Pacific Islands Radio (Island Music) Newsletter

Jane's Pacific Islands Radio Newsletter (Island Music)
Vol. 2, Edition No.4, August 2005
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/

I N T H I S I S S U E ____________________________

Objectives
News and Views
Notice Board
Pacific Islands Radio
Feature Artists
Suppliers
Links
Letters

Welcome everybody to our Pacific Islands
Radio Newsletter (Island Music) for August
2005! It is simply wonderful to be back in
touch again and I would like to take this
opportunity of wishing everybody good health,
peace, prosperity, happiness and harmony.

I would also like to extend a very warm and
sincere Pacific Island welcome to all our new
members who have joined us since our last
Newsletter. Welcome on board, please
make yourselves feel at home, relax and enjoy
the enchanting, vibrant, exciting, soothing,
melodious and magical sounds of the Pacific
Islands! May your association with us be
enjoyable, mutually beneficial and rewarding!

OBJECTIVES

This Newsletter is a listening guide to the
many listeners of our Internet Pacific
Islands Radio Stations.
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm

The information in this Newsletter will discuss
issues relating to Pacific Island music. It
will also embrace some of the exciting changes
taking place in the Internet Radio Revolution,
as well as updated information on our Pacific
Island Artists, Programming and Playlists.

NEWS AND VIEWS

The following brief introduction is the first part of
a series that will be examining the history and early
mythology of Oceania and its impact on, and its
relevance to, the traditional music of Oceania.

Indeed, it is history and mythology that formed the
basis for the early traditional music of our Oceania
people. It was the traditional music that formed one
important medium that facilitated the transmission
of our stories and mythology from one generation to
the next.

Analysis of archaeological sites has indicated that
Homo Sapiens reached New Guinea as early as 50,000 BC.
Australia was reached around 40,000 BC, and the
Solomon Islands, around 25,000 BC. The influx of
primitive Negroid hunters and gatherers continued until
the sea levels rose at the end of the ice age about
11,000 BC. By that time, they had spread all over
Australia and had divided into thousands of clans
fighting to maintain and extend their tribal hunting
territories.

They shared many common beliefs about man's
intimate relation with nature and about ancestral
spirits but their social organisation did not rise
above the level of the tribe. This fragmentation
into a multitude of small tribal units gave rise to
a huge number of languages, especially where
topography accentuated their isolation in mountainous
areas. Some 250 Aboriginal languages have been
identified in Australia and more than 800 Papuan
idioms are thought to exist in New Guinea.

After thousands of years of isolation, these pioneers
were followed by more advanced tribes who had
developed the seafaring skills that enabled them to
cross open seas and migrate through the now
flooded Indonesian archipelago. They introduced new
languages of the Austronesian linguistic family whose
roots are thought to have originated in the island of
Formosa, now called Taiwan. Some of the new
comers mixed with the black-skinned Papuan speaking
aborigines to give rise to the Melanesian people that
later spread eastward to the Fiji Islands. A particularly
advanced group of seafaring Austronesians, recognised
by their pottery of "Lapita" style, continued their
expansion to populate Polynesia in the east and
Micronesia in the north.

Thus, the overall picture of the indigenous populations
of this part of the world includes the black-skinned,
land-bound aborigines of Australia and New Guinea
speaking very ancient languages, the more recent
seafaring lighter-skinned populations of Polynesia and
Micronesia, who use the more recent Austronesian
languages and an intermediate between these two, the
Austronesian-speaking Melanesians.

The Polynesian cultures evolved, with very little outside
input, from the lineage of the seafaring Austronesian-
speaking people who developed the Lapita culture and
whose ancestors can be traced back to Southeast Asia.
Polynesian societies were strongly hierarchical with
several levels ranging from the hereditary chiefs and
nobles, the various experts (priests, healers, navigators,
boat builders etc.), commoners and slaves. Land was
owned communally but its use was allocated according
to social standing.

