A growing number of archaeological finds suggest the Americas were settled earlier than thought, and by at least two different groups of people. What's startling is that the oldest human remains look like Australian Aborigines.
Who were the first people to set foot in the Americas? For a long time, the answer to this question seemed as sharply defined as the end of the fluted hunting tools known as 'Clovis points' found in scattered sites across North America: humans colonised the Americas rather late in the history of human expansion.
After scampering about in trees for a few million years, anatomically modern humans emerged in Africa and promptly began migrating to the four corners of the world. The earliest ancestors expanded throughout Asia, arriving in Australia at least 50,000 years ago, Europe at least 45,000 years ago and western Melanesia at least 40,000 years ago. There, the eastward expansion came to a halt. The last two habitable continents remained out of reach across the wide open body of water we now call the Pacific Ocean.
Eventually, one group of humans, with distinctive Mongoloid features, around Northern Asia mastered the art of hunting mega fauna. During the last Ice Age, when the world's water was locked up in massive ice sheets and glaciers, the Bering Strait was drained to reveal the continental shelf between Siberia and Alaska. The ancestors of today's Native Americans followed the herds of mammoths, long-horn bison and horses on the final eastward expansion, arriving in the New World by about 11,200 years ago.
According to this traditional view, the big-game hunters of Mongoloid appearance continued their expansion southward, through an interior ice-free path formed by the retreating glaciers. When they reached what is today the western United States, they flourished. Their success is marked by the prolific stone hunting tools first found near the town of Clovis, New Mexico, in the 1930s. In less than 1,000 years, the Clovis people (as they're known) trekked from Alaska to the tip of South America, eventually founding all the indigenous populations of North and South America.
Modern research has suggested as a consequence of other archaeological evidence becoming available from ancient sites that predate the Clovis culture that other races initially settled along the west coast of the Americas. Indeed, later research has indicated that the people who left Africa in the initial mass colonisation event were not altered by the Pacific Ocean.
One example of this earlier settlement has been found from an ancient "Luzia woman" whose skeleton is held in the University of Sao Paolo, Brazil. This skeleton has a very projected space, with her chin sitting out further than her forehead. She has a long, narrow brain case, measured from the eyes to the back of the skull, a low nose and low orbits - the space where the eyes sit. Indeed, Luzia looks very much like an Australian aboriginal.
Luzia, however, was discovered a world away, thirteen metres underground in Central Brazil, in one of the many mine stone rock shelters that make up an extensive system called Lapa Vermelha. In the mid 1990s the bones were analysed and it was concluded that they all belonged to a single female who was named "Luzia" as a homage to a specimen of Australopithicus afarensis dubbed Lucy, one of the early hominids in Africa who walked on two legs instead of four. Exact carbon dating could not be performed on Luzia who died when she was in her early 20s because researchers did not have the protein collagen necessary to date human remains. However, the layers of the rock shelter in which she was found indicate that she lived between 11,000 and 11,500 years ago. Scientists have indicated that Luzia may well be the oldest human skeleton in the Americas.
Certainly Luzia is not alone. Several skeletal remains have since been analysed in seven archaeological sites from the far north as Florida in the USA and as far south as Chile. They all look most similar to sub-Saharan Africans, Australian Aborigines and some of the original populations of the Pacific Islands. What they don't look like is native Americans or East Asians. While Luzia may be the oldest human remains discovered in the Americas, she was not the first to be found.
As early as 1989, some scientists proposed the existence of a non-mongoloid migration into the Americas that pre-dated the Clovis culture. An examination of 38 skeletons from three sites in Brazil and Colombia dated from 6000 to 12,000 years ago. The research suggested a clear biological affinity between the early South Americans and the South Pacific population. This association suggested the conclusion that the Americas were occupied before the spreading of the classical mongoloid morphology in Asia. This conclusion was further strengthened by the analysis of a further 81 skeletons from Lagoa Santa.
Certainly, the conclusion raises the question of how on earth did a group of people who look like Australian Aborigines get all the way to Brazil at least 12,000 years ago. Research has shown that these people were in China about 20,000 years ago and that the mongoloid population that you see in Asia today is more recent. One possibility is that Luzia's "American Aborigines" shared a last common ancestor with the Australian aborigines in Southeast Asia with one group setting to the great southern land (Australia), arriving around 50,000 years ago. The other group wound their way through Asia and eventually made their way to Siberia, across the Bering Strait to Alaska. They did this thousands of years before the Clovis people.
Research is still being undertaken as to the manner in which these early people crossed the Bering Strait with some archaeologists suggesting that North and South America were colonized by boats. At this time, archaeologists continued to piece together theories based on circumstantial evidence such as remains while geneticists examine population today and look for clues to their paths in mutations in the human DNA build-up in order to pinpoint when these mutations first appeared. Then, using particular mutations as markers, they can then trace the journey of different peoples back in time. In the case of Luzia, and her relative bones, DNA analysis is no easy task because the bones are so old that the DNA is highly degraded and contaminated with other human DNA, bacteria and viruses. While Brazil may have been too hot and wet to provide a good DNA sample, this problem does not exist at the southern tip of the continent.
As a result of the above, researchers are working from samples from the southern region using new sequencing technology that can directly read the ancient pieces of DNA. It is this research that will conclusively prove who reached the New World first. Could it really have been the common ancestor of the Australian Aborigines or even the Australian Aborigines themselves? Did they take the voyage across the vast Pacific in flimsy craft or did they brave the southern ocean to reach the tip of South America? Alternatively, did they perverse the distances up to Siberia and across the Bering Strait and all the way to southernmost Chile?
This Web site:
Australia - Aboriginal - America
http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_aboriginal_america/index1.htm
will be updated further when the results of ongoing research become available.
Domains:
http://www.janeresture.com/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/index.html
http://www.ourpacificocean.com/index.htm
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
200 New Species Discovered In Remote Papua New Guinea
200 New Species Discovered
In Remote Papua New Guinea
A spectacular array of more than 200 new species has been discovered in the Pacific Islands of Papua New Guinea, including a white-tailed mouse and a tiny, long-snouted frog.
The survey of remote New Britain Island and the Southern Highlands ranges, accessible only by a combination of small plane, dinghy, helicopter and foot, found an exciting range of new mammals, amphibians, insects and plants.
People have heard of birds of paradise and tree-climbing kangaroos, but when you look even closer at the small things you just realise that there's a staggering diversity out there that we really know nothing about.
Papua New Guinea's jungles are one of just three wild rainforest areas, along with the Amazon and the Congo basin, left in the world, and as such comprise a vast "storehouse" of biodiversity, with scores of new species.
Scientists have indicated that only half of the things documented actually have names.
The rugged, mountainous and largely inaccessible terrain meant biologists had not even been able to enter some regions and there were large areas of New Guinea that are pretty much unexplored biologically.
Genetic testing used to prove new species such as the mouse which confirmed that it was not related to any known creature.
There is little doubt that these kinds of discoveries are certainly good news story amongst all the gloom, particularly when one considers the creeping extinction of other creatures.
In Remote Papua New Guinea
A spectacular array of more than 200 new species has been discovered in the Pacific Islands of Papua New Guinea, including a white-tailed mouse and a tiny, long-snouted frog.
The survey of remote New Britain Island and the Southern Highlands ranges, accessible only by a combination of small plane, dinghy, helicopter and foot, found an exciting range of new mammals, amphibians, insects and plants.
People have heard of birds of paradise and tree-climbing kangaroos, but when you look even closer at the small things you just realise that there's a staggering diversity out there that we really know nothing about.
Papua New Guinea's jungles are one of just three wild rainforest areas, along with the Amazon and the Congo basin, left in the world, and as such comprise a vast "storehouse" of biodiversity, with scores of new species.
Scientists have indicated that only half of the things documented actually have names.
The rugged, mountainous and largely inaccessible terrain meant biologists had not even been able to enter some regions and there were large areas of New Guinea that are pretty much unexplored biologically.
Genetic testing used to prove new species such as the mouse which confirmed that it was not related to any known creature.
There is little doubt that these kinds of discoveries are certainly good news story amongst all the gloom, particularly when one considers the creeping extinction of other creatures.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
THE 16TH ANNUAL DEADLY AWARDS
THE 16TH ANNUAL DEADLY AWARDS
The Deadly Awards are held each year in Australia to celebrate Indigenous achievements in entertainment, music, sport and the community.
One big winner in the 2010 awards was the film 'Bran Nue Dae' which was named Film of the Year. The music from this most entertaining film (which my dear family, friends and I have seen and enjoyed immensely) has been proudly featured on our Flagship Station: Pacific Islands Radio - along with the music of the talented Archie Roach whose sixth studio album: '1988' was awarded - Album Release of the Year!
Please check out our Oceania Web sites: http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_aboriginal_music/index1.htm for more information about Archie Roach;
along with our Pacific Islands Radio Web site to enjoy the enchanting and beautiful music from 'Bran Nue Dae':
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
It is certainly pleasing to see that more than 29,000 votes were cast for the 2010 awards and that the importance of these awards are now being recognised, to a much greater extent, by the mainstream community.
Perhaps more importantly, these important awards deliver a strong and healthy message to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community - that, hopefully, will provide inspiration to all Indigenous Australians and, in particular, to young Indigenous Australians across the country.
Our very sincere Congratulations to all the successful artists! Well done!
The Deadly Awards are held each year in Australia to celebrate Indigenous achievements in entertainment, music, sport and the community.
One big winner in the 2010 awards was the film 'Bran Nue Dae' which was named Film of the Year. The music from this most entertaining film (which my dear family, friends and I have seen and enjoyed immensely) has been proudly featured on our Flagship Station: Pacific Islands Radio - along with the music of the talented Archie Roach whose sixth studio album: '1988' was awarded - Album Release of the Year!
Please check out our Oceania Web sites: http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_aboriginal_music/index1.htm for more information about Archie Roach;
along with our Pacific Islands Radio Web site to enjoy the enchanting and beautiful music from 'Bran Nue Dae':
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
It is certainly pleasing to see that more than 29,000 votes were cast for the 2010 awards and that the importance of these awards are now being recognised, to a much greater extent, by the mainstream community.
Perhaps more importantly, these important awards deliver a strong and healthy message to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community - that, hopefully, will provide inspiration to all Indigenous Australians and, in particular, to young Indigenous Australians across the country.
Our very sincere Congratulations to all the successful artists! Well done!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Pacific Islands Radio - The Beautiful Music Of Micronesia
Welcome Everybody!
This is a listening guide to the many
listeners of our Internet Pacific Islands
Radio Stations.
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
I will focus on issues relating to Pacific
Island music and to embrace some of the
exciting changes taking place in the Internet
Radio Revolution, as well as updated information
on our Pacific Island Artists, Programming and
Playlists.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Welcome to beautiful Micronesia!
http://www.janeresture.com/michome/index.htm
As mentioned previously, and after our
recent trip to spectacular and exotic
Melanesia, it is now my great pleasure to
be able to share with you a brief outline
of the traditional and contemporary music
(and dance) of fantastic Micronesia!
The people of Micronesia were the last
ethnic group to migrate into the Pacific
region, being preceded by many thousands
of years by the Melanesians and, some
thousands of years earlier, by the people of
Polynesia. Indeed, there is a growing amount
of evidence to suggest that the many islands
and atolls of Micronesia have been inhabited
for at least 3000 years, and that the ancient
origin of the migrants was Southeast
Asia/Indonesia.
