Running head: HAWAIIAN MUSICAL CULTURE

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Hawaiian Musical Culture
Music 1040-2
Instructor: Barbara Shelton
Cultural Semester Research Paper
Virginia Pratt
July 24, 2014


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America is a country rich in diversity. To be a true American means to embrace
the variety of cultures around us. The music culture in America is one of the most
prominent and distinct of our country's many differences. Each culture and subculture
has its own distinct style of music and traditions. The Hawaiian music is the epitome of
American diversity. This paper will explore the history of Hawaii's music and its
evolution. Robert and Frances McFarland, lifetime residences of Hawaii, tell how their
Hawaiian music has played a major role not only in their religion today, but also in
helping them understand the origins of their culture. They also discussed how their
ancient religion played a major role in the establishment ancient Hawaii.
Robert and Frances McFarland is a married couple from the island of Oahu.
They have lived their whole lives in Hawaii. They are presently living in Salt Lake City,
Utah. They are on a mission for their church and will return to their beloved state of
Hawaii in December of this year. Frances has a BA from BYU-Hawaii in music, and
being a native Hawaiian for several generations (her husband is native Hawaiian as
well) knew not only the origins of Hawaiian culture, but also the origins of its music. This
interview was enjoyable as well as educational.
The islands of Hawaii were first inhabited between the years of 300 A.D. - 600
A.D. by Polynesians from islands to the south, such as New Zealand and Tahiti. They
brought with them chants of their ancestors that are still taught to their children today.
As the Polynesians inhabited each island they formed new and separate customs and
mingled them with the ancient customs, thus giving each island a uniqueness all its
own. The people of Hawaii lived in obscurity to the rest of the world until James Cook,
an English explorer, discovered the islands in 1778. (Goldberg, Hart, 2007) As word of
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this tropical paradise spread throughout the rest of the world, more and more people
came to visit and to stay. People from China, Japanese, Philippines, and Portugal
settled on the island during the late 19th century to work on the pineapple plantations.
The intermingling of these cultures would change the Hawaiian culture forever. (F.
McFarland, personal communication, July 21, 2014 and Goldberg, Hart, 2007) Besides
new people and cultures being introduced, new animals and plants soon "found their
way" to the Hawaiian Islands. (Introduction of Cattle, n.d. para. 1 and 2) Captain George
Vancouver introduced cattle to the Islands as a gift in 1793. By 1832, the cattle were
out of control and Hawaiians needed help. King Kamehameha III sent a high chief to
southern California to hire Spanish-Mexican cowboys called vaquero to teach his
people how to herd the cattle and take care of them. The Spanish cowboy is yet another
culture introduced to the Islands. (R. McFarland, personal communication, July 21, 2014
and Introduction of Cattle, n.d. para. 1 and 2) With them, all of these cultures brought
their music, religions, traditions, and languages to the natives of Hawaii. All of these
combined to form the beautiful culture that now exists on the Hawaiian Islands.
However, one of the biggest transformations came to the Hawaiian culture in
1820 when American missionaries from the Congregational Church came to convert
and educate the native peoples. This was a very successful endeavor. Hawaiian history
was not written down because there was no written language; theirs was an oral
language only. When the Christian missionaries arrived they first had to learn the
Polynesian language, write it down and then teach the native people how to read and
write both languages. (F. McFarland, personal communication, July 21, 2014 and
Goldberg, Hart 2007) Hawaiians were eager to be educated. "By 1831 there were more
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than 50,000 Hawaiians studying Western culture in Christian schools." (Goldberg, Hart,
2007, p. 42)
Religion has always played a major role in the Hawaiian culture and still does
today. "Religion was the paramount aspect of Hawaiian life, permeating every daily
activity, every aspect of secular affairs, and every significant event, such as birth,
marriage, death, house construction, fishing, agriculture, and war." (Before the Written
Record, n.d., para. 1) Hawaiians take their beliefs very seriously. For instance, their
kings and chiefs "were sacred people with divine knowledge," and therefore treated with
much respect and dignity. (Goldberg, Hart, 2007, p. 33) Even today, their ancient gods,
such as Pele, are still talked about with great respect. (R. McFarland, personal
communication, July 21, 2014) Today most native Hawaiians are Christian. According to
the Hawaiian religion website, "About half of Hawaii's current population practices a
form of Christianity. Catholics make up the highest percentage of Christians, but
Protestants aren't far behind...With Hawaii's large Asian population, religions from the
Far East play an important role, too. Buddhism has the largest following among these
religions...A surprisingly large number of Mormons live in Hawaii. Jehovah's Witnesses
also represent a notable percentage."(Religion Today, n.d., para.1-3 ) It is the Mormon
religion in Hawaii that the rest of this paper will focus on.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly known as the
Mormons) believe Jesus Christ is their central figure. He is the Only Begotten Son of
God and lived a perfect life. What makes their religion different from other Christian
religions is their belief that a great apostasy took place after the death of the original
twelve apostles. The true gospel of Jesus Christ was not restored until a young man by
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the name of Joseph Smith went into a grove of trees to pray where God, the Father, and
Jesus Christ, his Son, appeared to him. A few years after this vision (members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe) Joseph Smith translated a record
from gold plates with ancient hieroglyphics engraved upon them. This record was of an
ancient people who inhabited the American continent. This record is a key scripture for
the LDS church called The Book of Mormon.
