vanuatu, they are used vertically only in central areas of the archipelago (mainly on Ambrym). So-called ''traditional music'' is ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washtub Bass
The washtub bass, or gutbucket, is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses have a single string whose pitch is adjusted by pushing or pulling on a staff or stick to change the tension. The washtub bass was used in jug bands that were popular in some African American communities in the early 1900s. In the 1950s, British skiffle bands used a variant called a tea chest bass, and during the 1960s, US folk musicians used the washtub bass in jug band-influenced music. Variations on the basic design are found around the world, particularly in the choice of resonator. As a result, there are many different names for the instrument including the "gas-tank bass", "barrel bass", "box bass" (Trinidad), "bush bass" (Australia), "babatoni" (South Africa), "tanbou marengwen" (Haiti) "tingotalango" (Cuba), " tulòn" (Italy), "laund ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and construction. Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. History Developed in the 1880s, the ukulele is based on several small, guitar-like instruments of Portuguese origin, the ''machete'', '' cavaquinho'', ''timple'', and ''rajão'', introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira, the Azores and Cape Verde. Three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers. Two weeks after they disembarked from the SS ''Ravenscrag'' in late August 1879, the ''Hawaiian Gazette'' reported that "Madeira Islanders recently arrived here, have been delighting the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A plectrum or individual finger picks may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically, by means of a resonant chamber on the instrument, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier. The guitar is classified as a chordophone – meaning the sound is produced by a vibrating string stretched between two fixed points. Historically, a guitar was constructed from wood with its strings made of catgut. Steel guitar strings were introduced near the end of the nineteenth century in the United States; nylon strings came in the 1940s. The guitar's ancestors include the gittern, the vihuela, the four- course Renaissance guitar, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
String Band
A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active countrywide, in Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs they are a huge part of its musical culture and traditions, appearing, among others, in the yearly Mummers Parade. History of African American old-time string band music Although African American old-time string bands recorded history is that of the early 20th century, the beginnings of the music started much earlier. Many people once believed that the role African Americans played in the upcoming of old-time string band music was either nonexistent or to interest the middle ages or medieval times. The genre of African American folk music actually began with the use of percussion instruments, which were used to create music in form of encouragement to keep the slaves exercising on slave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Street Band, Port Vila, Vanuatu - Flickr - PhillipC
A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable surface such as tarmac, concrete, cobblestone or brick. Portions may also be smoothed with asphalt, embedded with rails, or otherwise prepared to accommodate non- pedestrian traffic. Originally, the word ''street'' simply meant a paved road ( la, via strata). The word ''street'' is still sometimes used informally as a synonym for ''road'', for example in connection with the ancient Watling Street, but city residents and urban planners draw a crucial modern distinction: a road's main function is transportation, while streets facilitate public interaction. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