Polynesians believed in a pantheon of gods of which,
Tangaroa (the creator), Tane (the god of light), Oro or
Tu (the god of war), Rongo (the god of agriculture and
peace), Maui (who gave fire and fished for islands),
Hina (who fled to the moon), and several others. They
also believed in ghosts which were the spirits of dead
people. This polytheism came to maturity on the island
of Raiatea in the Society Islands, from which it spread
to all of Polynesia. The priestly class organised worship
around low stone platforms called "marae" and where
stone or wooden sculptures, called "Tiki", that
represented gods and spirits, were placated and honoured.

Polynesians believed that individual gods, spirits and
living beings possessed varying quantities of "mana", a
sort of "life force" similar to "The Force" that gave the
"Jedai" their power in the "Star Wars" films and evoked
in the expression "may The Force be with you". Mana could
be gained by eating the flesh of their enemies or lost by
breaking the sacred rules of "tapu" declared by the priests.

Most original Micronesian cultures are related to the
Polynesian cultures as they can both be traced back to
Asia through the Lapita people in the Vanuatu - Fiji area
around 1000 BC. The western islands of Palau, Yap and
the Marianas were, however, populated much earlier from
the Philippines and Indonesia (around 1500 BC and
perhaps as early as 2000 BC). Skilled navigators, the
Micronesians made long sea voyages in fleets of canoes.

The strongly hierarchical Micronesian societies were
made up of clan groupings, with family identity traced
through the mother (except on Yap and Kiribati). Land
was traditionally owned by the clans. The dominant clan
of each island held that position due to its claim to
trace its lineage back to the island's original settlers.
Clan groupings extended across islands and were
sometimes joined in confederations. The indigenous
populations believed in several spirits of nature and in
magic but there was no priestly class and religion never
became an organised social force as it was in Polynesia.

The several Melanesian cultures resulted from various
degrees of interbreeding and cultural exchange between
the ancient black-skinned Papuan speaking tribes that
had settled in New Guinea around 50,000 BC and, in
the Solomon Islands around 25,000 BC, and some of
the light-skinned Austronesian navigators who started
to arrive in the coastal areas of New Guinea and the
Solomon Islands as early as 2000 B.C. The skin colour
of Melanesians varies from dark brown to very black,
hence their name.

Melanesians gained the seafaring skills of the
Austronesian newcomers and adopted their
languages but they retained the social organisation
of their Papuan ancestors based on the predominance
of the "Big Man" who had the most followers but
whose leadership could always be contested. Melanesian
societies were not stratified like those of Polynesia,
where the privileges of the nobles were deemed to proceed
from their descent from the gods. Each small community had
its own gods and mythological beings whose names were
seldom known beyond its borders. The community
owned the land.

The typical Melanesian was concerned only with the origin
of his own social unit, his clan and his totem for that
was what determined who he could marry and the people he
considered "wantok" (one talk), to whom he owed solidarity.
Anyone outside his own community was considered a
potential enemy and more distant strangers were fair game
for a meal.

The three cultures (Papuan, Austronesian and Melanesian),
existed side-by-side for a long time in the "New Guinea -
Solomon Islands - Vanuatu" region from which several
migratory waves departed to populate Polynesia and
Micronesia. The Papuan tribes that lived of hunting and
farming remained mostly isolated in the rough valleys of
New Guinea's highlands. The Austronesian newcomers
were navigators and fishermen. They stayed on the coast
of New Guinea and on the shores of the islands as they
developed the "Lapita" pottery style that characterises
their culture.

It seems that most of these light-skinned people passed
through the region without mixing with the Papuans on
their slow migration eastward and northward. Finally,
the new Melanesian civilisation evolved for some time in
that same central region before spreading eastward as far
as Fiji. Little is known about the pre-contact religions of
New Guinea because of the thoroughness with which the
Catholic and Protestant missionaries eradicated these
pagan beliefs. It is though, however, that they involved a
multiplicity of gods, culture heroes and spirits with varied
characters and roles.

Spirits were associated with the creation and sustenance
of the cosmos, with war, fecundity, prosperity and welfare.
They had to be placated through a variety of rites and
sacrifices in order to ensure success and well-being. The
dead whose names were remembered were usually still
considered to be part of the community and could also
bring on trouble unless placated.

