While the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean encompasses more than 25,000 islands (not to mention the island continent of Australia), the cultures and musics of the region are surprisingly coherent and maintain deep connections across vast distances.
There are three main island groups in the Pacific: Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Melanesia includes some of the Pacific's larger islands, including New Guinea, Fiji and Vanuatu. Micronesia contains some of the smallest islands: Wake Island, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, etc. While the Polynesian islands range from Hawaii in the North to New Zealand in the South, and Easter Island in the far East, off the Western coast of South America. These groupings are more cultural than geographic and correspond to the different waves of migration that first populated the region. Because of the cultural similarities of these far-flung groupings, the indigenous music of the Pacific can be divided into three categories as well.
Polynesian music is the most well known by far. It includes everything from the Hawaiian hula and steel-guitar traditions to joyful, polyphonic choral music of Tahiti. Though traditional instruments such as slit-gongs and nose-flutes can be found throughout the region, the voice has long been the most important instrument among Polynesian peoples. Whether singing Christian hymns imported by missionaries or traditional songs such as the lakalaka of Tonga that date back generations, their choral music is unsurpassed. Also important in Polynesian musical culture is dance, both to accompany "action songs" such as the hula and the 'aparima of Tahiti, or in the signature seated-dance styles such as Western Samoa's ma'ulu'ulu. Polynesia also offers the unique music of New Zealand's Maori people, whose legendary hakka dance can still send shivers down an onlooker's spine.
Melanesian music is less famous than Polynesian music but it's no less diverse. It includes the myriad of tribal styles found in New Guinea, the Polynesian-influenced music of Fiji, and even the unique music of the Australian aborigines, who are culturally related to the Melanesian peoples. The instrumentation varies from the Australian didgeridoo to the musical bows and bullroarers of New Guinea. But the common characteristics that bind these diverse traditions together are the reliance on ritual, dream states and even spirit possession. While sung polyphonies and group vocal music plays an important role in Micronesian music-especially the singsings of Papua New Guinea-it rarely achieves the same heights as Polynesian choral music.
Micronesian music is even more dependent on vocals, with a much more limited range of instruments. One of the main forms of musical expression is the stick dance, which varies across islands but generally tells the stories of the peoples: genealogies, histories and migrations. Polyphonic singing is also prominent in Micronesia, as are speech-singing and Christian hymns.
Europeans brought more than just Christian music, to the region, though. And the biggest impact were the many stringed instruments-from guitars to ukuleles-that Westerners left in their wake. Throughout the entire region "stringbands"-groups of guitar, ukulele or steel-guitar players-still remain intensely popular, especially in Hawaii and New Guinea. Of course, the biggest European impact on the Pacific took place in Australia and New Zealand, two former British colonies with well-developed Western pop, folk and even country styles all their own. -Tom Pryor
