Austronesian Music

Austronesian music gathers the indigenous and island traditions of the peoples who speak Austronesian languages, from Taiwan's Amis and Paiwan singers to Māori waiata, Hawaiian mele and the guitar bands of Madagascar. It is defined less by a single sound than by shared roots: communal singing, log drums, slit gongs and string traditions carried by ocean migration. *Difang*'s Amis harvest chant reached the world through "Circle of Life", and artists like *Abao* and *Israel Kamakawiwo'ole* show how these traditions sustain modern island popular music.