Music of Tuvalu
Encyclopedia
The traditional music of Tuvalu
consists of a number of dances, most popularly including fatele, fakanau and fakaseasea, and were used to celebrate leaders and other prominent individuals. The Tuvaluan style can be described "as a musical microcosm of Polynesia, where contemporary and older styles co-exist".
s which the women performed to encourage the men while they worked.
The most famous form of Tuvaluan dance music, fatele, is influenced by European melody
and harmony
and is competitive, with each island divided into two sides. Lyricism is an important part of the fatele tradition, which begins with the older men singing a song in a meeting hall (maneapa), then gradually repeating it louder and quicker as the others join in; they also use empty cabin cracker cans to play the rhythm and a wooden box. Dancers enact the story being retold, and the music finally climaxes and ends abruptly. This tradition is shared with the music of Tokelau
.
The two primary traditional dances of Tuvalu are the fakanau and fakaseasea. Of these, the fakanu has since died out, though the fakaseasea lives on, performed only by elders. It is a slower song with very loose rules on how to dance to it. The fakanu was a rhythmic dance, performed by people standing on their feet, swaying their body. The swaying was considered erotic by missionaries after the arrival of Europeans, and most traditional dancing was forbidden. The ban came along with restrictions on religious activity, for the fakanau served a spiritual purpose as well. Both dances were used for celebrations and for praising fellow islanders.
Fakanaus use as a praise song
was an important part of Tuvaluan culture. A composer of a praise song would practice with the performers beforehand, and tell the subject of the song so he would have time to gather gifts. After the first performance, the subject would give the gifts to the performers, and would often continue to do so after future performances as well.
Tuvalu also had a tradition of funereal singing called kupu
, which is similar to the fakaseasea.
Tuvalu
Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
consists of a number of dances, most popularly including fatele, fakanau and fakaseasea, and were used to celebrate leaders and other prominent individuals. The Tuvaluan style can be described "as a musical microcosm of Polynesia, where contemporary and older styles co-exist".
History
Traditional music prior to European contact included poems performed in a sort of monotonal recitation, though this tradition has since become extinct, as well as work songWork song
A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a specific form of work, either sung while conducting a task or a song linked to a task or trade which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song....
s which the women performed to encourage the men while they worked.
The most famous form of Tuvaluan dance music, fatele, is influenced by European melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
and is competitive, with each island divided into two sides. Lyricism is an important part of the fatele tradition, which begins with the older men singing a song in a meeting hall (maneapa), then gradually repeating it louder and quicker as the others join in; they also use empty cabin cracker cans to play the rhythm and a wooden box. Dancers enact the story being retold, and the music finally climaxes and ends abruptly. This tradition is shared with the music of Tokelau
Music of Tokelau
thumb|A Pate drumThe music of Tokelau is dominated by communal choral activity in harmony, with percussive accompaniment including log drums , pokihi and apa , used as percussion....
.
The two primary traditional dances of Tuvalu are the fakanau and fakaseasea. Of these, the fakanu has since died out, though the fakaseasea lives on, performed only by elders. It is a slower song with very loose rules on how to dance to it. The fakanu was a rhythmic dance, performed by people standing on their feet, swaying their body. The swaying was considered erotic by missionaries after the arrival of Europeans, and most traditional dancing was forbidden. The ban came along with restrictions on religious activity, for the fakanau served a spiritual purpose as well. Both dances were used for celebrations and for praising fellow islanders.
Fakanaus use as a praise song
Praise song
Contemporary worship music is a loosely defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past sixty years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are frequently referred to as "praise songs" or "worship songs" and are typically led by a "worship...
was an important part of Tuvaluan culture. A composer of a praise song would practice with the performers beforehand, and tell the subject of the song so he would have time to gather gifts. After the first performance, the subject would give the gifts to the performers, and would often continue to do so after future performances as well.
Tuvalu also had a tradition of funereal singing called kupu
Kupu
Kupu was a 'document-centric' open source client-side editor for Mozilla, Netscape and Internet Explorer. Inspired by Maik Jablonski's Epoz editor, it was written by Paul Everitt, Guido Wesdorp and Philipp von Weitershausen to improve the JavaScript code and architecture, pluggability, standards...
, which is similar to the fakaseasea.
See also
- Tuvalu mo te AtuaTuvalu mo te AtuaTuvalu for the Almighty is the national anthem of Tuvalu. The lyrics and music are by Afaese Manoa.It was adopted in 1978, when the country became independent.-Tuvaluan lyrics:...
- Afaese Manoa#National Anthem of Tuvalu