Much of the evidence to support this is
based on the study of the languages of the
Micronesian people. The Gilbertese
(Kiribati) language, for example, belongs to
the very large Austronesian language family
which evolved in Southeast Asia and began
to spread into the Pacific about 5000 years
ago. With the exception of some societies
in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea,
all languages in the Pacific, including the
Gilbertese language, belong to this family.
Also, of course, the study of plants in the
Pacific in recent years has revealed some
important evidence about the migrations
of people. With few exceptions, all useful
food and fibre plants found today in the
Pacific islands originated outside the Pacific.
For example, all the important plants used
by Gilbertese (I-Kiribati or Kiribati people),
the coconut, breadfruit, babai or taro, as
well as pandanus, are native to the Southeast
Asia/Indonesia area. Researchers can only
conclude that they must have been brought
to the islands by the early settlers.
The music and associated dance forms in
Micronesia are distinctive, yet, they are closely
related in many ways to that of their Polynesian
counterpart. With the exception of Truk (Chuuk)
in the central Caroline Group, which displays
traits of Melanesian and possibly Indonesian
influence, the music structure of all parts of
Micronesia is predominantly word-determined,
as is that of Polynesia. The origins of traditional
Micronesian music, however, are generally quite
obscure with the music having been handed
down by older folks to the younger children.
Composing traditional music involves a
considerable amount of ritualism and magic.
The composer does not compose the music
himself, but rather the song or songs are given
to the composers in a mythical setting - possibly
in a dream or a trance. The task of the composer
is then to follow the secret methodology that their
predecessors had passed on to them to produce
a song that is regarded as being magically blessed.
The second method of composing songs is one
which involves no magic and results from somebody
wishing to have a song made for him. In this case,
the person tells the story to be told to the composer
who listens intently and full of concentration. At a
later time, the composer may ask for further
information and the person requesting the song must
provide all the needed details.The most commonly
composed songs of this nature are love songs.These
are often about love for someone you will never
see again or a place that you have left behind. The
most popular ones, however, are about love between
a boy and a girl, a man and a woman or a husband
and a wife. The same process is also used for wedding
songs, competition songs, religious songs, war songs,
dance music and children's songs. The composer has
to know what song you want and he must be provided
with all the information to do it.
The third manner in which a song may be composed
is when, occasionally, a composer may wish to
compose an original song. In this case the composer
first works on firstly developing the tune by humming
it. When this is completed he will then think about
the words to go with the music until a very original
composition results.
Micronesian songs and chants have been composed
to cover many of the diverse and varied aspects
of life in Micronesia. These can include toddy
cutting songs, love songs, presentation of food,
songs for sick people, launching a canoe or putting
a small baby to sleep. In many cases the songs or
chants call on the spirits for assistance in some
situation or an endeavour about to be undertaken.
The following is one of the songs, reproduced below
without alteration, composed on Tamana Island, in
the Republic of Kiribati, for the people about to
be resettled in the Phoenix Group, Republic of
Kiribati:
"We are about to sail to Orona,
Goodbye O people of our homeland;
We have got our lands,
In the new Group of Islands.
We shall step ashore at Orona,
We shall dig our wells;
We shall build our dwelling houses,
So that we may live well.
Stand up, O people of the Gilberts,
Grasp your working tools;
We shall stand up and clear
the undergrowth and plant coconut trees.
We are happy, for we shall now live.
Do not forget us, O people of our homeland."
The interpretation of Micronesian music in
the form of dance movements results in a dance
form which is exciting, emotive and totally
absorbing. The dance forms emphasise the use
of mainly hands and arms to interpret the literal
meaning of the music. Traditional and authentic
dances on the main islands include stick dancing
integral to Pohnpei, Chuuk, Kosrae and Yap -
Federated States of Micronesia.
http://www.janeresture.com/fedmic/index.htm
Standing and sitting dances are featured
throughout much of Micronesia, including the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of
Kiribati, Palau, Saipan, Guam, Kosrae, Chuuk
and Yap.The Yapese are particularly well known
for their wonderful skills in stick dancing which
is performed by men, women and children together,
while some other dance forms are performed
either by women or men and boys, although never
both together.
In some islands, such as Yap and the Republic
of Kiribati, there is also a concern for rank in
the placement of dancers, as well as the emphasis
on rehearsed execution of songs and movements.
The men participate in various dancing competitions,
which are segregated by caste or rank; the lower
castes have some distinct dances, such as a woman's
standing dance, but can only dance when authorized
by a person of a higher caste. Chuuk shares many
similar dance styles with Yap due to their similar
cultural heritage. Chuuk's most mysterious and
rarest dance is called the "Moonlight Dance". This
is one of the few times when both men and women
dance together. This particular dance can only
happen during a full moon with permission of the
village chief. Traditionally speaking, this was a way
for young males and females to get together. This
form of social engagement is also a feature of the
Trobriand islands (Melanesia) at the time of the
yam festival. In this respect, we can say that there
are certain similarities between many aspects of
the music and dance of the different ethnic groups
throughout the Pacific region while they still
remain distinctively Micronesian, Melanesian and
Polynesian.
The musical instruments of Micronesia are few,
mainly due to the lack of material on the coral
atolls of Micronesia to produce the magnificent
wooden drums used throughout Melanesia and
Polynesia.The shell trumpet and nose flute are
the most common, though standard flutes and
jews harps are also found. A common idiophone
in Micronesia is a stick that is carried by men in
certain dances. The performers strike each
other's sticks in the course of the choreography.
Membranophones are not very common, though
the hourglass single-headed drum, like those
played in Papua New Guinea, is found as far
north as the Marshall Islands. In keeping with
the ecology of atoll life, the skins of these
drums are made from a shark's belly or parts
of the sting ray. Indeed, many atolls of the
Micronesian Pacific are without any indigenous
musical instruments whatsoever and, often
utilise many hands beating on mostly a wooden
box to accompany the music and dance.
The above brief outline comprises our first
discussion on the beautiful music and dance
of wonderful Micronesia. In our next edition,
it would be my great pleasure to discuss further
aspects of Micronesian music (and dance), as
well as examining, in broad detail, the beautiful
relationships between the music of Melanesia,
Micronesia and Polynesia. Pacific Island music
is something that is forever fascinating. Among
many other things, it is vibrant, melodious,
exciting, soothing, absorbing and constantly
evolving, while at the same time, remaining
authentic to its diverse and complex origins.
These are some of the issues I would like to
discuss and share with you a little further
in my next blog.
FEATURE ARTISTS
THE LAMO SERAI BOYZ
The Lamo Serai Boyz have recorded a
truly amazing collection of wonderful
electronic melodies based on traditional
and popular Micronesian songs from their
home island, Lamotrek, Yap, Federated
States of Micronesia, as well as other
islands in the Caroline archipelago. Their
music is available through Triton Films.
All the musical recordings were created
with state of the art Yamaha DSR 1000
keyboards and professionaly mixed with
vocals in the Lamotrekese language at
C-Star Studio in Yap, with post-production
at Triton Films.
No accoustic guitars were used. Such
artistry and talent, from a group of
island boys, growing up in a small
community, numbering no more than 300
persons, and more than 600 miles from
the nearest 120 volt outlet in Yap,
must be heard to be believed!
Anyone who has visited the restaurants
and bars of Micronesia will be instantly
transported back to the islands when
they hear the music of the Lamo Serai
Boyz. Their music encapsulates memories
of balmy nights and spectral lights
floating on a tropical pulse of swaying
bodies and lively conversation ... all
enveloped by wonderful melodies, both
lyrical and energetic. This CD is
certainly worth listening to for those
who enjoy that special authentic and
enchanting Micronesian music.
* * * * * * * * * *
Thank you all. For further information,
please check out the following four
Domains:
www.janeresture.com
www.janesoceania.com
www.ourpacificocean.com
www.pacificislandsradio.com
I wish you all the very best. Have a great day!
This is a listening guide to the many
listeners of our Internet Pacific Islands
Radio Stations.
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
I will focus on issues relating to Pacific
Island music and to embrace some of the
exciting changes taking place in the Internet
Radio Revolution, as well as updated information
on our Pacific Island Artists, Programming and
Playlists.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Welcome to beautiful Micronesia!
http://www.janeresture.com/michome/index.htm
As mentioned previously, and after our
recent trip to spectacular and exotic
Melanesia, it is now my great pleasure to
be able to share with you a brief outline
of the traditional and contemporary music
(and dance) of fantastic Micronesia!
The people of Micronesia were the last
ethnic group to migrate into the Pacific
region, being preceded by many thousands
of years by the Melanesians and, some
thousands of years earlier, by the people of
Polynesia. Indeed, there is a growing amount
of evidence to suggest that the many islands
and atolls of Micronesia have been inhabited
for at least 3000 years, and that the ancient
origin of the migrants was Southeast
Asia/Indonesia.
Much of the evidence to support this is
based on the study of the languages of the
Micronesian people. The Gilbertese
(Kiribati) language, for example, belongs to
the very large Austronesian language family
which evolved in Southeast Asia and began
to spread into the Pacific about 5000 years
ago. With the exception of some societies
in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea,
all languages in the Pacific, including the
Gilbertese language, belong to this family.
Also, of course, the study of plants in the
Pacific in recent years has revealed some
important evidence about the migrations
of people. With few exceptions, all useful
food and fibre plants found today in the
Pacific islands originated outside the Pacific.
For example, all the important plants used
by Gilbertese (I-Kiribati or Kiribati people),
the coconut, breadfruit, babai or taro, as
well as pandanus, are native to the Southeast
Asia/Indonesia area. Researchers can only
conclude that they must have been brought
to the islands by the early settlers.
The music and associated dance forms in
Micronesia are distinctive, yet, they are closely
related in many ways to that of their Polynesian
counterpart. With the exception of Truk (Chuuk)
in the central Caroline Group, which displays
traits of Melanesian and possibly Indonesian
influence, the music structure of all parts of
Micronesia is predominantly word-determined,
as is that of Polynesia. The origins of traditional
Micronesian music, however, are generally quite
obscure with the music having been handed
down by older folks to the younger children.
Composing traditional music involves a
considerable amount of ritualism and magic.
The composer does not compose the music
himself, but rather the song or songs are given
to the composers in a mythical setting - possibly
in a dream or a trance. The task of the composer
is then to follow the secret methodology that their
predecessors had passed on to them to produce
a song that is regarded as being magically blessed.
The second method of composing songs is one
which involves no magic and results from somebody
wishing to have a song made for him. In this case,
the person tells the story to be told to the composer
who listens intently and full of concentration. At a
later time, the composer may ask for further
information and the person requesting the song must
provide all the needed details.The most commonly
composed songs of this nature are love songs.These
are often about love for someone you will never
see again or a place that you have left behind. The
most popular ones, however, are about love between
a boy and a girl, a man and a woman or a husband
and a wife. The same process is also used for wedding
songs, competition songs, religious songs, war songs,
dance music and children's songs. The composer has
to know what song you want and he must be provided
with all the information to do it.
The third manner in which a song may be composed
is when, occasionally, a composer may wish to
compose an original song. In this case the composer
first works on firstly developing the tune by humming
it. When this is completed he will then think about
the words to go with the music until a very original
composition results.
Micronesian songs and chants have been composed
to cover many of the diverse and varied aspects
of life in Micronesia. These can include toddy
cutting songs, love songs, presentation of food,
songs for sick people, launching a canoe or putting
a small baby to sleep. In many cases the songs or
chants call on the spirits for assistance in some
situation or an endeavour about to be undertaken.
