Sounding the Pacific: Musical Instruments of Oceania

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Although there are no historical descriptions of their use, drums in the Austral Islands, as elsewhere in Polynesia, almost certainly formed part of the ritual paraphernalia of marae (sacred sites), where they were played to accompany songs, dances, and religious ceremonies. Only about a dozen examples survive, several of which are attributed to the island of Ra'ivavae, although they may also have been made elsewhere in the archipelago. These elegant drums, called pahu, consist of tall, thin-walled cylinders of hardwood with heads of sharkskin, which were kept stretched to the correct tension by lengths of fiber cordage secured to a series of lugs.While the upper portion of the drum was frequently undecorated, Austral Island pahu are distinguished by their elaborate openwork bases typically adorned, as here, with rows of stylized female figures, possibly representing ancestors or dancing women. (See a detail image of the base.) The beauty of Austral Island drums (a concept that likely encompassed their sound as well as their ornamentation) was apparently appreciated well beyond the archipelago prior to contact with the West. A sketch made by the English artist John Webber in 1777 shows what are almost certainly imported Austral Island drums in use on a marae in Tahiti, some four hundred miles away. If so, these instruments would have been brought there in sailing canoes as part of a centuries-old network of exchange relationships that linked the peoples of the Austral and Society Islands.

Drum (Pahu), early 19th century
Austral Islands, possibly Ra'ivavae
Wood, sharkskin, fiber; H: 51 3/8 in. (130.5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1969 (1978.412.720)

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Among the most remarkable string instruments in Oceania is the sesando, a tubular bamboo zither with ten or eleven metal strings set in a resonator made from the frond of a lontar palm. Collected on the Indonesian island of Timor, this sesando was likely made by a member of the local Rotinese community, whose residents originated on the neighboring island of Roti. Sesando music is believed to have supernatural powers and, in Rotinese origin traditions, the genesis of the instrument is given equal place with marriage, mourning, and death. To play the sesando, a musician uses the right hand to pluck the bass strings while the left hand plays the treble. The pitch is adjusted with a complex series of movable bridges and tuning pegs. Occasionally played as a solo instrument, the sesando is predominantly used to accompany songs with verses composed in bini, a special poetic language, and refrains in ordinary Rotinese. The songs are often philosophical, portraying the world as dominated by inescapable fate, and life as at times disappointing and ultimately fleeting.

Tube Zither (Sesando or Sasandu), late 19th century
Indonesia, Nusa Tenggara, Timor Island
Bamboo, wood, palm leaves, metal wire; H: 22 1/6 in. (56 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889 (89.4.1489)
Audio Guide: Tube Zither
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Narrator: Curator of musical instruments, Ken Moore, describes this extraordinary instrument, called a sesando:
Ken Moore: It's a fabulous-looking instrument and looks like it comes from another world, almost. But, in fact, it is what we call a tube zither. It's a tube of bamboo that has been fitted with ten to twelve strings and these wonderful pegs that tighten the strings at the top end of the instrument, and all these tiny, little bridges holding up the wire strings.
Narrator: The resonator surrounding the central tube is made from the folded leaf of a palm tree. The sesando was the primary sacred instrument of the Rotinese people of Indonesia. Oceanic art curator, Eric Kjellgren:
Eric Kjellgren: Its origin, in their origin traditions, is given equal par with the origins of marriage, and mourning, and death—very important phenomena—and its music was believed to have supernatural properties. In fact, sesando music, the playing of sesando music, was said to be one of the fundamental things that distinguished humans from animals, set apart the human and the animal world.
Narrator: Sesando music usually accompanied philosophical songs, meditating on fate and the fleeting nature of human life.
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The friction drum is unique to the island New Ireland, north of New Guinea. It consists of a horizontal block of wood whose upper portion is carved out to form a series of three or four sound-producing wedges, or "tongues." To play it, a musician would moisten the palm of his hand (only men played the friction drum) with plant sap and rub it rapidly across the tongues, producing a series of rising tones that resembled the cry of the bird for which the instrument was named.Lunet were used during the final rites of certain malagan ceremonies, elaborate rituals that honored the dead. During the ceremony the player would often be concealed inside a conical "nest" suspended from a tree or lying on a platform made from the roots of an upturned tree. Hidden within this enclosure he played the instrument, whose sound was said to be the voices of the spirits of the dead.

