The pahu or pau is a traditional musical instrument found in

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

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 Austr ...

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

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Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

. Carved from a single log and covered on the playing end with a stretched sharkskin, the pahu is played with the palms and fingers of the hand. It is considered a sacred instrument and was generally kept in a temple (heiau), and used to accompany a repertoire of sacred songs called hula pahu/ura pau. The Hawaiian term Pahu translates into 'drum,' ‘Niu’ being the Hawaiian word for ‘coconut.' Although there are a number of specific types of percussion instruments used in Hawaiian cultural expressions of music, the Pahu is perhaps one of the most important percussion devices known to Hawaii, both ancient and modern, of the four main indigenous musical types (wooden drums, knee drums, calabash drums, and bamboo pipes). Pahu may be found in the Hawaiian Islands in two main and distinctly different, but contextually related forms. The first is regarded as the Heiau Pahu, or religious drum (also known as the Pahu Pu’ule, or 'prayer drum'). The second has come to us in the form of the Hula Pahu, or musical accompaniment drum (sometimes referred to as the Pahu Mele, or song accompaniment drum). Both types of drum have a common ancient historical source. The Pahu drum is a staple in traditional Hawaiian dance, providing a basic rhythmic accompaniment. The drums' tall, narrow body is carved from wood, usually from a segment of a coconut tree trunk, and the head is made from dried sharkskin. The traditional Hawaiian Pahu was made from a sectioned and seasoned wooden tree trunk, preferably of coconut wood, although possibly other types of native wood may have been used. The original material used for the Pahu's waha (head) was either shark or ray skin. Heiau Pahu tended to be originally made with a waha of ray skin, while non-religious Pahu often used sharkskin. The Pahu is played with the bare hands and fingers.

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Hand drums Sacred musical instruments Hawaiian musical instruments Māori musical instruments Tahitian music Tahitian culture {{Membranophone-instrument-stub

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