The following is one of the songs, reproduced below
without alteration, composed on Tamana Island, in
the Republic of Kiribati, for the people about to
be resettled in the Phoenix Group, Republic of
Kiribati:
"We are about to sail to Orona,
Goodbye O people of our homeland;
We have got our lands,
In the new Group of Islands.
We shall step ashore at Orona,
We shall dig our wells;
We shall build our dwelling houses,
So that we may live well.
Stand up, O people of the Gilberts,
Grasp your working tools;
We shall stand up and clear
the undergrowth and plant coconut trees.
We are happy, for we shall now live.
Do not forget us, O people of our homeland."
The interpretation of Micronesian music in
the form of dance movements results in a dance
form which is exciting, emotive and totally
absorbing. The dance forms emphasise the use
of mainly hands and arms to interpret the literal
meaning of the music. Traditional and authentic
dances on the main islands include stick dancing
integral to Pohnpei, Chuuk, Kosrae and Yap -
Federated States of Micronesia.
http://www.janeresture.com/fedmic/index.htm
Standing and sitting dances are featured
throughout much of Micronesia, including the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of
Kiribati, Palau, Saipan, Guam, Kosrae, Chuuk
and Yap.The Yapese are particularly well known
for their wonderful skills in stick dancing which
is performed by men, women and children together,
while some other dance forms are performed
either by women or men and boys, although never
both together.
In some islands, such as Yap and the Republic
of Kiribati, there is also a concern for rank in
the placement of dancers, as well as the emphasis
on rehearsed execution of songs and movements.
The men participate in various dancing competitions,
which are segregated by caste or rank; the lower
castes have some distinct dances, such as a woman's
standing dance, but can only dance when authorized
by a person of a higher caste. Chuuk shares many
similar dance styles with Yap due to their similar
cultural heritage. Chuuk's most mysterious and
rarest dance is called the "Moonlight Dance". This
is one of the few times when both men and women
dance together. This particular dance can only
happen during a full moon with permission of the
village chief. Traditionally speaking, this was a way
for young males and females to get together. This
form of social engagement is also a feature of the
Trobriand islands (Melanesia) at the time of the
yam festival. In this respect, we can say that there
are certain similarities between many aspects of
the music and dance of the different ethnic groups
throughout the Pacific region while they still
remain distinctively Micronesian, Melanesian and
Polynesian.
The musical instruments of Micronesia are few,
mainly due to the lack of material on the coral
atolls of Micronesia to produce the magnificent
wooden drums used throughout Melanesia and
Polynesia.The shell trumpet and nose flute are
the most common, though standard flutes and
jews harps are also found. A common idiophone
in Micronesia is a stick that is carried by men in
certain dances. The performers strike each
other's sticks in the course of the choreography.
Membranophones are not very common, though
the hourglass single-headed drum, like those
played in Papua New Guinea, is found as far
north as the Marshall Islands. In keeping with
the ecology of atoll life, the skins of these
drums are made from a shark's belly or parts
of the sting ray. Indeed, many atolls of the
Micronesian Pacific are without any indigenous
musical instruments whatsoever and, often
utilise many hands beating on mostly a wooden
box to accompany the music and dance.
The above brief outline comprises our first
discussion on the beautiful music and dance
of wonderful Micronesia. In our next edition,
it would be my great pleasure to discuss further
aspects of Micronesian music (and dance), as
well as examining, in broad detail, the beautiful
relationships between the music of Melanesia,
Micronesia and Polynesia. Pacific Island music
is something that is forever fascinating. Among
many other things, it is vibrant, melodious,
exciting, soothing, absorbing and constantly
evolving, while at the same time, remaining
authentic to its diverse and complex origins.
These are some of the issues I would like to
discuss and share with you a little further
in my next blog.
FEATURE ARTISTS
THE LAMO SERAI BOYZ
The Lamo Serai Boyz have recorded a
truly amazing collection of wonderful
electronic melodies based on traditional
and popular Micronesian songs from their
home island, Lamotrek, Yap, Federated
States of Micronesia, as well as other
islands in the Caroline archipelago. Their
music is available through Triton Films.
All the musical recordings were created
with state of the art Yamaha DSR 1000
keyboards and professionaly mixed with
vocals in the Lamotrekese language at
C-Star Studio in Yap, with post-production
at Triton Films.
No accoustic guitars were used. Such
artistry and talent, from a group of
island boys, growing up in a small
community, numbering no more than 300
persons, and more than 600 miles from
the nearest 120 volt outlet in Yap,
must be heard to be believed!
Anyone who has visited the restaurants
and bars of Micronesia will be instantly
transported back to the islands when
they hear the music of the Lamo Serai
Boyz. Their music encapsulates memories
of balmy nights and spectral lights
floating on a tropical pulse of swaying
bodies and lively conversation ... all
enveloped by wonderful melodies, both
lyrical and energetic. This CD is
certainly worth listening to for those
who enjoy that special authentic and
enchanting Micronesian music.
* * * * * * * * * *
Thank you all. For further information,
please check out the following four
Domains:
www.janeresture.com
www.janesoceania.com
www.ourpacificocean.com
www.pacificislandsradio.com
I wish you all the very best. Have a great day!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Music of Oceania
This Newsletter will focus on issues
relating to Pacific Island music. It will
also embrace some of the exciting changes
taking place in the Internet Radio Revolution,
as well as updated information on our Pacific
Island Artists, Programming and Playlists.
NEWS AND VIEWS
In this edition of our newsletter, it is my
great pleasure to be able to discuss briefly,
with all of you, our most valued members,
the wonderful music of Oceania, in terms of
its origins, its similarities and those many
things that make Pacific Island music most
unique and beautiful.
The people of Oceania, in common with
all of mankind, have a common origin in
Africa. The migrations to the Pacific
region, however, came about through
different routes and over a long period
of many tens of thousands of years. The
first to arrive were the Melanesians who
are by far the oldest ethnic group in the
Pacific region, and who are the proud
owners of a very rich and diverse
cultural heritage.
The Melanesians were followed much
later by the Polynesians whose migratory
path took them through Taiwan, and along
the back of the Melanesian archipelago
of Papua and New Guinea, the Solomon
Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji,
until they finally settled in Tahiti, Samoa,
Tonga, the Cook Islands, New Zealand,
Tuvalu, as well as the remote Easter Island.
The last to arrive were the Micronesians
whose journey took them much later through
the scattered islands of Micronesia, located
mainly to the north of the Melanesian Islands.
They settled on the main Micronesian islands
of Guam, Palau, Saipan, the Federated States
of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and
Yap), the Marshall Islands and Kiribati.
The traditional music of Melanesia, Polynesia
and Micronesia thus had very little in common
in terms of musical styles. What the music did
have in common was that, in the absence of
any written language, much of the music had
a religious significance and was originally
chanted to appease or call on the gods.
Some of the chants are also part of the oral
traditions of the people and these special
chants documented our history in a manner
that could be handed down from one
generation to the next.
In Melanesia, Christian missionaries disapproved
of Papuan traditional music throughout the colonial
period of the country's history. Even after
independence, the outside world knew little of the
diverse peoples' traditional music genres. The first
commercial release to see an international audience
didn't occur until 1991. After 1872, Christian hymns
were also introduced with the Gold Rush bringing an
influx of Australian miners who introduced the mouth
organ..
The best known traditional celebrations, which
include song, dance, feasting and gift-giving, is the
singsing. Vibrant and colourful costumes adorn the
dancers, while a leader and a chorus sing a staggered
approach to the same song. Since 1953, singsings
have become extremely competitive in nature, with
contests occurring in Port Moresby, Mt Hagan and
Goroko.
Television was introduced to the country in 1993,
and American popular music continued to affect
Papuan music following on from the diffusion of
radio since World War II. By the end of the 1970s,
a local recording industry had appeared, and artists
like George Telek, began to successfully integrate
native and Western styles like rock and jazz.
Indeed, the music of George Telek is proudly
featured on Pacific Music Radio, Pacific Islands
Radio and Radio Melanesia.
The traditional Melanesian music of the Solomon
Islands includes both solo and group vocals, as
well as slit drums and panpipe ensembles. Panpipe
orchestras, which are well-known in Malaita and
Guadalcanal use up to ten performers with
different instruments, each with unique tunings.
In the 1920s, Bamboo music gained a following in
several Melanesian countries. Bamboo music was
made by hitting open-ended bamboo tubes of
varying sizes, originally with coconut husks.
After American soldiers brought their sandals to
the Solomon Islands, these replaced coconut husks
by the early 1960s, just as the music began
spreading to Papua New Guinea.
Modern Solomon Islander popular music includes
various kinds of rock and reggae, as well as a
distinctive original form of music known as island
music which features a guitar and ukulele ensemble
format influenced by Polynesian and Christian music.
The traditional music of Vanuatu featured instruments
such as the tamtam drum, which is intricately carved
from a log, as well as panpipes, conch shells and
gongs.The music industry of Vanuatu has grown
rapidly since the 1990s.The early part of that
decade saw bands forging a distinctly Vanuatuan
modern musical identity, with artists such as the
young talented and gifted artist, Vanessa Quai,
following in their footsteps.
In New Caledonia, music is a fundamental
element of every traditional ceremony, and
the range of instruments includes conch shells,
rhythm instruments and bamboo flutes. The
Caldoches, or white New Caledonians, are
mostly descended from French convicts and
have forged their own culture, more akin to
that of rural Australians or rural Americans
than the metropolitan French. Among the
Kanaks, dance has developed into a high
art form. The traditional pilou dance tells
the stories of births, marriages, cyclones
or preparations for battle, although colonial
authorities banned pilous in 1951 for the
high-energy and trance-like state they
induced in the dancers.
Throughout Polynesia, song and dance are
integral parts of the same cultural elements.
The dance is used to illustrate the lyrics by
moving the hands or arms with some dances
being performed while the dancers are seated.
Traditionally, dance moves do not illustrate the
song's narrative, but rather draw attention to
specific words and themes; in modern times,
however, dances are more often explicitly
narrative in their focus. There are also
traditional dances performed without lyrics,
to the accompaniment of percussive music.
Within songs, the lyrics are by far more
important than the melodic accompaniment,
with elements such as rhythm, melody and
harmony being traditionally viewed as
accompaniment to the primary focus, the
lyrics, serving to embellish, illustrate
and decorate the words.
The most important instrument is the voice,
though multiple varieties of slit drums and conch
shells are also popular; the human body is used
as an instrument, with clapping and knee-slapping
used to accompany songs and dances. Other
instruments include the pandanus, a sitting mat that
is also used as a percussion instrument, nose flutes
and derivatives of Portuguese guitars like the
ukulele and slack-key guitar.
Throughout Oceania, the missionaries did all
they could to wipe out traditional Polynesian
culture by levelling temples, destroying carvings,
and banning tattoos, and that heady, erotic
dancing that Bougainville told Europe about.
The missionaries sought to make the Polynesians
follow the teachings of the Good Book and their
own autocratic commandments, but fortunately
some of the traditional ways, including our
traditional music, survived. Recently there's been
a strong push to revive old ways and rediscover
traditional arts.
Traditional musical instruments include pahu and
toere drums and the nose flute called a vivo.
Guitars and ukuleles made their way into Polynesia
and the locals developed a unique song style that
owes much to country and western music in form
but has a distinctive South Pacific island flavour.
Traditional dance, based on the traditional music,
has also slowly made its way back into Polynesian
life.
