Singing and Survival: The Music of Easter Island
Dan Bendrups
Abstract
This book investigates the role that music has played in the development of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) cultural heritage from the late nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century. Contrary to prevailing discourses of cultural loss and collapse, it argues that the continuity of Rapanui musical practices can be considered as evidence of cultural survival and continuity. The descriptions of music provided here extend beyond considerations of aesthetics, toward an appreciation of what it means for a once-endangered culture to survive, and to thrive, and the contribution that music can make ... More
This book investigates the role that music has played in the development of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) cultural heritage from the late nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century. Contrary to prevailing discourses of cultural loss and collapse, it argues that the continuity of Rapanui musical practices can be considered as evidence of cultural survival and continuity. The descriptions of music provided here extend beyond considerations of aesthetics, toward an appreciation of what it means for a once-endangered culture to survive, and to thrive, and the contribution that music can make to this process. It discusses how the Rapanui have carefully nurtured ancestral knowledge passed down over generations, as well as embracing a world of trans-Pacific cultural flows. It investigates five key domains of musical influence on Rapa Nui: ancient tradition, Christian music, Chilean influences, Polynesian influences, and influences derived from global popular culture.
Keywords:
Easter Island,
Rapa Nui,
music,
Chile,
Polynesia,
ethnomusicology,
culture,
survival
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2019 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780190297039 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: July 2019 |
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780190297039.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Dan Bendrups, author
Deputy Director (Research), Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University
More
Less
