Ryan Moore
August 20, 2015
Music Appreciation 200
Professor Gant
Polynesian Music Throughout the world music serves as more than just a form of entertainment across cultures. Music is a way for cultures to express themselves, express their feelings and tell stories and tales of times past and futures to come. Music is used at times of celebration and times of grief and despair. Though across the world we all speak different languages and cannot always verbally communicate with one another, the language of music speaks to everyone on every level. It is music that allows us to gather and enjoy each-others company and it is music that brings stranger together and makes them friends. Polynesian music is a great example of what it means for
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Certain beliefs involved sacred rituals that had people worshipping many different gods and considering certain places such as a volcano for example, to be ‘sacred’ and participating in rituals of the drinking of certain things called ‘Kava’ a special beverage prepared from a root from a tropical pepper. The beliefs and traditions of the Polynesian culture relied heavily on the social structure that provided a base for everything that entailed the island life, the belief that some family members and persons were derived from the gods was another belief in the culture. ”The underlying set of principles through which Polynesians interpreted their world and organized their social lives included the concepts of Mana and Tapu, intertwined with ideas of rank based on descent from gods” (Kaeppler). When the Westernization of Polynesian began, this brought many things that the culture and people had not yet seen nor experienced. The Europeans brought trade and with trade that brought metals that were never before seen or used on the islands of Polynesia. “Previous to European trade, the use of metal was virtually unknown, and tools were pre-eminently cutting, incising, and filing elements of stone, bone, shell, obsidian, shark teeth, and fish skin mounted on wooden handles” (Kaeppler). These types of changed in the production of music and art can without a doubt create somewhat …show more content…
Fueled by the musical chants, singing along with the beating of drums islanders would subject themselves to painful process of the traditional Polynesian tattoo and tattoo process. A large part of the Polynesian culture is body art, it is used to suggest many different things that have occurred in a persons life, it also indicates things like social statuses and where people derived from. “Traditional Polynesian tattooing is mainly geometric and denotes rank and political status but more recently has been used to define ethnic identity within Pacific island societies.”
The paper discusses Melanesian and Polynesian polities and economies which in turn highlight the differencees and similiraies amongst them. Sahlins concerned himself with the tribal societies found present within Melanasia and the large and diverse hierarchical system within Polynesian polities. The reading
The, “Sorrow of the Lonely and the Burning of the Dancers”, is a ethnography written by anthropologist Edward Schieffelin, derived from his fieldwork with the Kaluli people of Papua New Guinea. The main focus of the book of the book is how many of the fundamental notions that are implicit in Kaluli culture are found in the Gisaro ceremony, which Schieffelin uses as, “a lens through which to view some of the fundamental issues of Kaluli life and society” (p1).
The idea that Prehistoric Aboriginal culture is averse to change or is static is a belief shared by the minority. Although it can be said that Indigenous culture and our ancestral peoples share many similar or unchanged basic behaviour patterns, each society or culture can be distinguished from others by the certain configurative patterns or directives for why the Prehistoric peoples did or did not achieve things and how they were or were not achieved. This willingness to change and not be opposed to innovation and holding traditional values all the time, suggests that Prehistoric Aboriginal Culture was constantly changing. This essay discusses the concept that Prehistoric Aboriginal culture adopted a willingness to learn, change and grow through forms of art and culture, for both aesthetic and useful purposes. Secondly, the developing cultural intricacies will be deliberated, how hunter gatherer societies affected Prehistoric Aboriginal culture and how these complexities are the source of change for many Indigenous peoples through time.
Surfing became a social simple in which the high class or “ali’i” were predominantly the only surfers. They created their own social class. With their high reputations because of their skilled surfing, these “ali’i” developed their own prayers, board shapers, wood and beaches. Nobody but these skilled athletes could use the beaches they claimed. Those who dared drop-in on an ali’i’s wave would not have been over reacting if they feared for their lives. For punishment by death was not uncommon. The surfboards ridden underwent sacred rituals before construction. Only three types of trees were picked to make a board. The board maker would dig up the tree and around the roots place fish in the hole as an offering to the gods for the tree. The process of shaping then began. Surfing became more than just a sport to the polynesian natives. It became a social symbol and even a ritualistic
Pacific Islanders’ way of life is determined by their outlook on life, a perspective influenced by how religion, the inhabited land, the sea and all that exists around them interconnect. Nature is seen as sacred. Living with it is a lifestyle in itself. Their stories and myths, their traditions and numerous ceremonies held at specific times, their language, the way they use natural resources,
Music is one of those things that is universal anyone can hear it even if they don’t know the language that is being used in the song. Music is a way to communicate and unit different races. Connecting people together is one of the many great thing music has the ablility to do to people. Many well educated people have realized that music is a way to the mind of a person and that you can see a piece of their soul in the things they like to listen to.