Friction Drum (Lunet or Livika), late 19th–early 20th century
New Ireland
Wood, shell; L: 19 1/2 in. (49.5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.1477)
Audio Guide: Friction Drum
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Eric Kjellgren: I'm Eric Kjellgren and I'm the curator of Oceanic art at the Metropolitan, which is the art of the Pacific Islands, and I am talking with my colleague, Ken Moore, who is the curator of musical instruments.
Ken Moore: Well, this is actually one of my favorite instruments from this area, because it is very unique to New Ireland. But the way it's played is incredibly unique. Here we have a kind of oval-shaped piece of wood that is carved with three to four tongues that sort of are suspended over the main body of the instrument. What do you do with that? You don't strike it. What you actually do is to moisten your hand and rub it across these tongues and it gives you very distinct pitches.
Eric Kjellgren: These instruments are used in particular in association with a type of ceremony called "Malagan." And the sound of the instrument is actually said, in some areas, to represent the voice of the spirits of the dead.
Ken Moore: And birds in this particular part of the world are very often connected with spirit, with otherworldly kinds of activities or communications. And it's very interesting that this instrument really is concealed from the population at large and that only the initiates are able to see it. It's another one of those instruments that are hidden away from view and that hold a mystique and mystery about them.
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An ancient instrument found in many parts of the world, the bullroarer typically consists of an oblong slat of wood with a hole bored in one end through which a long string is tied. To play it, a person would swing the slat by the string in a rapid circular motion, producing a deep, undulating whir. In some areas of the Pacific, bullroarers are secular instruments—even children's toys—but in many cultures they are ritual objects.In the Purari River Delta in southeast New Guinea, bullroarers were highly sacred objects known only to a select group of initiated men. Played during male initiations, their eerie sound was said to be the voices of the kaiaimunu, powerful spirits embodied in large wickerwork effigies depicting monstrous animals kept in the men's ceremonial house. Sometimes called imunu viki ("weeping spirit"), bullroarers were also played at the funerals of prominent men, where the sound represented the cries of a spirit (imunu) lamenting the loss of the deceased.

Bullroarer (Upura or Imunu Viki), late 19th–early 20th century
Papua New Guinea, Papuan Gulf, Purari Delta region
Wood, lime; L: 36 in. (91.4 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.1545)

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The Asmat people of southwest New Guinea create fu, distinctive trumpets made from thick sections of bamboo. Used primarily as signaling devices, the trumpets were, in the past, closely associated with warfare. When raiding an enemy village, warriors blew the fu, whose loud sound was believed to terrify enemies and to render them immobile. When returning home after a successful raid, warriors again sounded the trumpets to proclaim their triumph. Fu were also played during male initiations and to accompany some drum performances. Although warfare ceased by the mid-twentieth century, the Asmat continue to use trumpets for signaling and other purposes.Some fu are undecorated, but most are ornately carved with geometric designs in which representational motifs, such as small hands—reportedly those of spirits—are occasionally discernible. A few rare examples have a pair of legs at the base. The form of these instruments, with their torso-like body and protruding legs, is sometimes interpreted as a stylized headless human figure, a reference to the former practice of head hunting.

Trumpet (Fu), mid-20th century
New Guinea, Papua Province, Asmat people
Bamboo; H: 19 3/4 in. (50.2 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection; Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller and Mrs. Mary C. Rockefeller, 1965 (1978.412.1022)

