Coco's Temaeva, Vol. 2: Tahiti Ethnic Chants and Percussion Drums

Tahitian traditional music is the indigenous musical heritage of Tahiti and the Society Islands, centered on vigorous drum ensembles, choral "himene" singing, nose flutes, and dance-led performance. Its best-known stage expressions are ʻori Tahiti (the dance tradition) with the fast, percussive ʻoteʻa and the expressive, hand-gestured aparima, both of which are organized around interlocking drum patterns and chant-like melodic formulas. Before European contact, music accompanied ritual, oratory, and social gatherings using log drums (toʻere), skin drums (pahu and faʻatete), conch shell (pu), and the end-blown nose flute (vivo). In the 19th century, Christian missions introduced hymnody, which Tahitians transformed into polyphonic, heterophonic choral styles (himene tarava) that coexist with precontact drumming and dance. Modern performances often add ukulele and guitar, but the heartbeat remains the layered rhythms, call-and-response singing, and the inseparable bond with dance and costume.