The myths and music of these early settlers in Oceania
were linked in various ways. For example, numerous
stories ascribe the origins of music to a figure, usually
divine, who lived in the mythical past - certainly a
particularly close connection exists between myths and
music.

Myths and history represent alternative ways of looking
at the past. With no written language, traditions embedded
in myths through music and oral transmission constituted
the principal sources of authority for the past. Myths
included creation stories which speak of the act of creation
as a fashioning of the earth out of raw material that was
already present as well as the origins of man.

Among innumerable tales of origin, one of the most common
types is related to the origins of institutions. Certain initiation
ceremonies or ritual acts are said to have originated in the
beginning, in mythical times, this primeval moment of inception
constituting their validity. Special myths are narrated in many
places in preparation for initiation procedures. In agricultural
societies, in addition to the themes of cosmic renewal,
through birth, and rebirth through initiation ceremonies at the
attainment of manhood and womanhood, the theme of seasonal renewal is of
great importance.

Thus the mythology and mythological figures of Oceania are
closely related to nature as well as to our ancestors. Nature
itself is considered a living being and thus the interaction
between man and nature is bound by prescripts and rituals
of which traditional music and chants are almost always an
essential component.

Traditional music and chants can relate to such things as
welcome ceremonies, elimination of any form of tapu,
love songs and lullabies, as well as the casting of incantations
and spells - these are often used during daily life by both
adults and children as well as during rituals. Another important
application of traditional music and chants are those composed
to teach children of high rank their special descent and history.
Traditional music and chants can also comprise laments for the
dead. These can often tell about the composer's emotions and
feelings towards the deceased as well as the warrior qualities
of the dead person. Laments can also have broader topics
and can often allude to the calamities that can befall mankind.
Laments may be love songs and can include the misery
resulting from a love affair or lost love.

Pacific peoples, like indigenous groups across the world, have
carried and passed on their knowledge through oral, visual and
embodied traditions for millennia. The performance arts reflect
spiritual, political, social, economic and aesthetic values and
practices. We can learn much about a people and their history
by paying attention to their traditional music and the traditional
dance that results from it.

Music, dance, architecture, navigation and the arts have
always functioned as the primary vehicles for creating,
recording, sharing and transforming knowledge. These
forms reflect codes for conduct and responsibility, provide
the glue for social cohesion and mediate relations between
the human, supernatural and ancestral realms. From as early
as the 16th century in Guam to as late as the 20th century
in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, European colonialism,
Christianity and the written word have altered the style and
content of music and dance in most islands. Still, these art
forms continue to function as the most visible markers of
cultural and national identities.

We have now come to the conclusion of the first part of
our series on traditional music in the Pacific Islands. . .

To be continued. . . . As the above article is quite a long
chapter in our series due to the historical time frame involved,
we will continue the series in our next Pacific Islands Radio
Newsletter (Island Music) edition for September 2005 when
we will discuss and examine in further detail the impact of
Christianity and western influences on the traditional music
of the Pacific Islands and Oceania generally.

NOTICE BOARD
VANUATU MUSIC FEST 2005
John Cvetko ++ (678) 22515
David Ellis (02) 9580 3406

Vanuatu's tenth annual Fest'Napuan is expected to
draw 30,000 visitors to capital Port Vila for four
days of free, non-stop music from October 13 to 16,
2005.

The biggest musical event of its kind in the South
West Pacific, Fest'Napuan (it means Festival of Song
and Dance) will feature local string bands, traditional,
custom, contemporary and modern music, and on the
final Sunday a Christian music 'Festival of Praise.'

As well as individuals and bands from many of
Vanuatu's 80 scattered islands, there will be
indigenous groups and soloists from Australia and
Papua New Guinea, and from several other South
Pacific countries that have shown interest in taking
part.

In the past, musicians have come from as far afield as
West Papua, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea,
Easter Island, Fiji, New Caledonia and Australia and
New Zealand.

