Music of Easter Island

Traditional musical dance of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

History

Pu o Hiro

The Rapa Nui used an ancient stone aerophone called the Pu o Hiro (Trumpet of Hiro) for fertility rituals and to call the Polynesian god of rain Hiro.^[1] By blowing through the main hole it emits a deep Trumpet sound.^[1] During droughts, the Ariki Paka (nobles) would dress in ceremonial clothing and pray for rainfall.^[1] They chanted the following song:^[1]

E te uá, matavai-roa a Hiro-é
(The rain, the great tears of Hiro)
ka hoa mai koe kiraro
(Send us down)
ka rei mai koe kiraro
(Pour down)
e te u´a matavai-roa a Hiro-é
(The rain, the great tears of Hiro)

Music school

The first music school on the Easter Island was opened in 2012 by Mahani Teave, and teaches piano, cello, ukulele, and violin.^[2][3]

See also

• Matato'a
• Music of Chile

References

1. "Pu o Hiro, the trumpet of Hiro". Imagina Rapa Nui Easter Island. October 29, 2021. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023.
2. Edwards, Isabel Custer (13 January 2017). "The Music School on the Most Isolated Island in the World". Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
3. "Pianist Mahani Teave launches international campaign to build a music school in Easter Island". This is Chile. Retrieved 23 November 2017.

External links

• EASTER ISLAND MUSIC
• Easter Island
• Real Audio sample of Easter Island musicArchived October 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine on David Y. Brookman's Easter Island Home Page