''Oe Himene'' are formal choral
Tahitian songs, often of religious nature.
Himene is a Tahitian term derived from the English word ''hymn''.
Since the first European contact by Captain
Samuel Wallis
Samuel Wallis (23 April 1728 – 21 January 1795 in London) was a British naval officer and explorer of the Pacific Ocean. He made the first recorded visit by a European navigator to Tahiti.
Biography
Wallis was born at Fenteroon Farm, n ...
, English
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
was expanded to the island by missionaries. Himene are based in verse and harmonic structure on Protestant hymns.
'Words have never succeeded in conveying the impression made by this music. Some have said that it was like an ocean wave coming in with growing strength as the voices increased in intensity, breaking and rolling and bounding and then the dying down and disappearing in a long, sustained note. The women's voices carried the melody while the men provided a deep, rhythmic counterpoint, one of them with a great voice sometimes throwing out cries and appeals. All the people rocked back and forth as they sang, many with their eyes shut, entirely lost in the music.' (Quoting Lebeau, 1911.)
[{{Cite book, last=Forman, first=Charles W., url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7945941, title=The island churches of the South Pacific : emergence in the twentieth century, date=1982, publisher=Orbis Books, isbn=0-88344-218-3, location=Maryknoll, NY, oclc=7945941]
Himene performances take place during festivities as well as a major competition on
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...
.
A more raucous set of songs is called
himene tarava.
See Also
* ''
Imene tuki'' and ''
imene metua'' of
Rarotonga,
Cook Islands
)
, image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, capital = Avarua
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Avarua
, official_languages =
, lan ...
.
References
Tahitian culture