Music has played an
important part of Marshallese culture for centuries. Each island had its own set
of songs, but one type of music that generally bound them all was a type of
chant called roro. These chants were essentially sung to provide guidance and
were sung for a variety of situations such as navigation and when a mother was
going through labor. The lyrics varied by island, but the style was the more or
less the same.
Although drums and
other percussion instruments may not be as common on other Micronesian islands,
drumming is an important part of Marshallese music. One type of drum that is
especially used is an hourglass-shaped drum with a head only on one side. They
also utilized different kinds of flutes and conch shells as well, not to
mention simple clapping and knee/body slapping. Ukulele music is especially popular in the islands. Music of the Marshall Islands
is very much vocal-based, like other Micronesian, Melanesian, and Polynesian
traditions. As Europeans visited the islands, they introduced certain
instruments like guitars as well as European musical forms and religious music.
The Marshallese
also love dancing. One dance called the beet has its basis in early Spanish
dances. In the beet dance, men and women stand in parallel lines and do a
side-step, which creates a difficult, complex rhythm to the dance steps. The
Jobwa perform a type of stick dance that is only performed for special
occasions.
Bands today often
utilize these ancient roro chants and other indigenous musical styles; they merged
them with more modern instruments and traditions. There weren’t many bands I
came across, but I did find a few on YouTube. One I came across is called Iroij
Lablab Amata.Kabua. Their sound from the one song I heard is upbeat with a
definite “island” sound to it. A few others I found in this quasi-reggae,
quasi-pop, quasi-traditional category include Kili Excess, Alson Morris,
Shirleyann Loeak, and Lamaran.
Another band I came
across is called Lastevo. The one song I came across was kind of an electropop
style song. I kind of liked it. They also listen to other popular bands that hail from other nearby Pacific Island countries.
Up next: the food
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