In common with the music of Melanesia and
Polynesia, Micronesian music is influential to those
living in the Micronesian Islands. The traditional
music is highly spiritual and is based around the
ancient Micronesian mythology. The music can
call upon one of the gods or spirits for a blessing
or help in a task to be undertaken. The music of
Micronesia covers a range of styles from
traditional songs, handed down through generations,
to contemporary music, much of which comprises
contemporary interpretations of the traditional
spiritual music.
Micronesian traditional music, like much Polynesian
music, is primarily vocal-based. In many cases, this
results from the lack of suitable material on the many
low-lying coral atolls of Micronesia to construct the
kind of drums and other percussion instruments
available to the Melanesians and many of the
Polynesians.
Music is an integral part of life on the islands of
the Pacific. Indeed, the songs and dances are woven
into the very fabric of everyday life. Life, love,
work, play, the ocean, the gods, the earth itself;
they all flow through the music of the Pacific Islands,
as surely as the sand erodes into the sea. Pacific
Island music is truly the music of the world and is
proudly featured on our four Pacific Islands Radio
stations!
Thank you so much everybody for your continual
support, and I do hope that you enjoy our News
and Views in this special edition of our Newsletter.
* * * * * * * * * *
For further information, please check out the
following four Domains:
www.janeresture.com
www.janesoceania.com
www.ourpacificocean.com
www.pacificislandsradio.com
Thank you and enjoy your day.
relating to Pacific Island music. It will
also embrace some of the exciting changes
taking place in the Internet Radio Revolution,
as well as updated information on our Pacific
Island Artists, Programming and Playlists.
NEWS AND VIEWS
In this edition of our newsletter, it is my
great pleasure to be able to discuss briefly,
with all of you, our most valued members,
the wonderful music of Oceania, in terms of
its origins, its similarities and those many
things that make Pacific Island music most
unique and beautiful.
The people of Oceania, in common with
all of mankind, have a common origin in
Africa. The migrations to the Pacific
region, however, came about through
different routes and over a long period
of many tens of thousands of years. The
first to arrive were the Melanesians who
are by far the oldest ethnic group in the
Pacific region, and who are the proud
owners of a very rich and diverse
cultural heritage.
The Melanesians were followed much
later by the Polynesians whose migratory
path took them through Taiwan, and along
the back of the Melanesian archipelago
of Papua and New Guinea, the Solomon
Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji,
until they finally settled in Tahiti, Samoa,
Tonga, the Cook Islands, New Zealand,
Tuvalu, as well as the remote Easter Island.
The last to arrive were the Micronesians
whose journey took them much later through
the scattered islands of Micronesia, located
mainly to the north of the Melanesian Islands.
They settled on the main Micronesian islands
of Guam, Palau, Saipan, the Federated States
of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and
Yap), the Marshall Islands and Kiribati.
The traditional music of Melanesia, Polynesia
and Micronesia thus had very little in common
in terms of musical styles. What the music did
have in common was that, in the absence of
any written language, much of the music had
a religious significance and was originally
chanted to appease or call on the gods.
Some of the chants are also part of the oral
traditions of the people and these special
chants documented our history in a manner
that could be handed down from one
generation to the next.
In Melanesia, Christian missionaries disapproved
of Papuan traditional music throughout the colonial
period of the country's history. Even after
independence, the outside world knew little of the
diverse peoples' traditional music genres. The first
commercial release to see an international audience
didn't occur until 1991. After 1872, Christian hymns
were also introduced with the Gold Rush bringing an
influx of Australian miners who introduced the mouth
organ..
The best known traditional celebrations, which
include song, dance, feasting and gift-giving, is the
singsing. Vibrant and colourful costumes adorn the
dancers, while a leader and a chorus sing a staggered
approach to the same song. Since 1953, singsings
have become extremely competitive in nature, with
contests occurring in Port Moresby, Mt Hagan and
Goroko.
Television was introduced to the country in 1993,
and American popular music continued to affect
Papuan music following on from the diffusion of
radio since World War II. By the end of the 1970s,
a local recording industry had appeared, and artists
like George Telek, began to successfully integrate
native and Western styles like rock and jazz.
Indeed, the music of George Telek is proudly
featured on Pacific Music Radio, Pacific Islands
Radio and Radio Melanesia.
The traditional Melanesian music of the Solomon
Islands includes both solo and group vocals, as
well as slit drums and panpipe ensembles. Panpipe
orchestras, which are well-known in Malaita and
Guadalcanal use up to ten performers with
different instruments, each with unique tunings.
In the 1920s, Bamboo music gained a following in
several Melanesian countries. Bamboo music was
made by hitting open-ended bamboo tubes of
varying sizes, originally with coconut husks.
After American soldiers brought their sandals to
the Solomon Islands, these replaced coconut husks
by the early 1960s, just as the music began
spreading to Papua New Guinea.
Modern Solomon Islander popular music includes
various kinds of rock and reggae, as well as a
distinctive original form of music known as island
music which features a guitar and ukulele ensemble
format influenced by Polynesian and Christian music.
The traditional music of Vanuatu featured instruments
such as the tamtam drum, which is intricately carved
from a log, as well as panpipes, conch shells and
gongs.The music industry of Vanuatu has grown
rapidly since the 1990s.The early part of that
decade saw bands forging a distinctly Vanuatuan
modern musical identity, with artists such as the
young talented and gifted artist, Vanessa Quai,
following in their footsteps.
In New Caledonia, music is a fundamental
element of every traditional ceremony, and
the range of instruments includes conch shells,
rhythm instruments and bamboo flutes. The
Caldoches, or white New Caledonians, are
mostly descended from French convicts and
have forged their own culture, more akin to
that of rural Australians or rural Americans
than the metropolitan French. Among the
Kanaks, dance has developed into a high
art form. The traditional pilou dance tells
the stories of births, marriages, cyclones
or preparations for battle, although colonial
authorities banned pilous in 1951 for the
high-energy and trance-like state they
induced in the dancers.
Throughout Polynesia, song and dance are
integral parts of the same cultural elements.
The dance is used to illustrate the lyrics by
moving the hands or arms with some dances
being performed while the dancers are seated.
Traditionally, dance moves do not illustrate the
song's narrative, but rather draw attention to
specific words and themes; in modern times,
however, dances are more often explicitly
narrative in their focus. There are also
traditional dances performed without lyrics,
to the accompaniment of percussive music.
Within songs, the lyrics are by far more
important than the melodic accompaniment,
with elements such as rhythm, melody and
harmony being traditionally viewed as
accompaniment to the primary focus, the
lyrics, serving to embellish, illustrate
and decorate the words.
The most important instrument is the voice,
though multiple varieties of slit drums and conch
shells are also popular; the human body is used
as an instrument, with clapping and knee-slapping
used to accompany songs and dances. Other
instruments include the pandanus, a sitting mat that
is also used as a percussion instrument, nose flutes
and derivatives of Portuguese guitars like the
ukulele and slack-key guitar.
Throughout Oceania, the missionaries did all
they could to wipe out traditional Polynesian
culture by levelling temples, destroying carvings,
and banning tattoos, and that heady, erotic
dancing that Bougainville told Europe about.
The missionaries sought to make the Polynesians
follow the teachings of the Good Book and their
own autocratic commandments, but fortunately
some of the traditional ways, including our
traditional music, survived. Recently there's been
a strong push to revive old ways and rediscover
traditional arts.
Traditional musical instruments include pahu and
toere drums and the nose flute called a vivo.
Guitars and ukuleles made their way into Polynesia
and the locals developed a unique song style that
owes much to country and western music in form
but has a distinctive South Pacific island flavour.
Traditional dance, based on the traditional music,
has also slowly made its way back into Polynesian
life.
In common with the music of Melanesia and
Polynesia, Micronesian music is influential to those
living in the Micronesian Islands. The traditional
music is highly spiritual and is based around the
ancient Micronesian mythology. The music can
call upon one of the gods or spirits for a blessing
or help in a task to be undertaken. The music of
Micronesia covers a range of styles from
traditional songs, handed down through generations,
to contemporary music, much of which comprises
contemporary interpretations of the traditional
spiritual music.
Micronesian traditional music, like much Polynesian
music, is primarily vocal-based. In many cases, this
results from the lack of suitable material on the many
low-lying coral atolls of Micronesia to construct the
kind of drums and other percussion instruments
available to the Melanesians and many of the
Polynesians.
Music is an integral part of life on the islands of
the Pacific. Indeed, the songs and dances are woven
into the very fabric of everyday life. Life, love,
work, play, the ocean, the gods, the earth itself;
they all flow through the music of the Pacific Islands,
as surely as the sand erodes into the sea. Pacific
Island music is truly the music of the world and is
proudly featured on our four Pacific Islands Radio
stations!
Thank you so much everybody for your continual
support, and I do hope that you enjoy our News
and Views in this special edition of our Newsletter.
* * * * * * * * * *
For further information, please check out the
following four Domains:
www.janeresture.com
www.janesoceania.com
www.ourpacificocean.com
www.pacificislandsradio.com
Thank you and enjoy your day.
Pacific Islands Radio - The Music of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia
This Blog is a listening guide to the many
listeners of our four Internet Pacific Islands
Radio Stations.
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
The Blog will focus on issues relating to
Pacific Island music. It will also embrace
some of the exciting changes taking place
in the Internet Radio Revolution,as well as
updated information on our Pacific
Island Artists, Programming and Playlists.
NEWS AND VIEWS
In the last few blogs, it has been my great
pleasure to be able to present an outline of
the traditional and contemporary music of
Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. This
was followed by a similar general overview
of Pacific Island music in the context of
the origins, mythology and external
influences on the music and people of the
Pacific Islands.
In this edition, I would like to share with
you some thoughts on Pacific Island music and
its relevance in the global context of popular
music. Certainly, as a musical genre, Pacific
Island music is distinctive, exciting and
enthralling - it displays a depth of understanding
of human experiences that can touch the very
heart and soul of the listener. Despite all this,
Pacific Island music has not yet achieved the
support, and the success it fully deserves on
the international music scene. Certainly, many
of our excellent artists have achieved superstar
status in their own countries and in the Pacific
region, although, as yet, have not been able to
translate this success onto a global environment.
Indeed, the necessary ingredients for
international success are all present - in the
form of world quality recording studios, top
class musicians, and singers with amazing talents,
along with a loyal and appreciative local support
base. One would perhaps have to ask what needs
to be done in order for these talented people to
achieve international acclaim (as per one of
the beautiful letters below that I have recently
received from Japan by a talented artist from
New Zealand).
The late great Hawaiian musician, Israel
Kamakawiwo Ole' (Bruddah Iz), was one of
those who made the statement that, as island
people, we live in both worlds - the traditional
world of our island people, and the western
world that we are, of necessity, part of. In
this respect, being able to reconcile the often
conflicting demands of our traditional lifestyle,
and western lifestyle, is something that is very
apparent in island life, and thus is a very
important factor in the longer term wider
success of Pacific Island music.
In some cases, it is perhaps a sad reality that,
some of our talented artists, are unable to
reconcile our traditional values with western
values, which can easily swamp those of our
traditional society. Yet, one would have to
suspect that ultimate success as a musical
artist depends on a successful fusion of our
traditional music with the musical expectations
of a global audience.
Out of all our musical groups, we are very
proud to be able to say that Te Vaka has
successfully been able to achieve international
acclaim and recognition and, in many respects,
can be considered a role model for any group
wishing to achieve and enjoy international
success. A performance by Te Vaka is exciting
and completely enthralling - a visual and musical
experience that always stays in the mind of the
audience. Te Vaka, as an accomplished group
of musicians and performers, has been able
to combine exciting dance and vibrant music as
they tell the stories of the mythology and the
many trials and tribulations of our Pacific Island
people.