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In many parts of New Guinea, the sounds produced by certain types of musical instruments, played during ceremonies, are said to be the voices of supernatural beings. Among the Iatmul and other Sepik peoples, the most important musical instruments were sacred flutes and slit gongs. The gongs were carved from massive logs that were hollowed out to create a resonating chamber with a narrow, slit-like aperture. Musicians produced a deep, sonorous tone by striking the edges of the gongs with wood beaters. The ends of Iatmul slit gongs are typically embellished, as in this example, with ornate finials depicting totemic animals or other clan emblems, while the sides of many examples are adorned with geometric carvings.Played to accompany a variety of ritual performances and other events, large slit gongs, though used exclusively by men, are readily visible and relatively public objects. They feature prominently in Iatmul men's ceremonial houses (nggaigo), where they are sometimes arranged in pairs running lengthwise down the earthen floor of the open understory of the structure. Nggaigo often house or housed groups of sacred slit gongs reserved for only for secret ceremonies. Believed to be a manifestation of waken, the most powerful of all supernatural beings, such sacred slit gongs, also called waken, were kept, together with other sacred objects and musical instruments, within the enclosed upper story of the ceremonial house, concealed from the view of women and children. The slit gong shown here forms part of a complete ensemble of such sacred musical instruments, comprised of two slit gongs and two percussion planks (horizontal board-like objects struck to produce a musical tone) now in the Metropolitan's collection. All four are carved in the form of supernatural catfish (recognizable by the three spines that project from the back of the head), portrayed with long, crocodile-like jaws.Such ensembles form or formed the central elements of an extensive secret ritual, also known as waken, performed only by senior male elders. During the rites, the sacred slit gong ensemble was played continuously day and night for periods as long as several months by relays of percussionists, each subsequent performer taking the moving gong beater from the hand of his predecessor so that the rhythm remained uninterrupted. While the slit gongs were being sounded, the community had to remain silent and people were forbidden to argue, shout, or break firewood. At the conclusion of the rites the old men, impersonating the waken, emerged from the nggaigo and danced before the village women.

Slit Gong (Waken), 19th–early 20th century
Papua New Guinea, Middle Sepik region, Komindimbit village, Iatmul people
Wood; L: 12 ft. 8 in. (386 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1968 (1978.412.1536)
Audio Guide: Slit Gong
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Narrator: This gong is carved in the form of a supernatural catfish, with long, crocodile-like jaws—a creature that likely represents the totem of a particular clan among the Iatmul people of New Guinea. It formed part of an ensemble of instruments, integral to a secret Iatmul ritual known as waken. Curators Eric Kjellgren and Ken Moore:
Eric Kjellgren: And one of the goals of the ceremony was actually to play these continuously, day and night, for, in theory, the entire period of the ceremony. And the way that they did this was by having relays of percussionists who would strike the gong and, literally, the succeeding musician would grab the moving beater from the hand of his predecessor and keep the rhythm going. Ideally, these, as I say, would be unbroken, but in reality, often there were pauses in between.
Ken Moore: I've seen films of this handover while they're playing. And it's very much like, sometimes jazz pianist competitions, where the person puts their hands over the other player's hands and then jumps in to start picking up the melody, the tune, where the other performer has left off. It's a very quick exchange, and these rhythms are not slow rhythms.
Narrator: The sonorous tones of this sacred slit gong were said to be the voices of powerful supernatural beings.
Music is provided by and used with permission from Buda Music.
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The Toba Batak people of northern Sumatra create elegant, two-stringed lutes known as hasapi. In contrast to more public instruments, such as gong orchestras, which are played for large outdoor events, hasapi are used in more intimate indoor settings. Today, hasapi are generally played as part of musical ensembles. The composition of hasapi ensembles varies but typically includes a lead hasapi playing the melody and a second hasapi playing accompaniment, as well as a flute, small drum, xylophone, and other instruments. In the past most Batak music was sacred and, among other contexts, the hasapi was played as part of a love-magic ritual designed to win a woman's affections. However, virtually all Toba Batak are now Christians and hasapi music is intended as secular entertainment. Contemporary musicians in some parts of the Batak region have even created electric versions of the lute, which give far greater amplification to its normally subtle tones.See a detail image of the figure at the top of this hasapi.