The Festival aims to promote the development of
contemporary music in Vanuatu by young people in
music groups, offering them the chance to perform
before large audiences and to expose their talents
to potential government and private sponsors.

It also provides local people and visitors from across
the South Pacific with the chance to see this emerging
talent at no cost.

For details email info@furtherarts.org
or vks@vanuatu.com.vu

OCEANIA MESSAGE FORUMS

I am very pleased to be able to say that,
in addition to our main Oceania Guest Book,
additional Bravenet Forums are progressively
being introduced to all Web sites of the main
islands and islets of the Pacific as well as
personalities, along with our Pacific Islands
Radio Web sites:
http://pub47.bravenet.com/forum/4004922603

As you are no doubt aware, these Forums have
been most beneficial in bringing together many
people with an interest in and a love of the
beautiful and enchanting music of the Pacific
Islands. You are cordially invited to share your
valuable and important thoughts and opinions
with us all.

Recent additions also include the Web sites for
Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Republic of Nauru,
Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tonga, Tokelau,

Easter Island, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Papua
New Guinea, Cook Islands and Pitcairn Island, as
well as our Oceania Postcards and Picture Galleries.
Thank you.

PACIFIC ISLANDS RADIO

Pacific Islands Radio is pleased to be able
to advise that a forthcoming upgrade will
allow a considerable expansion to the
Playlist(s) which will include the traditional
music of Irian Jaya (West Papua), along
with an Anthology of the traditional and
beautiful music of Papua New Guinea.

I would also like to mention in response to
many e-mails and messages that I have
received from those wonderful people who
would like to listen to our beautiful Pacific
Island music but are unable to actually listen
to the music.

Once you have accessed the page, it is
necessary to firstly log on in order to be
able to listen to the music. The process
of being able to log on can be achieved by
providing your username and password
before clicking on the yellow Play button
provided on the center of the page.
Good Luck and Enjoy!

Pacific Islands Radio continues to offer a range
of broadcasting formats in order to allow a wide
range of listeners to enjoy our beautiful island
music. These formats, in terms of Connection
Speed and Sound Quality are basically as
follows:

STATIONS

Pacific Music Radio with a connection speed of
32 kbps is FM Stereo - FM mp3PRO;

Pacific Islands Radio 33K and Micronesia Music
Radio 33K with connection speeds of 24 kbps are
AM Quality; and

Pacific Islands Radio 28K with a connection speed
of 16 kbps is AM Quality.

Perhaps I should mention also that the previous
practice of specifying a minimum connection
speed has now been upgraded. Now, instead
of specifying a bitrate, our broadcast formats
are specified in terms of a combination of
bitrate, sampling rate, stereo mode and codec.

These changes have allowed the introduction
of Pacific Music Radio (FM mp3PRO Stereo)
broadcasting in high fidelity FM stereo as well
as allowing an upgrade in the fidelity of Pacific
Islands Radio 33K and Micronesia Music Radio
33K while still broadcasting at the same bitrate
(24 kbps).

Also, in the longer term, 33K will be referred
to as 24 kbps and 28K will become 16 kbps -
please keep an eye out for these changes.

As usual, Pacific Islands Radio is always keen
to promote our talented island musicians
worldwide in order to satisfy the continuing
demand for our beautiful and distinctive Pacific
Island music! In this respect, should you know
of any island artists whose talents you would
like to see promoted, please contact me on:
jane@pacificislandsradio.com

Our four Pacific Islands Radio Stations play the
enchanting music of the Pacific Islands 24 hours
daily.
www.pacificislandsradio.com
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
http://www.janeresture.com/radio/index.htm

Pacific Music Radio (mp3PRO)
http://www.live365.com/stations/drjaneresture
Pacific Islands Radio 33K (24 kbps)
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeresture
Pacific Islands Radio 28K (16 kbps)
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeres
Micronesia Music Radio 33K (24 kbps)
http://www.live365.com/stations/jane_resture

FEATURE ARTIST

RATARO

He may not be a household name outside French
Polynesia, but his music has been heard in millions
of homes and by millions of people worldwide.
Indeed, Rataro composed the soundtrack to the
hit TV series "Survivor: Marquesas."

