Papuan Folk Music

Papuan folk music, as catalogued here, is the folk and stringband music of Papua New Guinea, the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. Its best-known form is the stringband: acoustic guitars, ukuleles and home-made basses carrying close three-part harmonies sung in Tok Pisin and local languages such as Tolai Kuanua, a tradition formed in mission stations and plantations. Alongside it stand the sacred bamboo flute ensembles of the Sepik and Madang regions, garamut slit-gong orchestras and singsing festival performance. *George Telek* carried the stringband sound to international audiences from the 1990s.