Music of Solomon Islands
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Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
has received international attention since before the country became independent from the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in 1978.


Folk music

Traditional
Melanesian music Melanesian music refers to the various musical traditions found across the vast region of Melanesia. Vocal music is very common across Melanesia; Hand gestures are an important part of many songs, and most traditional music is dance music. ...
in Solomon Islands includes both group and solo vocals,
slit-drum A slit drum or slit gong is a hollow percussion instrument. In spite of the name, it is not a true drum but an idiophone, usually carved or constructed from bamboo or wood into a box with one or more slits in the top. Most slit drums have one slit ...
and
panpipe A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...
ensembles.Feld, pg. 186 Panpipe orchestras, which are well known on
Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...
and
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
use up to ten performers with different instrument, each with unique tunings.


Popular music

In the 1920s bamboo music gained a following in several countries. Bamboo music was made by hitting open-ended bamboo tubes of varying sizes, originally with
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
husks. After American soldiers brought their sandals to the Solomon Islands, these replaced coconut husks by the early 1960s, just as the music began spreading to
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. In the 1950s, Edwin Nanau Sitori composed the song "
Walkabout long Chinatown "Walkabout long Chinatown" (or "Wakabauti long Chinatown", or "Wakabaot Long Saenataon") is a folksong from Solomon Islands. The government of Solomon Islands describes it as "the national song of not only Solomon Islands, but also of Melanesia" ...
", which was to become popular throughout the Pacific, and has been referred to by the government as the unofficial "
national song A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
" of Solomon Islands. Modern Solomon Islander popular music includes various kinds of
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
and
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
as well as something known as island music, a guitar and ukulele ensemble format influenced by Polynesian and Christian music.Feld, pg. 187 Traditional Melanesian choir singing features heavily in the soundtrack of the film The Thin Red Line, which is set against the backdrop of the Battle for Guadalcanal.


Rorogwela

In 1969/1970,
ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...
Hugo Zemp recorded a number of local songs which were released on an LP in 1973, as a part of the ''
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Musical Sources'' collection. One of the songs, a lullaby named "Rorogwela", sung by Afunakwa, a Northern
Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...
woman, was used as a vocal sample in a 1992 single " Sweet Lullaby" by the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
duo Deep Forest, becoming a worldwide hit but also causing some controversy over perceived "pillaging" of the world music heritage by Western musicians. This is because while the single went on to be successful, Afunakwa was not originally credited for singing the vocal sample. Deep Forest claimed they had asked permission of her to use her voice on their single, but it was later revealed she was never consulted before the song was made. Rorogwela's melody was also used in
Jan Garbarek Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław ...
's "Pygmy Lullaby". It was named as such because he thought the melody used in Deep Forest's "Sweet Lullaby" was African. Later, when he learned the melody was actually from Solomon Islands, he agreed to no longer refer to it as "Pygmy Lullaby". Also, he did not use the vocal track by Afunakwa, only the melody from the song. The lyrics to Rorogwela translate to: ''Young brother, young brother, be quiet You are crying, but our father has left us He has gone to the place of the dead To protect the living, to protect the orphan child''.


Music institutions

There is a Wantok Music Festival.


Solomon Islander musicians

* Sharzy *Dezine *Jahboy *56 Hop Rod *Rosie Delmah *DMP *Onetox *Jah Roots *Native Stonage *T cage *Jambeat *Sisiva *Kumara Vibes *Zabana Ambassadas *Sean Rii *Jaro Local *Young Davie


Notes


References

* Feld, Steven. "Bamboo Boogie-Woogie". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), ''World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific'', pp 183–188. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books.


Further reading

*


External links


In search of Afunakwa
on
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Sisiva - Tutuani
on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
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