Hawaiian Drum Dance Chants: Sounds of Power in Time

Various Artists SFW40015

In the eastern Polynesian islands known as Hawaii, the making of music and dance is center on mele or chanted texts. Mele, sung alone, are said to be performed in the oli style (without dance or musical instruments). When coupled with hula (dance), they are called mele hula, and when the pahu drum is added the performance is called mele hula pahu. More specific terms are also applied to mele that are used for specific purposes such as processionals, prayers, and naming.

The practice of perpetuating tradition through the teacher-student relationship is strong in Hawaiian mele. Performers’ styles are recognized, back through time, in their teacher’s, and their teachers’ teacher’s styles. These recordings give a view of several performance styles of Hawaiian mele between 1923 and 1989, although the traditions and the mele reach much further back in time.
Country(s) United States
Culture Group(s) Hawaiian
Keyword(s) Music--Hawaii; World music
Instrument(s) Pahu; Puniu; Vocals
Language(s) Hawaiian
Year of Recording 1989
Record Label Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Source Archive Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Credits Mastered by Mickey Hart ; Mastered by Joe Gastwirt ; Compiled by Elizabeth Tatar ; Notes Edited by Elizabeth Tatar ; Liner Notes by Elizabeth Tatar ; Recorded by Elizabeth Tatar ; Produced by Elizabeth Tatar