With most of Te Vaka's songs being presented
in their native language, western audiences, in
the main, do not understand the lyrics, however,
the message is always clear. With a strong and
resonant musical beat, combined with exciting
dance and theatre, the audience is left in no doubt
as to the underlying message of the performance.
As a solo artist, teenage artist, Vanessa Quai, from
the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, is certainly making
a big impression on the musical scene, both in the
Pacific region, as well as internationally. Indeed
Vanessa's achievement in winning the first prize in
the RTV Golden Stag International Music Festival
in Brasov, Romania, on the 23rd September 2005,
strongly suggests that Vanessa has the potential of
being a major international star of the future. With
the support of her wonderful family, including her
father/manager, Nigel Quai, as well as her frequent
musical collaboration with her talented Melanesian
fellow artist, Edou, (our Feature Artist in our
March 2006 edition of this Pacific Island Music
Newsletter), Vanessa Quai, the talented young
lady from Vanuatu, definitely has a very bright
and assured musical future.
I am very pleased to be able to say that our
Pacific Islands Radio is reaching out to a vast
worldwide audience and has generated great
interest, along with a great many requests
from those wonderful people who would like
to purchase our beautiful Pacific Island music.
In addition, there has been many most
welcome e-mails from talented artists from
the Pacific Islands (and worldwide), who
would greatly appreciate the opportunity of
having their music featured on Pacific Islands
Radio. Let me humbly say that this is, indeed,
a great honour coming from such gifted artists.
I have included one such beautiful letter,
below, from an artist who certainly deserves
our assistance and support.
Once again, may I ask you, our valued members,
to assist in whatever way we can to help promote
another of our talented artists. Thank you.
"Jane,
I have been listening to your radio station on-line
from Japan. I am a New Zealander (Maori) but
Tokyo-based musician...I play with all Japanese
musicians and we play regularly around Japan.
We have just finished a 16 date tour of New
Zealand and our 2nd album 'Papatu Road' will
be available in stores in Japan from May 10th.
The album has received critical acclaim from
reviewers back in New Zealand. I belong to a
small independent record label in Japan
called 'Suzuki Records'. They do my promotion
inside Japan, but nothing outside and, because
I am so desperate to reach the wider community,
I am researching avenues myself.
I actually had an interview on ABC Radio
Australia last month with Heather Javis on
'In the Loop'
www.myspace.com/benkempmusic
I have been exploring Polynesian and Asian
influences through music for several years
now. Here is some information on me:
www.benkemp.co.nz
http://www.thread.co.nz/article/1838
http://www.amplifier.co.nz/artist/13972/ben_kemp.html
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0601/S00109.htm
I would greatly appreciate any support you can
offer. Should you require any further information
i.e previous radio interviews, or MP3's or an album,
please don't hesitate to contact me directly.
E noho ra, Ben"
Finally, I would very much like to thank you,
our valued members, along with our worldwide
listeners, for the incredible and much
appreciated increase in the number of listening
hours and presets on all our four Pacific Islands
Radio Stations. In particular, the support for
our new Pacific Islands Radio Station - Radio
Melanesia - has been just great and, once
again, very much appreciated!
Keep on listening everybody and enjoy the
music! Thank you so very much!
By the way, I should mention also that our
Playlists now include the beautiful tracks
from Edou's latest exciting album, along with
some haunting, beautiful and melodious tracks
from Laisa Vulakoro, our Feature Artist this
month! Enjoy!
(See below under: Feature Artist).
* * * * * * * * * *
NOTICE BOARD
MELANESIAN MUSIC -
"RADIO MELANESIA"
Pacific Islands Radio is very pleased
to be able to advise that Pacific
Islands Radio 28K has now been converted
to "RADIO MELANESIA" - to progressively
highlight the vibrant and exciting music
of Melanesia, along with a selection of
music from Polynesia and Micronesia.
RADIO MELANESIA
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeres
OCEANIA MESSAGE FORUMS
I am very pleased to be able to say that,
in addition to our main Oceania Guest Book,
additional Forums have been introduced to
all Web sites of the main islands and islets
of the Pacific, as well as personalities,
along with our Pacific Islands Radio Web sites:
http://pub47.bravenet.com/forum/4004922603
As you are no doubt aware, these Forums
have been most beneficial in bringing together
many people with an interest in and a love of
the beautiful and enchanting music of the
Pacific Islands. You are cordially invited to
share your valuable and important thoughts
and opinions with us all.
Recent additions also include the Web
sites for Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Republic
of Nauru, Republic of the Marshall Islands,
Tonga, Tokelau, Easter Island, New
Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Papua New
Guinea, Cook Islands and Pitcairn Island,
Niue, as well as our Oceania Postcards
and Picture Galleries - and many more!
Thank you.
PACIFIC ISLANDS RADIO
I would like to mention, in response
to some of the e-mails and messages that I
have received, from those wonderful people
who would like to listen to our beautiful
Pacific Island music, but unfortunately,
are unable to actually listen to the music.
Basically, it is quite easy to access and
enjoy Pacific Islands Radio (our four
Pacific Islands Radio Stations). Once
you have accessed the page, it is most
necessary to firstly log on, in order to
be able to listen to the music. The process
of being able to log on can be achieved
by providing your username and password
before clicking on the yellow 'Play'
button provided on the centre of the page.
Good Luck and Enjoy!
In addition, the many listeners who would
like to purchase the music played on our
four Pacific Islands Radio Stations, in CD
format, can obtain details of recommended
suppliers by clicking on Artists' Profiles
on Pacific Islands Radio Home Page:
www.pacificislandsradio.com
Pacific Islands Radio continues to offer a
range of broadcasting formats in order to
allow a wide range of listeners to enjoy
our beautiful island music.
STATIONS
Our four Pacific Islands Radio Stations
play the enchanting music of the Pacific
Islands 24 hours daily.
www.pacificislandsradio.com
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
http://www.janeresture.com/radio/index.htm
Pacific Music Radio (mp3PRO)
http://www.live365.com/stations/drjaneresture
Pacific Islands Radio
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeresture
Radio Melanesia
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeres
Micronesia Music Radio
http://www.live365.com/stations/jane_resture
FEATURE ARTISTS
LAISA VULAKORO
Laisa Vulakoro, the Vude Queen, is one
of the most popular singers of all time in Fiji.
Vude, pronounced `vu-n-day' is the music
beat that is unique to Fiji - a combination of
Disco, Rock, Country and Island Style. The
beat derives from the traditional `Meke' or
dance sound.
Laisa has been singing for almost 20 years and,
with 16 published albums to her name has written
and arranged most of her songs. Born on the
remote island of Yacata in Fiji with a population
of only 150, no running water or electricity, she is
the youngest girl of a family of 8 girls and 6 boys.
Her late father, Delai, was a choir-master and lay
preacher of their church. Everyone in the family
sang in the church. Her late father, and a few of
her brothers, are also song-writers. Her band in
Fiji includes mainly family members.
Laisa is currently a Director of the Fiji Performing
Rights Association, which is a non-profit
organization that protects the rights of composers
in Fiji. She has toured most of the Pacific Islands,
including Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New
Caledonia, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands,
Hawaii and the Solomon Islands. She has also
toured North America, Australia, New Zealand
and London. She has performed in most of the
top Resorts in Fiji and for many years was the
resident singer at the Regent of Fiji and the
Sheraton Fiji Resort.
Laisa is a Charity Worker who has donated her
time and talent towards helping underprivileged
women and children and is a `Champion' of
promoting young talent, especially with the Blind
School, Hilton Special School and various
orphanages around Fiji.
In recognition of her tireless contribution to
charity, she was awarded a Fiji Independence
Medal in 1996, given only to outstanding Fiji
Citizens and, in 2003, the French Government
awarded her the title of Chevallier of Fine Art
and Literature.
Laisa was named by a well-known columnist
in Fiji as "Fiji's Living National Treasure" in
recognition of her ability to bring people from
all races and diverse backgrounds together
through her music.
Her versatility and talent enables her to
sing many styles of music and her stage
presence makes her the complete entertainer.
* * * * * * * * * *
For further information please check out the
following four Domains:
www.janeresture.com
www.janesoceania.com
www.ourpacificocean.com
www.pacificislandsradio.com
That's all for now and thank you. Have a great day!
listeners of our four Internet Pacific Islands
Radio Stations.
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
The Blog will focus on issues relating to
Pacific Island music. It will also embrace
some of the exciting changes taking place
in the Internet Radio Revolution,as well as
updated information on our Pacific
Island Artists, Programming and Playlists.
NEWS AND VIEWS
In the last few blogs, it has been my great
pleasure to be able to present an outline of
the traditional and contemporary music of
Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. This
was followed by a similar general overview
of Pacific Island music in the context of
the origins, mythology and external
influences on the music and people of the
Pacific Islands.
In this edition, I would like to share with
you some thoughts on Pacific Island music and
its relevance in the global context of popular
music. Certainly, as a musical genre, Pacific
Island music is distinctive, exciting and
enthralling - it displays a depth of understanding
of human experiences that can touch the very
heart and soul of the listener. Despite all this,
Pacific Island music has not yet achieved the
support, and the success it fully deserves on
the international music scene. Certainly, many
of our excellent artists have achieved superstar
status in their own countries and in the Pacific
region, although, as yet, have not been able to
translate this success onto a global environment.
Indeed, the necessary ingredients for
international success are all present - in the
form of world quality recording studios, top
class musicians, and singers with amazing talents,
along with a loyal and appreciative local support
base. One would perhaps have to ask what needs
to be done in order for these talented people to
achieve international acclaim (as per one of
the beautiful letters below that I have recently
received from Japan by a talented artist from
New Zealand).
The late great Hawaiian musician, Israel
Kamakawiwo Ole' (Bruddah Iz), was one of
those who made the statement that, as island
people, we live in both worlds - the traditional
world of our island people, and the western
world that we are, of necessity, part of. In
this respect, being able to reconcile the often
conflicting demands of our traditional lifestyle,
and western lifestyle, is something that is very
apparent in island life, and thus is a very
important factor in the longer term wider
success of Pacific Island music.
In some cases, it is perhaps a sad reality that,
some of our talented artists, are unable to
reconcile our traditional values with western
values, which can easily swamp those of our
traditional society. Yet, one would have to
suspect that ultimate success as a musical
artist depends on a successful fusion of our
traditional music with the musical expectations
of a global audience.
Out of all our musical groups, we are very
proud to be able to say that Te Vaka has
successfully been able to achieve international
acclaim and recognition and, in many respects,
can be considered a role model for any group
wishing to achieve and enjoy international
success. A performance by Te Vaka is exciting
and completely enthralling - a visual and musical
experience that always stays in the mind of the
audience. Te Vaka, as an accomplished group
of musicians and performers, has been able
to combine exciting dance and vibrant music as
they tell the stories of the mythology and the
many trials and tribulations of our Pacific Island
people.
With most of Te Vaka's songs being presented
in their native language, western audiences, in
the main, do not understand the lyrics, however,
the message is always clear. With a strong and
resonant musical beat, combined with exciting
dance and theatre, the audience is left in no doubt
as to the underlying message of the performance.