Born on the island of Ua-Pou, Rataro spent his
childhood among the artistic community, learning
traditional Marquesan songs, dances, sculpture and
tattooing. As a very young man, he decided to do
whatever he could to preserve the archipelago's
cultural heritage, which he rightly viewed as
"endangered."

Moving to Papeete to study nursing - a profession
he still practises - he fell in with a group of Tahitian
performers and began writing music for them. Then
he launched his own singing career. His recording
debut, "Mélodies des îles Marquises," was a triumph,
garnering him a top prize at the annual "Heiva Upa
Rau" Polynesian music awards in 1990.

Rataro's lyrics are directly inspired by the local practice
of ancestor worship, while his music - which he describes
as "a different kind of melody, deep from the heart"-
blends traditional sounds with a modern beat, creating a
sort of Polynesian-European-American fusion. This
mesmerizing mix has made him a superstar in the islands.

COMING EVENTS!

PACIFIC ISLANDS
OCEANIA AND PACIFIC ISLANDS
CALENDAR EVENTS
http://www.pacificislands.com/calendar/calendar.html

POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER
SPECIAL EVENTS FOR 2005

Every year Polynesian Cultural Center performers,
cultural experts and others appear in a series of
special events and appearances at home in Laie,
in Waikiki, across the United States, and
internationally.
http://www.polynesia.com/special_events/special_events2004.html#upcoming

HAWAIIAN MUSIC CONCERT EVENTS
http://www.mountainapplecompany.com/calendar.htm

HAWAIIAN MUSIC
http://mountainapplecompany.com/

PACIFIC HAWAIIAN DISTRIBUTION
EVENTS CALENDAR
http://www.pacifichawaiian.com/calendars/calendarjan05.htm

MICRONESIA MUSIC ANTHOLOGY

An anthology of traditional Micronesian Music
is available on Micronesia Music Radio:
http://www.live365.com/stations/jane_resture

The anthology can be accessed by clicking on the
Broadcast Schedule after logging in to Micronesia
Music Radio. This should allow you (and our other
listeners worldwide) to determine when the
anthology is available in your beautiful part of
the world.

The Broadcast Schedule can also be accessed at
the following URL:
http://www.live365.com/broadcast/scheduler/?stationname=jane_resture

The supporting Web site to the anthology is:
http://www.janesoceania.com/micronesia_music_anthology/index.htm

GOSPEL MUSIC

Pacific Islands Radio is very pleased to be able
to advise that a collection of some of the most
exciting and absorbing gospel music from the
Pacific Islands is now being featured on Pacific
Music Radio (FM mp3PRO Stereo), Pacific
Islands Radio 33K (24 kbps) as well as Pacific
Islands Radio 28K (16 kbps)

With an extended running time of three hours,
the gospel collection has proved to be extremely
popular and features the music of a number of
talented artists and groups from Melanesia,
Micronesia and Polynesia.

Please monitor the Broadcast Schedule of the
above three Pacific Islands Radio stations for
the availability and time for the Gospel Music
collection. At present this exciting collection
is available every Sunday from 12 midday to
3 pm Australian eastern standard time.

Our four Pacific Islands Radio Stations play the
enchanting music of the Pacific Islands 24 hours
daily.
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm

SUPPLIERS

The following are some of the main specialist
suppliers of our music from the Pacific
Islands, which are now being used and are
highly recommended by Pacific Islands Radio.

KING MUSIC -
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

Kingmusic offers a wide selection of Pacific
Island music which is available on the Internet.
http://www.kingmusic.co.nz/

ISLANDMELODY.COM

Pacific Islands Radio would like to recommend
Islandmelody.com for a selection of traditional
and contemporary music with an emphasis on
Micronesian music.
http://www.islandmelody.com

BWANARAOI MUSIC SHOP -
TARAWA, REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI

For Kiribati music, along with music from
other Pacific Islands and elsewhere, you
are invited to contact the following
exclusive distributor:

Bwanaraoi Music Shop
Republic of Kiribati
Phone/Fax (686) 28236
E-mail: angirota@tskl.net.ki

LINKS

WELCOME TO THE MUSIC ARCHIVE
OF THE PACIFIC

The Music Archive for the Pacific has been
established by the Southern Cross University,
Lismore, Australia. for the main purpose of providing
a collection of recordings of indigenous music, related
books, journals, musical instruments and art works to
interested persons for research purposes.