Lute (Hasapi), late 19th–early 20th century
Indonesia, Sumatra, Toba Batak people
Wood, metal; L: 30 1/2 in. (77.5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of John B. Elliott, 1997 (1999.47.44)

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Unique to the Middle Sepik River region of northeast New Guinea, water drums consist of a hollow, hourglass-shaped cylinder of wood with one or two handles projecting from the top. To play the instrument, two men grasp the handle or handles and strike the drum vertically against the surface of a body of water. As the lower end of the drum breaks the surface, it produces a thudding sound.Among the Iatmul people, who created this example, water drums are secret instruments, kept hidden from women and children and played in pairs by men as part of male initiation ceremonies. The watery thump of the drum is said to simulate the sound of the initiates being swallowed by a supernatural crocodile who later spits them back out, their bodies covered by the marks of its teeth. In actuality, the "teeth marks" are the numerous cuts made by the initiators on the bodies of the novices as part of the ceremony; they later heal into the permanent scarification patterns that mark the participants as initiated men. The image of the crocodile that adorns this water drum, its tail thickened to form the handle, is almost certainly a visual reference to the supernatural crocodile that forms the core of the initiation ceremony.

Water Drum, 19th–early 20th century
Papua New Guinea, Middle Sepik region, Mindimbit village, Iatmul people
Wood, fiber; H: 53 1/4 in. (135.3 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.1627)

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One of the enigmas of Oceanic music is the p&#363t�rino, a flute-like instrument once made by the M�ori people of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Fashioned from a piece of wood that was split, hollowed out, and bound back together, p&#363t�rino have a single hole at the top and a figure-eight-shaped or oval hole at the center. It is uncertain exactly how the instrument was originally played, but the musician possibly blew into or across the hole at the top and used a finger to cover or uncover the central hole to modify the sound. P&#363t�rino were reportedly played as flutes, trumpets (with the lips vibrating), and also used as megaphones to modify the human voice. The sound was said to represent Hineraukatauri, a female ancestor who personified flute music. Use of the p&#363t�rino gradually died out after the mid-1800s but contemporary M�ori musicians have begun to recreate the instrument, which is now sometimes played like a Western flute.

Flute (P&#363t�rino), ca. 1800–1820
Aotearoa (New Zealand), Bay of Plenty region, M�ori people
Wood, fiber; H. 17 1/8 in. (43.5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.1599)

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In former times, side-blown trumpets—played by blowing while vibrating the lips into a hole on the side rather than the end of the instrument—were associated with warfare in the Middle Sepik Region of northeast New Guinea. Among the Iatmul people, side-blown trumpets were sounded after a raid to announce the arrival of the warriors as they returned to their home village with prisoners or enemy heads. Like many Iatmul instruments, the trumpets were often played in pairs by two men, each using a trumpet with a slightly different pitch, who sounded them in alternation.

Side-Blown Trumpet, late 19th–early 20th century
Papua New Guinea, Middle Sepik region
Wood, shell, hair, fiber; L: 23 3/4 in. (63 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Rogers Fund and Martin Wright Gift, 1980 (1980.262)

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In the Sepik River region of northeast New Guinea, sacred flutes—used in initiation and other rites—were among the most culturally important musical instruments. Typically made from large stalks of bamboo, a sacred flute was played like a Western flute, by blowing across a hole in the side of the instrument near the upper end. The tops of side-blown flutes were frequently sealed with ornamental flute stoppers. Among the finest flute stoppers were those of the Biwat people, typically depicting stylized human images with enlarged heads and high-domed foreheads. Although they portray human figures, the stoppers adorned ashin, flutes associated with crocodile spirits. Ashin flutes were used in part during initiation rites in which novices crawled into the mouth of a large crocodile effigy to be cut by its teeth. The teeth, actually sharp implements wielded by the initiators, made cuts on the novices' bodies that healed into permanent scarification patterns, marking them as initiated individuals.

Flute Stopper, late 19th–early 20th century
Papua New Guinea, Lower Sepik region, Biwat people
Wood, paint; H: 18 1/2 in. (47 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1968 (1978.412.1545)

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Some Oceanic musical instruments served a dual function. The Iatmul people of the Middle Sepik River region in northeast New Guinea, use betel nut (areca palm fruit)—which is chewed with lime made from burnt shells or coral and other substances—as a mild stimulant. Among the Iatmul, the ornate containers and spatulas used respectively to hold and serve lime served as both betel nut chewing accessories and noisemakers.In the past, Iatmul culture valued the qualities of aggressiveness and assertiveness in men, and individuals used their lime spatulas and containers as rasps to emphasize these traits audibly. The tops of lime containers had a hole for inserting the spatula while the lower end of the spatula was carved with a series of ridges. When a man wished to call attention to himself in social situations he rapidly thrust the spatula in and out of the lime container so that the ridges, rubbing against the edges of the hole, produced a harsh rasping noise that served as the audible expression of his pride, assertiveness, or displeasure.