The Hawaiian culture have done things to their bodies that they consider strong in culture, beliefs and are remarkable to the wearer of the design, just to acquire what beauty is. There are different techniques, meanings, and tools of the Hawaiian style of tattooing. Which would consist of the person’s cultural expressions, their beauty, and their identity.
Professor Kealalokahi Loschi instructs at Kapiolani Community College. He teaches his students about Polynesian tattoos.
Music is made up from rhythm and beats with notes and feelings, vocal and/or instrumental sounds combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. Yet, music is so much more than notes on paper, music represents movements in time, music is memories, history, connections, relaxation and escape. Many people are influenced by music they listen to. “Music is much more than mere entertainment. It has been a feature of every known human society—anthropologists and sociologists have yet to find a single culture throughout the course of human history that has not had music” (Greenberg, 2016).
There are still debates about the origins of Polynesian culture, but one thing we can ensure is that Polynesia is not a single tribe but a complex one. Polynesians which includes Marquesans, Samoans, Niueans, Tongans, Cook Islanders, Hawaiians, Tahitians, and Māori, are genetically linked to indigenous peoples of parts of Southeast Asia. It’s a sub-region of Oceania, comprising of a large grouping of over 1 ,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean, within a triangle that has New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island as its corners. People who live in these islands are regarded as Polynesians for their similar traits in language, customs, society and culture.
Polynesian Music quite often was used to tell a story and was the most popular form of entrainment of the Polynesian culture. Another was “an important function of gatherings for community singing was to emphasize the values stressed by the culture” (Burrows). The music was even used to in site political affiliation and loyalty to chiefs. In contrast to entertainment purposes, music was also used as a form of punishment to those that committed crimes or went against cultural norms. The songs were not only a punishment for the accused but they stood as a warning to others of the intolerance for the action of the accused. The music was both an expression of public opinion and often was considered to be a legal sanction
The Polynesian Cultural Center “PCC” was also known as a home to the famous Ali’i Luau. It was the world's largest Polynesian variety show that was located on the northeast side of Oahu. The PCC was considered to be one of Hawaii’s centers of the world because this facility featured seven native pacific island villages where each of its respective village demonstrated the daily life and traditions of their people. The Polynesian journey started in Tonga, then Tahiti, the Marquesas, Fiji, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Samoa, and Hawaii. Every village provided us the opportunity to witness the islanders reenacted war dances and wedding ceremonies, carved Tiki figures, or climbing barefoot on coconut trees. At the beginning, I was extremely bored. but my grandfather made me explore and appreciate everything that PCC had to offer. From fun activities, music and entertainment to authentic cultural presentations even the most famous luau and its spectacular show at night. I was tremendously grateful and fortunate to be able to experience a momentous cultural “learning moment” with my grandfather. On the other hand, Batchelder did not believe that a rock could be the villager’s “center of the world” because he thought that New England was the central location of the world where his grandfather was raised. Although, he initially hesitated in the beginning, however, he then later realized that there was no right or wrong idea of what we claimed to be our own “center of the world” because every ethnicity’s belief varies, depending on other people’s background. In other words, being open-minded to new things was always the best approach because what we perceived to have its significant values may not always weigh with the same principles as
Culture must be learned and constantly reproduced. Culture is usually changed with variations from what is taught and learned (Lim, 2016). In the Diamond article, many Europeans viewed Polynesians as “pure savages”, but surprised by how beautiful the statues and the platforms were constructed. A Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl was unable to believe that the Polynesians had
The Samoans are an ethnic group that reside in Oceania, on the islands of Samoa, in an area of Polynesia. Samoa has been occupied by these indigenous people for about 3000 years, when they came from the west, occupying the islands of Fiji and Tonga around the same time (Barnes and Hunt 2005, 243). They carry many traditions with their culture, however, I will be discussing their tradition of tattooing. Tattooing is the process of inserting ink pigment into someone’s skin to create a permanent design on them. For Samoans, tattoos are much more significant than just a pretty piece of artwork, they are, according to Ryman (2004), a right of passage. I will be reviewing the importance of cultural tattoos, the process of being tattooed, and the varying origin stories of how tattooing first came to Samoa. Samoan tattooing matters because it is a cultural tradition that has been practiced in Samoa for over 3000 years (Ellis 2006, 698).
Samoans believe the circular flying represents the cycles of life.” (Channell,18). In Samoa these tattoos are given to the chief of the family and he is the one who is fully tattooed. The tattooing is a very painful process and is done by taking pieces of sharpen bone and ink and taping the tattoo in with a mallet. The tattoo designs are beautiful designs consisting of many geometric shapes put together in a way they flows. The tattoo is much respected. Once started, it must be completed or it will bring shame upon the young man, and his family. After it is completed, the young mans gains new status among his people. With the receiving of his tattoo, he has now taken on the responsibly of being a man, and also to be an example and leader of his family.