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Oceanic music and dance, the music and dance traditions of the indigenous people of Oceania, in particular of Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, New Zealand, and Australia. Music and dance in Polynesia and Micronesia are audible and visual extensions of poetry, whereas in Melanesia they are aimed.
Music serves as a vehicle for Polynesian poetry, as dance is its illustration. The central role of the word explains why Polynesian music is primarily vocal. The only noteworthy traditional instruments used independently from song are the nose flute and the musical bow.
This is a list of folk music traditions, with styles, dances, instruments and other related topics. The term folk music can not be easily defined in a precise manner; it is used with widely varying definitions depending on the author, intended audience and context within a work.
Oceanic cultures have developed a large variety of sound-producing instruments. Some are unique, such as the friction blocks of New Ireland: three to four plaques carved out of a wooden block are rubbed with the hands to produce shrieking or hollow-resonant sounds, depending on size (8 to 80 inches for the entire instrument).
Traditional genres of music from Oceania and the Pacific Islands are truly in tune with the natural world. Pacific percussion is frantic and full, barreling forward like a rapidly approaching storm.
The Study Group offers contributions toward travel to its symposia for Pacific Islanders and Indigenous Australians through the Music and Dance of Oceania Travel Award. This fund is managed by the Study Group and provides opportunities to participate in symposia, and on special occasions, a World Conference.
Some Oceanic musical instruments served a dual function. The Iatmul people of the Middle Sepik River region in northeast New Guinea, use betel nut (areca palm fruit)—which is chewed with lime made from burnt shells or coral and other substances—as a mild stimulant.