Rasp/Lime Spatula (Tap), late 19th–early 20th century
Papua New Guinea, Middle Sepik region, Iatmul people
Wood, paint; H: 29 7/8 in. (75.9 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Anonymous Gift, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift and Mrs. Gertrud A. Mellon Gift, 1963 (1978.412.821)

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Some Oceanic musical instruments served a dual function. The Iatmul people of the Middle Sepik River region in northeast New Guinea, use betel nut (areca palm fruit)—which is chewed with lime made from burnt shells or coral and other substances—as a mild stimulant. Among the Iatmul, the ornate containers and spatulas used respectively to hold and serve lime served as both betel nut chewing accessories and noisemakers.In the past, Iatmul culture valued the qualities of aggressiveness and assertiveness in men, and individuals used their lime spatulas and containers as rasps to emphasize these traits audibly. The tops of lime containers had a hole for inserting the spatula while the lower end of the spatula was carved with a series of ridges. When a man wished to call attention to himself in social situations he rapidly thrust the spatula in and out of the lime container so that the ridges, rubbing against the edges of the hole, produced a harsh rasping noise that served as the audible expression of his pride, assertiveness, or displeasure.

Rasp/Lime Container (Bandi Na Iavo), late 19th–early 20th century
Papua New Guinea, Middle Sepik region, Iatmul or Chambri people
Bamboo, wood, paint, fiber; H: 22 1/4 in. (56.5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.1457)
Audio Guide: Lime Container
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Narrator: This bamboo vessel, adorned with a rooster and a crocodile, is actually a container. A hole in the top just accommodates the shaft of a lime spatula, similar to the one decorated with the figure of a man that you see next to it [see previous image]. The container held lime, which was removed with the spatula and spread on a betelnut, which was chewed to produce a stimulating effect, like drinking coffee.
Lime containers and spatulas also functioned as noisemakers. In the past, the Iatmul people of New Guinea encouraged men to be assertive. When a man sought to assert his presence or became angry, he thrust the spatula rapidly in and out of the container, making a harsh grating sound.
As Curator of Oceanic Art Eric Kjellgren explains, this was an integral part of Iatmul culture:
Eric Kjellgren: And this, apparently, was an aspect of a kind of male identity that was repeated so often that women, in some contexts, actually made fun of it. There was a complex ritual cycle, called "Naven," in which during part of the cycle the gender roles were reversed. Men would dress as women and do women's things. Women would dress as men and do men's things. And one of the things the women most enjoyed doing was actually to take these lime containers and spatulas and rasp them, constantly, to make this very loud grating sound. And, in fact, the men used to complain that the women enjoyed this so much, that they would actually wear out the lime spatulas and containers in the process of conducting the ceremony.
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The principal musical instruments of the Asmat people of southwest New Guinea are hourglass-shaped wood drums. At virtually every significant ceremony and feast one or more men gather to play the drums and sing the appropriate music. Performances often last many hours, beginning in the late afternoon and continuing all through the night, a process that can go on for days or weeks. Primarily a male instrument, drums are occasionally played by women.

In Asmat cosmology the drum was associated with the beginnings of humanity. In some origin traditions, humans were born from wood figures carved by a primordial being named Fumeripits. Fumeripits built the first men's ceremonial house, but grew lonesome living alone, so he carved wood human figures for company. The lifeless figures did not relieve his loneliness, so he made a drum. As he drummed, the figures slowly came to life, becoming the first Asmat.

Drums are individually owned and any man can make one. However, individuals often commission them from master carvers. Asmat drums are typically ornately carved with ornate openwork handles and extensively decorated bodies. The handle of this drum, made by the master carver Omas, depicts a man named Pam who was probably the father of the man who commissioned it. The figure's mouth is carved in the form of the beak of a black king cockatoo. Because it plucks fruit from trees, this bird was metaphorically associated with the former practice of headhunting.