It is the Book of Mormon, which was the key to the success of the spread of this
religion in Hawaii. The first LDS missionaries arrived in Hawaii in 1850. A passage in
the Book of Mormon tells of a man named Hagoth, who built a ship that many people
boarded:
5 And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man,
therefore he went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship, on the borders of
the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea,
by the narrow neck which led into the land northward.
6 And behold, there were many of the Nephites who did enter therein and did
sail forth with much provisions, and also many women and children; and they
took their course northward. And thus ended the thirty and seventh year.
7 And in the thirty and eighth year, this man built other ships. And the first ship
did also return, and many more people did enter into it; and they also took much
provisions, and set out again to the land northward.
8 And it came to pass that they were never heard of more. And we suppose that
they were drowned in the depths of the sea. And it came to pass that one other
ship also did sail forth; and whither she did go we know not.
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(trans. Smith, 1981, p. 367)
According to Frances McFarland, this passage of scripture touched the Hawaiian
people deeply because in the ancient chants that have been passed down since ancient
times, they tell stories of their ancestors leaving in canoes from a narrow neck of land to
come to the islands. The Hawaiians who can trace their ancestors to the Maori people
of New Zealand can trace their roots even further to the canoes that came from the
narrow neck of land. (F. McFarland, personal communication, July 21, 2014)
Because both religion and music are extremely important to the Hawaiian
natives, they often combine the two to make exquisite, beautiful sounds. Of course,
religious music is only one of the many styles that come from these picturesque islands.
The first form of music came in the form of chants that were passed down from one
generation to another. These chants were so important that special care was taken
(and is still taken) to teach it with exactness, for to change the words of the chants was
to change their history. In the original chants, only vocals were used. The first
instruments to be used are known as, "kalaau, two wooden sticks that produce the tone
of a xylophone; the ili ili, stone clappers; the pu ili, split bamboo sticks and the ipu, a pair
of hollow gourds." When the Portuguese came to work on the plantations, they brought
with them the machete, a type of guitar. From this machete evolved the ukulele. The
word ukulele means, "jumping flea." (Goldberg, Hart, 2007, p. 66) When the Spanish
came to help with cattle they brought their guitars and taught the Hawaiians how to use
them. According to Robert McFarland, when the Spanish left they had forgotten to
show the Islanders how to tune the guitars they left behind. (F. McFarland, personal
communication, July 21, 2014) Families and groups would try to tune the best they
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could, thus a popular form of Hawaiian music was born, called slack key. This occurs
when a guitar is tuned to notes slightly lower than standard guitar tuning. (Goldberg,
Hart, 2007, p. 66) Probably one of the most important instruments is the steel guitar
invented in Hawaii by Joseph Kekuku about 1889. (HSGA, n.d. para. 1)The many
different styles of Hawaiian music include: Folk music, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Jawaiian (a
form of Hawaiian reggae).(Modern Music Styles, n.d. para. 1-3)
Within the subculture of LDS Hawaiians is a mode of music called Hawaiian
Hymns. The distinction between Hawaiian hymns and other hymns are the length.
Hawaiian hymns are extremely long, according to Robert and Frances McFarland.
These hymns tell Bible stories and LDS stories. (F. and R, McFarland, personal
communication, July 21, 2014) They are extremely popular. One of these hymns is
entitled, "Iesu Me Ke Kanaka Waiwai." The song is from a story in the New Testament
of the Bible. A rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life and when
Jesus tells him he needs to sell all of his riches, the man leaves being very sad, for he
cannot rid himself of his riches. John Kameaaloha Almeida, a blind musician, wrote the
song. (John Kameaaloha Almeida, 2007, para. 1) This song exemplifies the belief of
LDS Hawaiians, and most Christians in general, that money and physical possessions
are not the most important things in life. Hawaiian music does not change from Hawaii
to any other culture. It stays the same all over the world.
Learning about the history of Hawaii was a wonderful experience. Interviewing
Mr. and Mrs. McFarland was the best part. They told me with such pride in their voices
of their history, culture, and traditions, this couple truly love their heritage. They brought
many CD's of Hawaiian music to share with me. Mrs. McFarland even showed me
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some of the arm movements (hulas) that are performed with their chants and songs.
Even though Hawaii is the youngest state of America, its history is ancient and rich in
beauty and meaning. The history of Hawaii is one of the many examples of diversity
that makes America. This diversity makes America and her citizens unique; it is in this
uniqueness that makes us one of the most revered countries on Earth.


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WORKS CITED
"Before the Written Language". nps.gov. n.d. n.p. web.
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Trans. Joseph Smith, Jr.,
Salt Lake: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1981. Print.
Goldberg, Jake and Joyce Hart. Hawai'i Celebrate the States. 2007. Print.
"Got Religion?". "Sounding Off". hawaii-guide.info. Copyright 2004-2014. IIWINC. web.
"History of Hawaiian Steel Guitar". hsga.org. n.d. n.p. web.
"Introduction of Cattle". "Mexican Vaquero". hawaiihistory.org. 2014. Info Grafik Inc.
web.
John Kameaaloha Almeida. hawaiimusicmuseum.org. 2007. Hawaiian Music Hall of
Fame. web.
McFarland, Frances and Robert. Personal Interview by Virginia Pratt. July 21, 2014.
Personal Communication.

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I, _Melissa Jensen_______________, proofread Virginia Pratts_______

term paper and made corrections on __7/26/2014______________________.



___Melissa Jensen___(Electronic Signiture)___________
Signature of proofreader

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