Music of Tuvalu

Poetry recitations were a common feature of traditional music before European contact, but this practice has since vanished.

[3] In 1960-1961 Gerd Koch, an anthropologist, made recordings of traditional songs on the atolls of Niutao, Nanumaga and Nukufetau.

[6] The missionaries introduced church hymns and European song structures and melodies started to influence Tuvaluan music.

[5] The recordings of Gerd Koch continue to be broadcast over Radio Tuvalu along with modern Polynesian music.

[3] The fatele, in its modern form, is performed at community events and to celebrate leaders and other prominent individuals, such as the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in September 2012.

Gerd Koch describes traditional Tuvaluan songs: The distinctive, concentrated form of the grammatically shortened statement is characteristic of the old, original poetry of these Islanders.

However the text of the song often appears to be rhythmical on account of the repetition of words and the fact that the individual lines have a similar number of syllables.

The traditional fatele was performed in the sitting or kneeling position by five or six young women, who while singing, moved their arms, hand and upper body; the men and woman act as the chorus.

[5] The most popular form of Tuvaluan dance music in the modern era is the fatele, which is influenced by European melody and harmony and is competitive, with each island divided into two sides.

[3] Lyricism is an important part of the fatele tradition, which begins with the older men singing a song in a meeting hall (maneapa), then gradually repeating it louder and quicker as the others join in; they also use empty cabin cracker cans or wooden boxes to beat the rhythm.

[3] The modern fatele involves the young unmarried women on their feet, dancing in lines; with the men facing the dancers, sitting on the floor beating the time with their hands on the mats or on wooden boxes.