Polynesian Music

Polynesian music covers the Indigenous and popular traditions of the Polynesian Triangle, from Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa New Zealand to Samoa, Tahiti, and Tonga. Its signatures include close group harmonies, chant and haka, the ʻukulele, and Hawaiʻi's slack-key guitar, developed by players such as *Gabby Pahinui* and carried to global audiences by *Israel Kamakawiwoʻole*, whose "Facing Future" became the best-selling Hawaiian album of all time. Village string bands, church choirs, and contemporary acts like *Te Vaka*, which writes in Tokelauan and Samoan, keep older repertoire in circulation alongside reggae- and pop-inflected island styles.