As a solo artist, teenage artist, Vanessa Quai, from
the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, is certainly making
a big impression on the musical scene, both in the
Pacific region, as well as internationally. Indeed
Vanessa's achievement in winning the first prize in
the RTV Golden Stag International Music Festival
in Brasov, Romania, on the 23rd September 2005,
strongly suggests that Vanessa has the potential of
being a major international star of the future. With
the support of her wonderful family, including her
father/manager, Nigel Quai, as well as her frequent
musical collaboration with her talented Melanesian
fellow artist, Edou, (our Feature Artist in our
March 2006 edition of this Pacific Island Music
Newsletter), Vanessa Quai, the talented young
lady from Vanuatu, definitely has a very bright
and assured musical future.
I am very pleased to be able to say that our
Pacific Islands Radio is reaching out to a vast
worldwide audience and has generated great
interest, along with a great many requests
from those wonderful people who would like
to purchase our beautiful Pacific Island music.
In addition, there has been many most
welcome e-mails from talented artists from
the Pacific Islands (and worldwide), who
would greatly appreciate the opportunity of
having their music featured on Pacific Islands
Radio. Let me humbly say that this is, indeed,
a great honour coming from such gifted artists.
I have included one such beautiful letter,
below, from an artist who certainly deserves
our assistance and support.
Once again, may I ask you, our valued members,
to assist in whatever way we can to help promote
another of our talented artists. Thank you.
"Jane,
I have been listening to your radio station on-line
from Japan. I am a New Zealander (Maori) but
Tokyo-based musician...I play with all Japanese
musicians and we play regularly around Japan.
We have just finished a 16 date tour of New
Zealand and our 2nd album 'Papatu Road' will
be available in stores in Japan from May 10th.
The album has received critical acclaim from
reviewers back in New Zealand. I belong to a
small independent record label in Japan
called 'Suzuki Records'. They do my promotion
inside Japan, but nothing outside and, because
I am so desperate to reach the wider community,
I am researching avenues myself.
I actually had an interview on ABC Radio
Australia last month with Heather Javis on
'In the Loop'
www.myspace.com/benkempmusic
I have been exploring Polynesian and Asian
influences through music for several years
now. Here is some information on me:
www.benkemp.co.nz
http://www.thread.co.nz/article/1838
http://www.amplifier.co.nz/artist/13972/ben_kemp.html
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0601/S00109.htm
I would greatly appreciate any support you can
offer. Should you require any further information
i.e previous radio interviews, or MP3's or an album,
please don't hesitate to contact me directly.
E noho ra, Ben"
Finally, I would very much like to thank you,
our valued members, along with our worldwide
listeners, for the incredible and much
appreciated increase in the number of listening
hours and presets on all our four Pacific Islands
Radio Stations. In particular, the support for
our new Pacific Islands Radio Station - Radio
Melanesia - has been just great and, once
again, very much appreciated!
Keep on listening everybody and enjoy the
music! Thank you so very much!
By the way, I should mention also that our
Playlists now include the beautiful tracks
from Edou's latest exciting album, along with
some haunting, beautiful and melodious tracks
from Laisa Vulakoro, our Feature Artist this
month! Enjoy!
(See below under: Feature Artist).
* * * * * * * * * *
NOTICE BOARD
MELANESIAN MUSIC -
"RADIO MELANESIA"
Pacific Islands Radio is very pleased
to be able to advise that Pacific
Islands Radio 28K has now been converted
to "RADIO MELANESIA" - to progressively
highlight the vibrant and exciting music
of Melanesia, along with a selection of
music from Polynesia and Micronesia.
RADIO MELANESIA
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeres
OCEANIA MESSAGE FORUMS
I am very pleased to be able to say that,
in addition to our main Oceania Guest Book,
additional Forums have been introduced to
all Web sites of the main islands and islets
of the Pacific, as well as personalities,
along with our Pacific Islands Radio Web sites:
http://pub47.bravenet.com/forum/4004922603
As you are no doubt aware, these Forums
have been most beneficial in bringing together
many people with an interest in and a love of
the beautiful and enchanting music of the
Pacific Islands. You are cordially invited to
share your valuable and important thoughts
and opinions with us all.
Recent additions also include the Web
sites for Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Republic
of Nauru, Republic of the Marshall Islands,
Tonga, Tokelau, Easter Island, New
Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Papua New
Guinea, Cook Islands and Pitcairn Island,
Niue, as well as our Oceania Postcards
and Picture Galleries - and many more!
Thank you.
PACIFIC ISLANDS RADIO
I would like to mention, in response
to some of the e-mails and messages that I
have received, from those wonderful people
who would like to listen to our beautiful
Pacific Island music, but unfortunately,
are unable to actually listen to the music.
Basically, it is quite easy to access and
enjoy Pacific Islands Radio (our four
Pacific Islands Radio Stations). Once
you have accessed the page, it is most
necessary to firstly log on, in order to
be able to listen to the music. The process
of being able to log on can be achieved
by providing your username and password
before clicking on the yellow 'Play'
button provided on the centre of the page.
Good Luck and Enjoy!
In addition, the many listeners who would
like to purchase the music played on our
four Pacific Islands Radio Stations, in CD
format, can obtain details of recommended
suppliers by clicking on Artists' Profiles
on Pacific Islands Radio Home Page:
www.pacificislandsradio.com
Pacific Islands Radio continues to offer a
range of broadcasting formats in order to
allow a wide range of listeners to enjoy
our beautiful island music.
STATIONS
Our four Pacific Islands Radio Stations
play the enchanting music of the Pacific
Islands 24 hours daily.
www.pacificislandsradio.com
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
http://www.janeresture.com/radio/index.htm
Pacific Music Radio (mp3PRO)
http://www.live365.com/stations/drjaneresture
Pacific Islands Radio
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeresture
Radio Melanesia
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeres
Micronesia Music Radio
http://www.live365.com/stations/jane_resture
FEATURE ARTISTS
LAISA VULAKORO
Laisa Vulakoro, the Vude Queen, is one
of the most popular singers of all time in Fiji.
Vude, pronounced `vu-n-day' is the music
beat that is unique to Fiji - a combination of
Disco, Rock, Country and Island Style. The
beat derives from the traditional `Meke' or
dance sound.
Laisa has been singing for almost 20 years and,
with 16 published albums to her name has written
and arranged most of her songs. Born on the
remote island of Yacata in Fiji with a population
of only 150, no running water or electricity, she is
the youngest girl of a family of 8 girls and 6 boys.
Her late father, Delai, was a choir-master and lay
preacher of their church. Everyone in the family
sang in the church. Her late father, and a few of
her brothers, are also song-writers. Her band in
Fiji includes mainly family members.
Laisa is currently a Director of the Fiji Performing
Rights Association, which is a non-profit
organization that protects the rights of composers
in Fiji. She has toured most of the Pacific Islands,
including Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New
Caledonia, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands,
Hawaii and the Solomon Islands. She has also
toured North America, Australia, New Zealand
and London. She has performed in most of the
top Resorts in Fiji and for many years was the
resident singer at the Regent of Fiji and the
Sheraton Fiji Resort.
Laisa is a Charity Worker who has donated her
time and talent towards helping underprivileged
women and children and is a `Champion' of
promoting young talent, especially with the Blind
School, Hilton Special School and various
orphanages around Fiji.
In recognition of her tireless contribution to
charity, she was awarded a Fiji Independence
Medal in 1996, given only to outstanding Fiji
Citizens and, in 2003, the French Government
awarded her the title of Chevallier of Fine Art
and Literature.
Laisa was named by a well-known columnist
in Fiji as "Fiji's Living National Treasure" in
recognition of her ability to bring people from
all races and diverse backgrounds together
through her music.
Her versatility and talent enables her to
sing many styles of music and her stage
presence makes her the complete entertainer.
* * * * * * * * * *
For further information please check out the
following four Domains:
www.janeresture.com
www.janesoceania.com
www.ourpacificocean.com
www.pacificislandsradio.com
That's all for now and thank you. Have a great day!
Aboriginal And Melanesian Music
This Blog is a listening guide to the many
listeners of our four Internet Pacific Islands
Radio Stations:
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
The Blog will focus on issues relating to
Pacific Island music. It will also embrace
some of the exciting changes taking place in
the Internet Radio Revolution, as well as
updated information on our Pacific
Island Artists, Programming and Playlists.
NEWS AND VIEWS
In this edition of our Pacific Islands Radio
Newsletter (Island Music), it is my great
pleasure to be able to focus on some aspects
of the traditional music of Melanesia and to
introduce some exciting Melanesian artists
who have now been incorporated into our
Playlists. In subsequent editions, it is my
intention to focus on aspects of Polynesian
music and musicians, followed by music
and musicians from Micronesia.
In this respect, I would like to share with
you some thoughts on the music of the
Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait
Islanders. Their music is very much part
of the social fabric of their life, their
history and their culture.It has a haunting
and mysterious quality that draws the listener
into the history, culture and the ancient
dreamtime of the Aboriginal people.
Among the earliest inhabitants of the
Oceania region, it is generally accepted
that the indigenous Australians - the
Aboriginal people - entered Australia
from the Indo-Malaysian mainland via
New Guinea, taking advantage of the
land bridges which stretched most of
the way through Asia. These land bridges
were exposed during the ice ages, the
Pleistocene epoch, when water levels
dropped hundreds of metres. New
Guinea and Cape York Peninsula were
once joined by the Sahul Shelf.
The oldest settlement so far recorded
in Australia is radiocarbon-dated to
about 50,000 years ago. This settlement
around Lake Mungo is where humans
camped around inland lake shores and
dined on fish, shellfish, emu eggs, small
marsupials and - almost certainly - a range
of wild seeds, roots and fruits. The first
human remains found at Lake Mungo are
all homo sapiens - the modern human type
to which present-day black and white
Australians all belong. More than this, the
remains are among the oldest of this type
in the world.
The first archaeological discovery at Mungo,
in 1969, was a skeleton of a female who
had been cremated and placed in a small pit.
This cremation is dated to about 24,000 B.C.
Other burials in the Mungo region are of bodies
laid out flat and not burned, but all have some
kind of goods with them in the grave. These
goods include stone tools, shells and animal
seeds. At this time, we do not know the beliefs
of the mourners who made these offerings,
however, their presence most probably recorded
a complex set of beliefs about the spiritual
world. It seems likely that aspects of the
"Dreaming", the all-encompassing historical and
cosmological structure that is a cornerstone of
modern aboriginal life, were already present all
those years ago.
Although there were variations in the customs
and skills of the hundreds of different
Aboriginal tribes across the vast continent
of Australia, they all lived in equally close
community with their environment. The Dreamtime,
the Aborigine's spiritual guide, encouraged their
intimate involvement with the landscape, whether
their home was on the lush coastal plains or in
the harsh interior. They knew what to eat, how
to prepare it, where and when to find it and,
most important, how to protect their resources
for the future. What the elders knew about
survival, they passed on by example, legend
and ritual. Along with this, there were songs
for every occasion - hunting songs, funeral
songs, gossip songs and songs of ancestors,
landscapes, animals, seasons, myths and
Dreamtime legends.
TRADITIONAL ABORIGINAL MUSIC
Indigenous Australian music, in this context,
is taken to include the music of the Australian
Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, who
are collectively referred to as indigenous
Australians. Music has formed an integral
part of the social, cultural and ceremonial
observances of Australian Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples, down through
the millennia of their individual and
collective histories to the present day.
Aboriginal people throughout most of Australia
believe that in the beginning of time, in the
Dreaming, there were no visible landmarks; the
world was flat. As time progressed, creatures
emerged from the ground and had the power to
change at will from their animal to their human
form.
The kangaroo ancestor may now be described, in
songs particularly, as the kangaroo; the form of his
life essence is a matter of little consequence. These
original ancestral beings created all the features of
the landscape in the area in which their lives were
spent, and also populated the entire region concerned.
