Tokelau people employed three types of percussive instruments for beating time and for their dances, and two wind instruments, a flageolet and the conch shell.

Percussion Instruments

The Tongan wooden gong (lali), made from the hollowed section of a tree trunk, is used in the Tokelau Islands (fig. 7). Most of the modern gongs have been imported from Samoa, where the puapua trees from which the gongs are made, grow larger. The gong is about 4.5 feet long, 1.5 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. The upper surface is slit lengthwise within the ends page 75 of the log and the interior is hollowed out, following the curvature of the log's circumference. At the ends the upper surface is gouged out 3 or 4 inches deep, leaving a lip between this hollow and the interior opening.

Gongs were struck with two or three sticks held by two drummers who beat in different rhythm. Small wooden gongs were played with a fast rhythm to keep time in the old dances. The ancient name of the wooden gong was kaulalo, but it is referred to today by the Tongan and Samoan term, lalo.

The Tokelau drum (pasu) was made from a section of a kanava tree trunk, one end of which was burned and hacked out to a depth measured from the finger tips to the elbow. Over the open end a shark skin was pulled taut and lashed under the rim. The Wilkes party found one of these on the malae. The presence of the drum in Tokelau is unusual for it is an instrument of eastern Polynesia, conspicuously absent in western Polynesia. The Tokelau name pasu, pahu, is also found in Hawaii and other eastern Polynesian islands.

Long, thin boards (papa), used for stretching and scraping bark to be made into fiber, were also employed as sounding boards struck with two sticks to tap out the rhythm for dances. Mat-covered boxes or kerosene tins have supplanted the boards because of their more resonant tones.

Wind Instruments

Flageolets (fangufangu) were formerly made from the pithy stems of young kanava plants, but are now made from the recently introduced papaya tree, whose young branches are hollow and easily cut. The modern flageolets, usually played by young girls, vary in the number of notches cut on the upper surface from 1 to 6.

Whistles are made by the children from strips of pandanus or coconut leaves wound into a spiral- or cone-shaped trumpet.

Large conch shells (fao) (Charonia tritonis) are collected by divers in the lagoon at Atafu. A mouthpiece is formed by breaking off the point of the shell and a hole is chipped through one of the whorls a few inches below the broken point. Fishing captains use conch shells to call together the fleet. They were once used in the village to assemble the people but have been supplanted by the wooden gong and the penny whistle.

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In ancient times songs played a large part in community activities in Tokelau. Songs of worship or propitiation were sung before any great undertaking and in connection with feasts, funerals, and other rites. Hale (11) says the natives of Atafu constantly broke into song for their white visitors, probably to placate them. The numerous references in literature and legend to songs indicate that once there was great variety in singing. A few ancient songs are remembered at Atafu, but most of them were forgotten when dancing was forbidden by the missionaries.

The modern singing in Tokelau has been greatly influenced by foreign music. Samoan teachers have introduced modern Samoan songs and Christian hymns, which the natives enjoy singing in the evenings. Sailors from the Ellice Islands and other parts of Polynesia have taught songs of their islands. Many of the words written by local lyrists are based on reports of events and places of the outside world; Auckland Harbor and the new wireless are subjects of present popular songs.

The following ancient songs, translated by Mika, were sung as accompaniment to the paddle dances performed at Atafu. Many lines refer to forgotten events and several words are no longer in the dialect. H and f were pronounced in the words and are reproduced here without transcribing them to the f and s form of the dialect used in other parts of the text. I could procure no translation for several of the songs.

Ta Hoe—Songs for Dances Performed with Canoe Paddles

I
Huo nanaia
Ko te lepu mo kavea
Ko te hoe tua hamania
E tele ki nei
E hapinia eoea (eo ea) iã.

Dip^a and wave^b (the paddle)
The stirring^c (of water) … ?
The paddle with even-grained back^d
Sail to here^e
Strike the fish running away in fright.

II
Hiahia ai vao
Kou te tu ma kou te noho
Ko holoholo mulia.
Au fakaheka fakatia
Au fakaheka fakatia.

?(Who) rejoices in the bush
I shall stand and I shall sit
I step (or slip) backwards.
?
?

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III
Utupeepee, utupeepee,
Tangaloa talae fetokai.
E angina ki Fali ma Fana
Kanapa uila fati tili
E numia kai fakatau mai
Ko molia—Taku hoe nei
Apoapo taku hoe i lalo
Na tahea ite ngalutau
Ke mau mai ke mau mai.

Spin the paddle, spin the paddle,
Touch and strike (the paddle of) Tangaloa.
The force of the wind to Fali and Fana
The coming of lightning and thunder
The whirling of water … ?
My paddle here beneath
I dip my paddle beneath (the canoe)
(It was taken by) the flow of the backwash of the wave.
Hold (it) close to the body.

IV
Ko hao ke mau^a
Aukau^b
Kuamaua kuapokia^c
Uhiu i te hoena
Ki okutua
Uhiu i te hoena
Ki okuluma
Uhiu i te hoena
Hakapato tia ia^d

V
Te fili tupua
Te fili momono
Na koe ia
Na koe ia
E ngaulua
E na koe ia
E na koe ia
E na ulua
E na koe ia
Te fili tupua.

Ta Paki—Songs for Dances Performed with Dance Paddles

I
Te kanave tau kailove,
Te kanave tau kailove,
Te fia vaka vakai e.

Toss the handle of the paddle,
Toss the handle of the paddle,
Wishing to look for the canoe.

II
Holiholia vaka heua
E uhu Tonga,
E voliao.
Manu afe
Ie ie e lua.

Step in time, turning the canoe about (?)
To start a journey to Tonga,
To dance.
A thousand birds
Point to things (point out the way).

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III
Ta paki ko tu mai.
Ko te paki na holitia
Mai.
Kapuna kapunake lea
Ko te paki katele ki Uea.

The dance paddle stands near.
The dance paddle standing near
Is stepped on.
Rising to the surface
The dance paddle sails to Uvea.

Songs for Dances Performed Without Paddles

Song of Lovers