The ukulele has long been considered Hawaii’s national instrument, so it lends itself to being synonymous with an ‘Island Style’ sound. The first version of this instrument has its origin in the first plucked string instruments of Europe and the Middle East in those derived from the lute. In the Portuguese islands of Madeira, the Machete developed and became a popular style of local music that eventually conquered the world. First introduced in Hawaii in 1879 when the Ravenscrag ship docked in Honolulu with immigrants to work in the sugar cane fields, a band of Portuguese musicians got off the ship and began to play this beautiful “new to Hawaii” instrument. The Hawaiians saw Joao Fernandes play so fast that it seemed his fingers were “jumping fleas”, which roughly translates to “ukulele.” Also on board were three talented cabinetmakers: Augusto Dias (1842-1915), Manuel Nunes (1843-1922) and José do Espirito Santo (1850-1905), luckily, they did not need to work the sugar fields. or making cabinets, given the growing local interest in this little guitar-like instrument, Dias, Nunes, and Santo opened their own instrument stores in Honolulu in 1886.
Edward Purvis, an Englishman, played the ukulele and acted as an assistant to the chamberlain to King David Kalakaua, the last reigning king of Hawaii, an accomplished musician and composer who became an avid guitarist. Purvis had been nicknamed ‘Ukulele’ (jumping fleas) due to his short stature and energetic personality, it is eventually thought that through his popularity with performance for the King, this instrument began to be commonly known as the Ukulele. Ether Way, it’s all about jumping fleas.
No place on Earth can match the appeal and beauty of Hawaii … Except for the legendary islands of the South Pacific and, in particular, the Marquesas Islands. Unlike Hawaii, this group of islands was not on a strong trade route, they did not import massive immigrants to work in the sugar fields, and they did not have large cattle ranches that required the expertise of Spanish cowboys or like the Hawaiian cowboy: Paniolo. , a kind of jargon. Word of Spanish, the language the cowboy cowboys spoke. As the popularity of the Hawaiian ukulele reached these far and remote islands, there were no Spanish luthiers to build these little guitar-shaped instruments, eventually local island artisans began to build a true island version of their own. As America’s Hawaiian Islands fantasies became known as ‘Hawaiiana’, an ‘American’ influenced Hawaiian music style became very popular with loads of ukuleles being produced all over the United States, from cheap ukulele toys ‘Hawaiian style’ down to very high quality instruments that further raised the bar for excellence and pride; one was undesirable, the other was not affordable, and both were not part of the trade routes to the South Pacific and therefore were not available.
Although the true Hawaiian ukulele made from local Hawaiian Koa wood is a masterpiece of luthiership, it still looks a lot like a small Spanish guitar, and that’s nothing short of a huge compliment as to this day the best classical guitars yet They are built by Spanish luthiers; However, the amazing Marquisian Banjo is a one-of-a-kind design that is typically proudly hand-built with a selection of components such as tuners, which often came from other broken string instruments in the early days. The technical skills of working with wood using finely cut wood laminates, bending them to the curved shape required to create a nice vibrant soundboard, were far beyond the tools and availability of materials on these very remote and remote islands. But with clever use of a solid piece of wood in which the neck was molded, the frets were struck in and from the back, a small sound hole was created and from which the insides were deftly hollowed out, leaving a slim sound card that is amazingly recreated. the poppy percussion sound of a banjo. The basic shape was just a starting point, each marquis banjo was often handcrafted by the musician to fulfill a useful connection to his instrument and hand painted using the traditional tappa print patterns unique to his family, clan and village, a style that was carried on for two millennia.
To this day, for the most part, the Marquesas are still off the main tourist track and seem to live quite well without our monstrous, gigantic megga malls. But getting just about everything is very expensive with expensive shipping fees and import duties, so often if you wanted a really nice fretted string instrument you’d be inspired to build one yourself.
During our Sailing Adventures, we enjoyed a stay at Fata Hiva while anchored in the Bay of Virgins. One of the most idyllic tropical island dream locations we experience with its eroded volcanic cauldron walls forming very distinct, stone-hard natural erections of natural grandeur. Of course, the bay was named after something that roughly translates to “Boners Bay.” Nothing could prepare the early missionaries for an impact like this, not even the many gruesome cannibalistic rituals that are considered simply another new worldview to understand, but … Imagine writing the expected progress report for the Pope that would end with:
“Your obedient servant in the pure name of God. Pagan Father Saver in the sacred camp embedded in the Bay of Bonners.”
The name of the bay was changed before the first progress report was sent I’m sure.
The churches remain a prominent feature of each village despite the archaic belief system that predates even their primitive beginnings on these islands, but a spiritual comfort unites the souls that fills a social and personal need. With an even more external passion, a strong sense of traditional bridge building continues to take place as each village honors time-honored traditions by passing on their history in ancestral verbal traditions and incorporating their history into songs and dances that are ritually performed. and even compete or represent their village honorably in trans-Polynesian events.
It seemed that almost every family in the village participated in the dance or had a loved one at the event. The warriors portrayed their brave ancestors who conquered this primitive and rugged area, their powerful physical stature must have been very intimidating to the early white ‘Papalangi’ explorers. In close combat, the brute strength of a Marquis warrior was unbeatable. The ground trembled under their bare feet as they hurled themselves deadly with their spears and shields, as the beautiful ‘Wahine’ woman seductively shook and thrust her curved hips to the traditional sound of her Polynesian roots. The ‘Banda’ was a colorful group of local musicians with an impressive collection of drums crafted from large local trees found in the hills. One partner in particular played a handmade marquis banjo, his talent standing out from the rest; he also played a 6-string acoustic guitar. We later struck up a ‘conversation’ with this guy who didn’t really speak English, and we didn’t actually speak much Marquisian, but we both knew enough French to realize that he would love to trade his meticulously hand-carved marquis banjo for the Gibson Les electric guitar. Paul Jr. of my son. We included a drum amp and we were all ecstatic, the next day our new friend could be seen rocking out all over his town. This marquis banjo looks like a Polynesian version of the ‘holy grail’ of classic rock guitars … The Gibson Flying V, but with 8 strings!
We had sailed over 10,000 miles prior to our Marqusian experiences and have respectfully maintained this instrument for over 10,000 miles of sailing that followed. Bobbie Jo got to know this instrument while cruising the South Pacific and brings that tropical island spirit to ‘Soul of Aloha’.
We repaired the original whale bone neck nut with a whale bone replacement from a Hawaiian ukulele luthier and this truly original ‘ukulele’ from the South Pacific island continues to perform lively island-style wedding music.