Drum, mid-20th century
Carved by Omas
New Guinea, Papua Province, Asmat people, Pomatsj River, Sauwa village
Wood, lizard skin, paint, fiber; H: 22 3/4 in. (57.8 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection; Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller and Mrs. Mary C. Rockefeller, 1965 (1978.412.962)
Audio Guide: Asmat Drum
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Narrator: Drums—shaped like an hourglass with ornately carved handles—play an integral role in the culture of the Asmat people of New Guinea. In Asmat cosmology, a primordial being called Fumeripits carved the first drum.
Eric Kjellgren: And Fumeripits built the first men's ceremonial house, and he was living there all alone, and he became lonely. So, essentially to keep himself company, he carved human figures out of wood, but these didn't really provide much company, not being able to talk or move, or anything like that.
So, he actually went out and cut down another tree, and made himself a drum. And he brought the drum back to the ceremonial house and he started playing it. And as he started playing the drum, the figures gradually came to life, and started dancing and entertaining him, and these actually were the first Asmat people. So, in fact, the very origin of the Asmat is tied closely to the drum.
Narrator: This drum was probably commissioned by a son to honor his father, Pam, who is depicted on the handle. His figure is naturalistic, except for the beaklike mouth. This refers to the black king cockatoo, a fruit-eating bird symbolically associated with head-hunting. In the Asmat view, just as the cockatoo plucks fruit from the trees, so too did the Asmat warriors, in former times, take the heads of their enemies.
Music is provided by and used with permission from Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology, Wichita State University.
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Widely made and used in every region of the Pacific except Australia, nose flutes are played with the nose rather than the mouth. To do so, the musician generally holds one nostril shut with the thumb or a finger and sounds the flute by blowing into a small hole drilled near the top of the instrument with the other. Nose flutes are almost universally made, as here, from bamboo and, like other small bamboo flutes, are typically used in informal settings. This example is from Fiji where nose flutes were played by both sexes to provide soothing music when at rest or during courting. The melodies, composed of from two to four notes, were quiet and plaintive, providing a relaxing interlude or softly enticing a current or prospective lover.

Nose Flute (Bituucu, Bitu Ceguvi, Bitu ni Vakatagi, or Bitu Vakatagi), ca. 1830
Fiji
Bamboo; L: 27 15/16 in. (70.9 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889 (89.4.795)
Audio Guide: Nose Flute
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Narrator: This flute, from Fiji, was played with the nose rather than the mouth. As Curators Eric Kjellgren and Ken Moore explain, the subtle sound of nose flutes served perfectly for certain situations:
Eric Kjellgren: In Tonga, if a chief is asleep it's considered rude to awaken them very abruptly with a loud noise, so that often a nose flute will be played, or in the past would be played, to gradually sort of awaken the chief—sort of wake-up music, like you might hear on your clock radio in the morning, only played live.
Ken Moore: What a wonderful way to wake up. Soft-sounding instruments, like this nose flute, are very often used for romantic, courting situations, in part because they are soft, and the listener has to come closer to the performer in order to hear what is being played.
Eric Kjellgren: Yes, exactly, and also, I mean, if you want to keep the relationship a secret, the fact that the sound doesn't carry very far is also good if couples are meeting out in secret, as it were.
Ken Moore: Exactly.
Narrator: The flute is made of bamboo, and decorated with geometric designs—typical of the art of Fiji.
Music is provided by and used with permission from Fanshawe Music.
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The most familiar Hawaiian instrument is the 'ukulele, a small type of guitar. The instrument was probably introduced to Hawai'i in 1879 by Portuguese settlers from Madeira who brought with them a small guitar called the braguinha. The settlers included three men, Manuel Nunes, Augusto Dias, and Jose do Espirito Santo who knew how to make braguinha. The small guitar quickly became popular with Hawaiians, and by 1888 Nunes, Dias, and Espirito Santo were all producing examples for the local market. The instrument was modified to suit local musical tastes and the Hawaiian 'ukulele was born. Probably from the late nineteenth century, this work is among the oldest known 'ukulele.