By their actions, they laid down the rules of conduct
for all their offspring.
Throughout their lives on earth, they left inseminating
powers in the soil; they also created, and taught to
others, many songs including those recounting the
history of their own lives, songs for healing the
wounded and the sick, injuring the enemy, including
rain, arresting the flood, or causing the wind to turn
back.
The inseminating powers left by these ancestors
are doubly important to the present people:
firstly, because the propagation of their group
is dependent on this power to create human
offspring in the likeliness of the human elements
of the ancestor; secondly, because the food
source of the group is dependent on this power
of each ancestor to ensure the plentiful supply
of recreated forms of the animal or plant element
of the ancestor's being.
These powers become most accessible to the
present inhabitants of the area on those
occasions when the spirit of a particular
ancestor is drawn towards his own identification
marks of the song, acts and designs which he
originally created and which have been
meticulously preserved ever since.
SONGS OF THE DREAMTIME
A song is sung as a series comprising
many short verses, each of which tells
about a particular event or place associated
with the ancestor; or the performance may be
a full ceremonial one which includes portrayal
of relevant events in the performance of
dances accompanied by the singing of the
appropriate verses.
The song associated with any one totemic "line"
will have the one melodic form throughout. This
means, in the case of very long "lines" of songs,
where the ancestor is reputed to have crossed
thousands of miles of territory, that the
characteristic melodic form will be found in
areas with different languages and musical
techniques.
Because of the latter differences, an outside
observer may well fail to recognise extreme
sections of the one song-line as conforming
to the same musical pattern, but that they
do conform has been repeatedly stressed by
performers and shown by a number of detailed
analyses. The concept differs from our
experience of melodic sameness; it consists
of repetitions of sections of melody for a
set proportion of the time the total verse
takes to perform.
Because this technique allows flexibility in
those areas of musical expression which tend
to change from one tribe to another, the basic
information can be kept intact even though
the total history may be retained, section by
section, in many different tribal areas.
This means that, even when a visitor from afar
is unable to understand the language that the
locals are using in a song, he can determine,
from the musical structure, to which totemic
line the song belongs.
And, because his own totemic song has been
very strong conditioning agent in the total
processes of his education to adult status in
the community, the recognition of his own song
in another area will have very deep significance.
These history songs link the time long past with
the present; the singer is part of a continuum;
he is reliving events of another era, and is yet
part of them.
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
The Australian Aboriginal people developed a
number of rare, unique and interesting musical
instruments. These include the didgeridoo, the
bullroarer, and the gum-leaf. Most well known
is the didgeridoo, a simple wooden tube blown
with the lips like a trumpet, which gains its
sonic flexibility from controllable resonances
of the player's vocal tract. The bull-roarer
is a simple wooden slat whirled in a circle on
the end of a cord so that it rotates about its
axis and produces a pulsating low-pitched roar.
The gum-leaf, as the name suggests, is a tree
leaf, held against the lips and blown so as to
act as a vibrating valve with "blown-open"
configuration. Originally intended to imitate
bird-calls, the gum-leaf can also be used as
a musical instrument.
The didgeridoo originated in Arnhem Land on
the northern coastline of central Australia,
and has some similarity to bamboo trumpets and
even bronze horns developed in other cultures,
though it pre-dates most of these by many
millennia. The characteristic feature is that
the didgeridoo, which is a slightly flaring
wooden tube about 1.5 metres in length, is
simply hollowed out by natural termites
("white ants") from the trunk of one of the
small trees of the region. After cutting down,
the instrument is cleaned out with a stick,
the outside refined by scraping and then
painted with traditional designs, and the
blowing end smoothed by adding a rim of
beeswax.
The predominant sound of the didgeridoo is a
low-pitched drone with frequency around 70Hz,
but depending significantly upon the length of the
instrument and the flare of its bore. In traditional
use, the didgeridoo, with clap-sticks for emphasis,
accompanies songs or illustrates traditional stories
about ancestors and animals Recently, however,
its use has spread into the popular music domain
and has had world-wide influence.
The bullroarer consists of a simple wooden slat,
30 to 40cm in length and 5 to 7cm wide that is
whirled around in a circle on the end of a length
of cord. The slat rotates under the influence of
aerodynamic forces and generates a pulsating
sound with a frequency typically around 80Hz.
This sound is an important feature of Aboriginal
initiation ceremonies. The instrument itself is
by no means unique to Australia, as similar
instruments have been used by populations as
diverse as those of ancient Egypt and Northern
Canada.
The gumleaf is altogether more primitive as a
musical instrument, since it consists simply
of a leaf from one of the various species of
Eucalypt trees growing throughout Australia,
which held against the lips using the fingers
of both hands. It does, however, have a long
tradition and culture. Although it takes a good
deal of trial and error for a beginner to even
produce a sound from a gumleaf, a skilled
player can control the pitch with good accuracy
over a range of more than an octave and play
simple tunes with ease.
As in most cultures, the Aborigines also used
percussive instruments in their ceremonies.
Often these were simply two boomerangs
clashed together, but they also made special
shaped sticks for this purpose. Because the
wood used is a fine-grained hardwood, the
clapsticks are physically long-lasting and
produce a sharp and well defined sound.
In their usual form, these sticks are about
200mm in length and 20mm in diameter and
are shaped to a long point at each end. One
stick is held in each hand and they are struck
together at about the mid-point of each. The
pointed ends ensure that the fundamental
transverse vibration has a high frequency,
so that the percussive effect stands out
well above the low-pitched drone of the
didgeridoo.
The musical instruments of the Australian
Aboriginal people have come into world
prominence because of the popularity of
the didgeridoo, both as a tourist item and
as a musical instrument. It is only recently
that we have begun to have an appreciation
of the acoustical subtleties associated with
performance on this and the other ancient
instruments of the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Island people.
By the way, I am very pleased to be able
to say that our Playlists now include
beautiful tracks from Yothu Yindi, Becim,
Wasi Ka Nanara, Ok! Ryos, along with
Elisa and Julie.
ADDITIONS TO THE PLAYLISTS
OK! RYOS
Originally from the Loyalty Province of
New Caledonia, Ok! Ryos are certainly
one of the most talented and the most prolific
bands in the country. Their songs, mainly
sung in "Nengone" language, are true jewels
of melodies and vocal harmonies. Traditional
without being folkloric, contemporary without
losing its soul, the musical cocktail of Ok!
Ryos charms our ears and our senses, bringing
us, for a moment, to the lagoons and atolls of
the South Pacific.
ELISA AND JULIE
The first album from the backup singers from
the group "Ok! Ryos." Elisa (25 years old)
and Julie (21 years old) momentarily left their
older brother (Édouard Wamejo) to record
this album. "Ciroi," meaning life, is sung in
French and in Nengone (the language of Maré,
the home island of the girls in New Caledonia).
All the pieces, except one written by their
brother, were written and composed by Julie
and Elisa.
"This is an album from and for girls that
talks about life, love, peace, and acts as
an encouraging message." However, boys also
are invited to listen to this album that
combines two young voices in magnificent
harmony!
WASI KA NANARA
The music of Wasi Ka Nanara is indigenous
to the Solomon Islands, especially on the
island of Malaita. One never sees women in
the group, for the music and dance is
exclusively the business of men. The musicians
make all their instruments themselves out of
bamboo. One particular instrument connects
many pan pipes together to form a kind of
collar which the players manipulate with a
turn of the neck.
The music of the group comes from the first
century of their era, a time of the Lapita
culture, enriched later with contacts with
Polynesia, the Aborigines of Austrailia and
other islands of Melanesia.
BECIM
From the South Pacific Island of New Caledonia,
Becim presents a collection of reggae and
pop-influenced island music. Mixed with Latin
percussion and beautiful vocal harmonies, Becim
gives an unexpected look at Pacific Island music.
FEATURE ARTISTS
YOTHU YINDI
Yothu Yindi have their origins in the Yolngu
homelands of the Aboriginal people Arnhem
Land, on the north-east coast of Australia's
Northern Territory. This is an area that the
Yolngu have occupied and protected since
their people first arrived on the vast Australian
continent perhaps 40,000 years or more ago.
The Yolngu members of the band celebrate
their deep spiritual connections with the land,
connections that are kept alive through song,
dance and ceremony. These are reflected in
the band's recordings and live performances
which are essentially a pleasing fusion of their
traditional music and dance with contemporary
western music.
The name of the band translates as "mother
and child", and is essentially a kinship term
used by the Yolngu people of the Northern
Territory's Arnhem Land. The group's central
figure Mandawuy Yunupingu and clansman
Witiyana Marika gathered other aboriginal
musicians and dancers to form Yothu Yindi,
a troupe initially created to perform at cultural
events both in Australia and internationally.
Yothu Yindi's first album, 'Homeland Movement'
comprised politicized rock on one side. The
other side of the album concentrated on
traditionally based songs like 'Djapana' (Sunset
Dreaming), written by former teacher Mandawuy
Yunupingu.Mandawuy's family has a long and
proud tradition in the struggle for aboriginal
land rights. Mandawuy Yunupingu was named 1992
Australian of The Year.
Yothu Yindi are a unique group that will always be
Yothu Yindi. No matter how you combine Yolgnu
culture in pop, rock or dance music what counts are
the lyrics and the unique access to 40,000 years of
Aboriginal history and tradition. This is what makes
the groups contribution to popular music culture
such a valuable one.
* * * * * * * * * *
For further information, please check out the
following four Domains:
http://www.janeresture.com/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/index.html
http://www.ourpacificocean.com/index.htm
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
Thank you everybody. I wish you all a great day!
listeners of our four Internet Pacific Islands
Radio Stations:
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
The Blog will focus on issues relating to
Pacific Island music. It will also embrace
some of the exciting changes taking place in
the Internet Radio Revolution, as well as
updated information on our Pacific
Island Artists, Programming and Playlists.
NEWS AND VIEWS
In this edition of our Pacific Islands Radio
Newsletter (Island Music), it is my great
pleasure to be able to focus on some aspects
of the traditional music of Melanesia and to
introduce some exciting Melanesian artists
who have now been incorporated into our
Playlists. In subsequent editions, it is my
intention to focus on aspects of Polynesian
music and musicians, followed by music
and musicians from Micronesia.
In this respect, I would like to share with
you some thoughts on the music of the
Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait
Islanders. Their music is very much part
of the social fabric of their life, their
history and their culture.It has a haunting
and mysterious quality that draws the listener
into the history, culture and the ancient
dreamtime of the Aboriginal people.
Among the earliest inhabitants of the
Oceania region, it is generally accepted
that the indigenous Australians - the
Aboriginal people - entered Australia
from the Indo-Malaysian mainland via
New Guinea, taking advantage of the
land bridges which stretched most of
the way through Asia. These land bridges
were exposed during the ice ages, the
Pleistocene epoch, when water levels
dropped hundreds of metres. New
Guinea and Cape York Peninsula were
once joined by the Sahul Shelf.
The oldest settlement so far recorded
in Australia is radiocarbon-dated to
about 50,000 years ago. This settlement
around Lake Mungo is where humans
camped around inland lake shores and
dined on fish, shellfish, emu eggs, small
marsupials and - almost certainly - a range
of wild seeds, roots and fruits. The first
human remains found at Lake Mungo are
all homo sapiens - the modern human type
to which present-day black and white
Australians all belong. More than this, the
remains are among the oldest of this type
in the world.
The first archaeological discovery at Mungo,
in 1969, was a skeleton of a female who
had been cremated and placed in a small pit.
