The music of

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

has been less affected by

Western culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

than most other Pacific island cultures since Europeans did not arrive in Kiribati until 1892. The

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

of Kiribati is "

Kunan Kiribati "" ( en, "Song of Kiribati"), also known by its incipit, "" (; ), is the national anthem of Kiribati. It was by written and composed by Ioteba Tamuera Uriam and adopted upon independence on 12 July 1979. Its lyrics were confirmed as per Schedule ...

" (''Song of Kiribati''), by I.T. Uriam; it was adopted upon independence in 1979. Kiribati folk music is generally based on

chanting A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of n ...

or other forms of vocalizing, accompanied by

body percussion Body percussion may be performed on its own or as an accompaniment to music and/or dance. Examples of countries' folk traditions that incorporate body percussion include Indonesian saman, Ethiopian armpit music, palmas in flamenco, and the hambone ...

. Public performances in modern Kiribati are generally performed by a seated chorus, accompanied by a guitar. However, during formal performances of the standing dance (''Te Kaimatoa'') or the hip dance (''Te Buki'') a wooden box is used as a percussion instrument. This box is constructed so as to give a hollow and reverberating tone when struck simultaneously by a chorus of men sitting around it. Traditional songs are often love-themed, but there are also competitive, religious, children's, patriotic, war and wedding songs. There are also stick dances (which accompany legends and semi-historical stories. These stick dances or 'tirere' (pronounced seerere) are only performed during major festivals. In 1963

Gerd Koch Gerd Koch (11 July 1922 – 19 April 2005) was a German cultural anthropologist best known for his studies on the material culture of Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Santa Cruz Islands in the Pacific. He was associated with the Ethnological Museum of ...

filmed on Tabiteuea traditional dances and songs of the ''ruoia'' series: the ''kawawa'', the introductory song and dance; the ''kamei'' with a dance leader, the ''wan tarawa'' and the ''kabuakaka''; and a ''bino'' song and dance complete with accompanying arm movements. Koch also filmed traditions songs and dances on

Onotoa Onotoa is an atoll of Kiribati. It is situated in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean, from Tamana, the smallest island in the Gilberts. The population of Onotoa in the 2015 census was 1,393. The atoll is similar to many other atolls in ...

and

Nonouti Nonouti is an atoll and district of Kiribati. The atoll is located in the Southern Gilbert Islands, 38 km north of Tabiteuea, and 250 km south of Tarawa. The atoll is the third largest in the Gilbert Islands and is the island where ...

. Bata Teinamati has been described as one of Kiribati's most notable musicians."Country profile: Kiribati"
''The Guardian'', April 22, 2009

Folk song composition

Its traditional music is composed by people known as '' te kainikamaen''. These composers are said to receive their songs from myth or magic, an ability that is said to pass from father to son. After composition, a group called '' rurubene'' sings the song to the composer, after which it is made public and is sung by anyone; at this point, the song is considered blessed (''mamiraki''). Composers also write songs on demand, telling a story told to him by an individual. The composer will then sing it and teach it to the ''rurubene'', making any needed changes. Composers also occasionally create songs of their own accord. Nowadays, not all music in Kiribati is composed by people known as te kainikamaen because of civilization and because of the introduction of western music, rather almost anyone can compose a song and sing it but he/she needs to count is as a song from a poem not from myth or magic otherwise there may be curses as part of the Kiribati Beliefs. Curses include: losing of hair and sudden death.

References

External links

MSN Encarta
2009-11-01) - downloadable sample of folk music {{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of Kiribati