Music Of The Polynesian Islands

The Polynesian Islands are a cluster of islands in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean. The secular hymns, or himene, of Tahiti and the French Polynesian Islands serve many purposes. These include storytelling, entertainment [bringue parties], celebration, and spreading cultural awareness. The music of the French Polynesia is logogenic, which means it is word oriented rather than melody oriented. The words in French Polynesian songs must be clearly annunciated, while the accompanying melody is mainly to provide a tune to remind performers and audiences of the words it associates with. Contemporary Polynesian music is heavily influenced by European missionaries and travelers who colonized the islands approximately 200 years ago. However, despite the introduction of …show more content…
Te Vaka is a Pacific Fusion group that performs traditional and original songs in their native style. The founder of the group Opetaia Foa'I is a native of New Zealand and is very proud of his Pacific roots, which is very clear in their music. Te Vaka has performed at the Rugby World Cup and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They also won “Best Pacific Music Album” from the New Zealand Music Awards for their albums Tutuki and Olatia, which translate to “achieved” and “saved” respectively. The title track from their Tutuki album is one of their best known songs and is an accurate representation of what Opetaia Foa’I and Polynesia represents. The Western influences on the music of Polynesia, and on Te Vaka, are very present when listening to the song. Following along with the pulse of Tutuki yields a distinct 4/4 time, which is one of the most common meters to come from Western music. The melody also comes out in a major key, which is another common theme in the Western