The 'ukulele found favor in the court of the Hawaiian King David Kal�kaua, a champion both of customary Hawaiian music and musical innovation. Under Kal�kaua's patronage, the 'ukulele was adapted to accompany hula dance performances, transforming the more sedate tempo of earlier types of hula into the more lively rhythm characteristic of many hula performances today.

There are several accounts of how the 'ukulele got its name, which means "jumping flea." Edward Purvis, a small, lively musician popular in Kal�kaua's court was reportedly nicknamed "'uku lele" and the instrument may be named after him. Alternatively, the rapid action of the musician's figures when playing possibly reminded Hawaiians of jumping fleas. The name may also represent a modified version of 'ukeke, the term for the mouth bow, previously the only string instrument in Hawai'i.

'Ukulele, Late 19th century
Hawai'i
Wood, metal, gut; L: 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889 (89.4.727)

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The Iban people of northern Borneo formerly made the enserunai, a distinctive one- or two-stringed instrument that was played with a small bow and had a body made from a coconut shell or gourd. When playing, the performer sat on the ground and held the neck in the left hand with the resonator either resting against the calf of the leg or with the lower tip, or spike, of the neck grasped in the toes. To get the proper sound, the strings were moistened with saliva and the musician played it with the bow pressing down on the strings at various points along the neck to vary the pitch as with a Western violin. Little is known about the contexts in which the instrument was used or its musical repertoire, although its sound was quite soft. Enserunai were reportedly used to play the tunes of dirges sung for deaths or burials, although whether the instrument was employed only when rehearsing or at the actual ceremonies is uncertain.

Fiddle (Enserunai or Ensuranai), 19th century
Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak, Sadong River, Iban people
Wood, coconut shell, hide, fiber; L: 39 1/2 in. (100.5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889 (89.4.2365)

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Large gourd drums called ipu hula or ipu heke are unique to Hawai'i. Ipu hula are fashioned from two ipu (gourds), a smaller one forming the top and a larger one the lower portion of the instrument. The gourds are specially cultivated to obtain the desired shape. When they have reached the appropriate size, the gourds are harvested and the upper portions and contents removed, leaving the hard empty shells. The smaller gourd is inverted and cemented over the open top of the larger one with glue, formerly made from breadfruit tree sap, creating a hollow figure-eight shaped instrument. A circular hole made in the top allows the sound to escape.

Ipu hula are used to provide the fundamental rhythm for chants and dances, especially, as the name indicates, various forms of Hawaiian hula. It can be played by musicians of either sex. When playing the ipu hula, the musician sits and places a pad, typically made from folded cloth, on the ground to cushion the impact of the instrument. To mark the initial beat of each measure the player strikes the instrument vertically on the padded ground, producing a deep resonant tone. The succeeding beats are marked by holding the instrument off the ground and striking the side of the lower portion with the flat of three or four fingers, creating a tapping sound. Variants of this technique also exist. Produced continuously since precontact times, the ipu hula remains a vital part of contemporary Hawaiian culture.

Gourd Drum (Ipu Hula or Ipu Heke), 19th century
Hawai'i
Gourd, bark cloth, fiber; H: 30 in. (76.2 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889 (89.4.754)
Audio Guide: Gourd Drum (Ipu Hula)
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Ken Moore: Hi, I'm Ken Moore, curator of musical instruments, and I'm here with my colleague, Eric Kjellgren, who is curator of Oceanic art. I think one of the instruments that's unique to Hawaii is the gourd drum. This ipu hula, as they call it, made of two gourds, two different-shaped gourds—a sort of oval one at the top, and an elongated one at the bottom. It's an interesting drum, because it has no skin on the top of it, and you don't really beat across the hull that is at the top. You pound it.
Eric Kjellgren: Yes, you start off the measure, as it were, by pounding it down, and it makes a sort of deep, resonant beat, and then you go sort of "boom," down, and then "tap, tap"—"boom, tap, tap, boom, tap, tap"—like that, to create the underlying rhythm of the song. And the ipu hula is traditionally played, as the name implies, to accompany various forms of hula, the sort of quintessential Hawaiian dance form, of which there are many different varieties.
Narrator: The drum was made from specially cultivated gourds, which are extremely thick and strong, and also insect resistant.
The gourd music on this stop is from the Brother Kanilau album Mele 'Oli.
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