Stringed instruments from hawaii4/9/2023 In Eastern Polynesia, by contrast, drums are stationary objects, which are intended to stand vertically on the ground ( 1978.412.720). Predominantly a male instrument, in some areas drums can be used by women and, in rare cases, are, or were, almost exclusively women’s instruments. These handheld drums are usually individually owned. When playing, the musician holds the drum in one hand and strikes the head with the other. In many parts of New Guinea, drums have integrally carved handles that are ornately adorned ( 1978.412.962). In New Guinea and the islands off its shores and in eastern Micronesia, drums are typically handheld and have an hourglass-shaped or tubular body. With rare exceptions, drums in Oceania are played directly with the hands and drum beaters are almost never used. Throughout the Pacific, drums provide a rhythmical accompaniment for singing and dance in contexts ranging from the most important religious rites to secular entertainment. Drums with heads made from a variety of materials are used in at least portions of every major region of Oceania. The most familiar and widespread Oceanic percussion instruments are drums. Often ornately decorated, they were frequently important visual as well as aural symbols for phenomena ranging from supernatural beings to social authority. Musical instruments play, or played, many different roles in Pacific cultures, from announcing the onset of war to embodying the voices of supernatural beings or softly enticing a lover. Created almost exclusively from locally available materials such as wood, bamboo, or coconut shell, their forms and designs often display remarkable inventiveness. These vary from familiar types such as drums, flutes, and the Hawaiian ‘ukulele to unusual forms such as slit gongs and bullroarers.įrom the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia and New Guinea, to the arid Australian outback, to remote coral atolls, musical instruments in Oceania accompany all aspects of life, from the most sacred religious rituals to dances, feasts, celebrations, courtship, and casual entertainment. Oceanic musical instruments include many of the broad categories familiar in the West, such as percussion, wind, and string instruments, as well as forms that are distinctive to the region. Made and used throughout the Pacific, musical instruments play integral roles in contexts ranging from religious rites to secular entertainment. This is especially true in Oceania, whose more than 1,800 different peoples create an astonishing variety of musical instruments. Musical instruments and musical expression take an almost infinite variety of forms throughout the world.
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