This cremation is dated to about 24,000 B.C.
Other burials in the Mungo region are of bodies
laid out flat and not burned, but all have some
kind of goods with them in the grave. These
goods include stone tools, shells and animal
seeds. At this time, we do not know the beliefs
of the mourners who made these offerings,
however, their presence most probably recorded
a complex set of beliefs about the spiritual
world. It seems likely that aspects of the
"Dreaming", the all-encompassing historical and
cosmological structure that is a cornerstone of
modern aboriginal life, were already present all
those years ago.
Although there were variations in the customs
and skills of the hundreds of different
Aboriginal tribes across the vast continent
of Australia, they all lived in equally close
community with their environment. The Dreamtime,
the Aborigine's spiritual guide, encouraged their
intimate involvement with the landscape, whether
their home was on the lush coastal plains or in
the harsh interior. They knew what to eat, how
to prepare it, where and when to find it and,
most important, how to protect their resources
for the future. What the elders knew about
survival, they passed on by example, legend
and ritual. Along with this, there were songs
for every occasion - hunting songs, funeral
songs, gossip songs and songs of ancestors,
landscapes, animals, seasons, myths and
Dreamtime legends.
TRADITIONAL ABORIGINAL MUSIC
Indigenous Australian music, in this context,
is taken to include the music of the Australian
Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, who
are collectively referred to as indigenous
Australians. Music has formed an integral
part of the social, cultural and ceremonial
observances of Australian Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples, down through
the millennia of their individual and
collective histories to the present day.
Aboriginal people throughout most of Australia
believe that in the beginning of time, in the
Dreaming, there were no visible landmarks; the
world was flat. As time progressed, creatures
emerged from the ground and had the power to
change at will from their animal to their human
form.
The kangaroo ancestor may now be described, in
songs particularly, as the kangaroo; the form of his
life essence is a matter of little consequence. These
original ancestral beings created all the features of
the landscape in the area in which their lives were
spent, and also populated the entire region concerned.
By their actions, they laid down the rules of conduct
for all their offspring.
Throughout their lives on earth, they left inseminating
powers in the soil; they also created, and taught to
others, many songs including those recounting the
history of their own lives, songs for healing the
wounded and the sick, injuring the enemy, including
rain, arresting the flood, or causing the wind to turn
back.
The inseminating powers left by these ancestors
are doubly important to the present people:
firstly, because the propagation of their group
is dependent on this power to create human
offspring in the likeliness of the human elements
of the ancestor; secondly, because the food
source of the group is dependent on this power
of each ancestor to ensure the plentiful supply
of recreated forms of the animal or plant element
of the ancestor's being.
These powers become most accessible to the
present inhabitants of the area on those
occasions when the spirit of a particular
ancestor is drawn towards his own identification
marks of the song, acts and designs which he
originally created and which have been
meticulously preserved ever since.
SONGS OF THE DREAMTIME
A song is sung as a series comprising
many short verses, each of which tells
about a particular event or place associated
with the ancestor; or the performance may be
a full ceremonial one which includes portrayal
of relevant events in the performance of
dances accompanied by the singing of the
appropriate verses.
The song associated with any one totemic "line"
will have the one melodic form throughout. This
means, in the case of very long "lines" of songs,
where the ancestor is reputed to have crossed
thousands of miles of territory, that the
characteristic melodic form will be found in
areas with different languages and musical
techniques.
Because of the latter differences, an outside
observer may well fail to recognise extreme
sections of the one song-line as conforming
to the same musical pattern, but that they
do conform has been repeatedly stressed by
performers and shown by a number of detailed
analyses. The concept differs from our
experience of melodic sameness; it consists
of repetitions of sections of melody for a
set proportion of the time the total verse
takes to perform.
Because this technique allows flexibility in
those areas of musical expression which tend
to change from one tribe to another, the basic
information can be kept intact even though
the total history may be retained, section by
section, in many different tribal areas.
This means that, even when a visitor from afar
is unable to understand the language that the
locals are using in a song, he can determine,
from the musical structure, to which totemic
line the song belongs.
And, because his own totemic song has been
very strong conditioning agent in the total
processes of his education to adult status in
the community, the recognition of his own song
in another area will have very deep significance.
These history songs link the time long past with
the present; the singer is part of a continuum;
he is reliving events of another era, and is yet
part of them.
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
The Australian Aboriginal people developed a
number of rare, unique and interesting musical
instruments. These include the didgeridoo, the
bullroarer, and the gum-leaf. Most well known
is the didgeridoo, a simple wooden tube blown
with the lips like a trumpet, which gains its
sonic flexibility from controllable resonances
of the player's vocal tract. The bull-roarer
is a simple wooden slat whirled in a circle on
the end of a cord so that it rotates about its
axis and produces a pulsating low-pitched roar.
The gum-leaf, as the name suggests, is a tree
leaf, held against the lips and blown so as to
act as a vibrating valve with "blown-open"
configuration. Originally intended to imitate
bird-calls, the gum-leaf can also be used as
a musical instrument.
The didgeridoo originated in Arnhem Land on
the northern coastline of central Australia,
and has some similarity to bamboo trumpets and
even bronze horns developed in other cultures,
though it pre-dates most of these by many
millennia. The characteristic feature is that
the didgeridoo, which is a slightly flaring
wooden tube about 1.5 metres in length, is
simply hollowed out by natural termites
("white ants") from the trunk of one of the
small trees of the region. After cutting down,
the instrument is cleaned out with a stick,
the outside refined by scraping and then
painted with traditional designs, and the
blowing end smoothed by adding a rim of
beeswax.
The predominant sound of the didgeridoo is a
low-pitched drone with frequency around 70Hz,
but depending significantly upon the length of the
instrument and the flare of its bore. In traditional
use, the didgeridoo, with clap-sticks for emphasis,
accompanies songs or illustrates traditional stories
about ancestors and animals Recently, however,
its use has spread into the popular music domain
and has had world-wide influence.
The bullroarer consists of a simple wooden slat,
30 to 40cm in length and 5 to 7cm wide that is
whirled around in a circle on the end of a length
of cord. The slat rotates under the influence of
aerodynamic forces and generates a pulsating
sound with a frequency typically around 80Hz.
This sound is an important feature of Aboriginal
initiation ceremonies. The instrument itself is
by no means unique to Australia, as similar
instruments have been used by populations as
diverse as those of ancient Egypt and Northern
Canada.
The gumleaf is altogether more primitive as a
musical instrument, since it consists simply
of a leaf from one of the various species of
Eucalypt trees growing throughout Australia,
which held against the lips using the fingers
of both hands. It does, however, have a long
tradition and culture. Although it takes a good
deal of trial and error for a beginner to even
produce a sound from a gumleaf, a skilled
player can control the pitch with good accuracy
over a range of more than an octave and play
simple tunes with ease.
As in most cultures, the Aborigines also used
percussive instruments in their ceremonies.
Often these were simply two boomerangs
clashed together, but they also made special
shaped sticks for this purpose. Because the
wood used is a fine-grained hardwood, the
clapsticks are physically long-lasting and
produce a sharp and well defined sound.
In their usual form, these sticks are about
200mm in length and 20mm in diameter and
are shaped to a long point at each end. One
stick is held in each hand and they are struck
together at about the mid-point of each. The
pointed ends ensure that the fundamental
transverse vibration has a high frequency,
so that the percussive effect stands out
well above the low-pitched drone of the
didgeridoo.
The musical instruments of the Australian
Aboriginal people have come into world
prominence because of the popularity of
the didgeridoo, both as a tourist item and
as a musical instrument. It is only recently
that we have begun to have an appreciation
of the acoustical subtleties associated with
performance on this and the other ancient
instruments of the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Island people.
By the way, I am very pleased to be able
to say that our Playlists now include
beautiful tracks from Yothu Yindi, Becim,
Wasi Ka Nanara, Ok! Ryos, along with
Elisa and Julie.
ADDITIONS TO THE PLAYLISTS
OK! RYOS
Originally from the Loyalty Province of
New Caledonia, Ok! Ryos are certainly
one of the most talented and the most prolific
bands in the country. Their songs, mainly
sung in "Nengone" language, are true jewels
of melodies and vocal harmonies. Traditional
without being folkloric, contemporary without
losing its soul, the musical cocktail of Ok!
Ryos charms our ears and our senses, bringing
us, for a moment, to the lagoons and atolls of
the South Pacific.
ELISA AND JULIE
The first album from the backup singers from
the group "Ok! Ryos." Elisa (25 years old)
and Julie (21 years old) momentarily left their
older brother (Édouard Wamejo) to record
this album. "Ciroi," meaning life, is sung in
French and in Nengone (the language of Maré,
the home island of the girls in New Caledonia).
All the pieces, except one written by their
brother, were written and composed by Julie
and Elisa.
"This is an album from and for girls that
talks about life, love, peace, and acts as
an encouraging message." However, boys also
are invited to listen to this album that
combines two young voices in magnificent
harmony!
WASI KA NANARA
The music of Wasi Ka Nanara is indigenous
to the Solomon Islands, especially on the
island of Malaita. One never sees women in
the group, for the music and dance is
exclusively the business of men. The musicians
make all their instruments themselves out of
bamboo. One particular instrument connects
many pan pipes together to form a kind of
collar which the players manipulate with a
turn of the neck.
The music of the group comes from the first
century of their era, a time of the Lapita
culture, enriched later with contacts with
Polynesia, the Aborigines of Austrailia and
other islands of Melanesia.
BECIM
From the South Pacific Island of New Caledonia,
Becim presents a collection of reggae and
pop-influenced island music. Mixed with Latin
percussion and beautiful vocal harmonies, Becim
gives an unexpected look at Pacific Island music.
FEATURE ARTISTS
YOTHU YINDI
Yothu Yindi have their origins in the Yolngu
homelands of the Aboriginal people Arnhem
Land, on the north-east coast of Australia's
Northern Territory. This is an area that the
Yolngu have occupied and protected since
their people first arrived on the vast Australian
continent perhaps 40,000 years or more ago.
The Yolngu members of the band celebrate
their deep spiritual connections with the land,
connections that are kept alive through song,
dance and ceremony. These are reflected in
the band's recordings and live performances
which are essentially a pleasing fusion of their
traditional music and dance with contemporary
western music.
The name of the band translates as "mother
and child", and is essentially a kinship term
used by the Yolngu people of the Northern
Territory's Arnhem Land. The group's central
figure Mandawuy Yunupingu and clansman
Witiyana Marika gathered other aboriginal
musicians and dancers to form Yothu Yindi,
a troupe initially created to perform at cultural
events both in Australia and internationally.
Yothu Yindi's first album, 'Homeland Movement'
comprised politicized rock on one side. The
other side of the album concentrated on
traditionally based songs like 'Djapana' (Sunset
Dreaming), written by former teacher Mandawuy
Yunupingu.Mandawuy's family has a long and
proud tradition in the struggle for aboriginal
land rights. Mandawuy Yunupingu was named 1992
Australian of The Year.
Yothu Yindi are a unique group that will always be
Yothu Yindi. No matter how you combine Yolgnu
culture in pop, rock or dance music what counts are
the lyrics and the unique access to 40,000 years of
Aboriginal history and tradition. This is what makes
the groups contribution to popular music culture
such a valuable one.
* * * * * * * * * *
For further information, please check out the
following four Domains:
http://www.janeresture.com/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/index.html
http://www.ourpacificocean.com/index.htm
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
Thank you everybody. I wish you all a great day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)