The archive covers the music of the indigenous people
of Australia (incl. Torres Strait), Papua New Guinea
(incl. Bougainville), New Zealand as well as the nations
of the Pacific Islands - Cook Islands, Easter Island,
Fiji, Hawaii, Nauru, New Caledonia, Rarotonga, Samoa,
Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/arts/music/musicarchive/ArchiveHome.html

MUSIC ARCHIVE FOR THE PACIFIC
http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/arts/music/musicarchive/ArchiveArchive.html

************************
LETTERS

The following are extracts from a few
interesting and most welcome letters that I
have recently received about our four Pacific
Islands Radio Stations, our artists and music.
In this respect, it is my great pleasure to be
able to share these letters with you all as I
find them to be most uplifting, supportive,
motivating and encouraging. They also provide
much needed feedback in order to continuously
monitor and enhance the quality of the service
provided by Pacific Islands Radio.

Please join with me in thanking these wonderful
people for sharing their thoughts with us all.
************
Jane.
Thank you so much for the assortments of pacific
island songs you put together. I am from Chuuk,
Micronesia, living in the state of Oregon, we have
been enjoying the songs from all over the islands;
and we truly appreciate you for them.We are
hoping to hear religious music from all over the
pacific, especially those without instruments, lol...
yes, genuine island melodies. Don't you agree?
Hey, again, my family and I thank you, and may
God richly bless you.
************
I just wanted to thank you for sharing your music
and knowledge of the Micronesian cultures. I'm
from Guam but it's been over 40 years since I left.
************
Yokwe Jane,
I Just discovered your internet radio station dedicated
to Micronesian music.Thank You Very Much! Truly
appreciated. I'm sharing this with all my family and
friends all over the world.
...from Marshall Islands, but living in Hawaii
************
THANKS FOR THE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC
LISTENING FROM FLORIDA USA THANK
YOU. I HAVE LISTENED ONE NIGHT,
AND I'M HOOKED. YOU HAVE ONE MORE
FAN. FLORIDA US
************
Good morning Jane,
I'm looking for some music and Fatele from
Tuvalu Can you recommend me a site web
where I can download some? I visited your web
site, it is excellent you've done a good job, it is
really pleasant, thanks a lot for this good job.Well
I guess you will answer me back ASAP
Regards, Tania Tulimanu
************
Heloo,
My name is Alan Kelly. I am the singer guitarist
with The Barleyshakes. We are a Celtic group
that are performing at this year's Live en Aout
festival. We would love to get our latest studio
recording to you so we can get some airplay and
perhaps even do a giveaway while we are visiting.
Are you interested in such a proposal?
Regards, Alan Kelly
www.thebarleyshakes.com
************
COMMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

IT'S TIME TO CHAT

Our Chat Rooms are always available for online
chatting between parties and can be accessed
via Jane's Oceania Home Page:
http://www.janeresture.com or the URLs:
http://pub18.bravenet.com/chat/show.php/1489671900
http://pub32.bravenet.com/chat/show.php/2702076781

Your valuable and important comments about our
Pacific Islands Radio are always most welcome
and can be e-mailed to me at:
jane@pacificislandsradio.com

Once again, thank you everybody for being part
of our Pacific Islands Radio (Island Music) Club!

I would very much like to express my very sincere
gratitude for your continual support, encouragement
and kind generosity - they are greatly appreciated.

Let us hope for continuing greater peace,
prosperity, happiness and harmony for all people
everywhere!

I wish you all the very best and please take care!
May our God bless all of us and, as usual, I look
forward to the pleasure of your company next time!

Jane Resture