ORIGIN OF THE UKULELE

The instrument you see here( photo courtesy of Jim Beloff) is called the machete do braga or, more commonly, the braguina, and it originated in Portugal - specifically the island of Madeira. It was brought to the island of Hawaii on August 23rd, 1879 aboard the sailing vessel Ravenscrag, which bore 419 men, women and children. They had come primarily to work the pineapple plantations and ranches and start new lives in this island paradise. Among the men were three craftsmen named Augusto Diás, Manuel Nuñes, and José do Espiritu Santo. These three soon began making braguinas, which quickly caught the attention of the native islanders after hearing an English settler named Edward Purvis play the instrument. Purvis was particularly adept on the braguina and, when later made Assistant Chamberlain to the Court of King Kalakaua, he often entertained the Royals and other island officials. It is said that his playing was so energetic and his movements so sprightly that the natives began to refer to him as ukulele, which means "jumping flea." The nickname eventually spread to the instrument itself, and the rest is history...except that today that history is being rewritten in the name of "cultural purity."

It seems that many Hawaiians feel quite proprietary about the ukulele and dismiss the true origin of the instrument - that is, the fact of Portuguese ancestry - as racist propaganda. That it is now universally called by the Hawaiian name and that it has become an icon of their culture leads many islanders to feel that it is, in fact, a Hawaiian invention. Their fierce cultural pride is to be commended, but that doesn't invalidate the facts.

As the photo at left clearly shows, the instrument now called the ukulele is essentially unchanged from its Iberian progenitor. It is sometimes said that the braguina used metal strings, but seeing how common gut strings were to other stringed instruments in this part of the world, and how much less stress gut would have placed on these lightly built, often homemade, instruments, that seems unlikely. No, the only difference seems to have been the tuning, DGBD, which is still the most common scheme in portugal. As any one who plays a stringed instrument knows, there are tunings for every occasion - the tuning does not define the instrument. Indeed, even the larger, eight-stringed version of the uke now known as the taropatch evolved from another Portuguese instrument called the rajao. Originally with five single strings, it transitioned into its present form of four double courses by the early 20th century. By the way, the tuning for the rajao was, and still is, DGCEA, with the D and G being reintrant - the same basic tuning scheme that we use today for the soprano, concert, taropatch and, for the most part, tenor ukes.

The truth is that the ukulele is a Portuguese instrument, brought originally by Portuguese immigrants to Hawaii and adopted enthusiastically by the natives there who gave it a new name. We all certainly owe a debt to the Hawaiians for popularizing our favorite instrument. Without that exported enthusiasm we might all be playing the balalaika.

Now surfing...THAT'S Hawaiian!

HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE IT?

Here, again, we come up against a bit of cultural correctness. Of course, in the Hawaiian language, the pronunciation is "ookoolaylay." However, those of us on the mainland and elsewhere in the world most commonly pronounce it "youkoolaylee." While the Hawaiian version is technically correct, PLEASE don't be that person who must correct those who use the latter pronunciation, which is so common now as to be the default usage. After all, most of us are not Hawaiian and do not speak Hawaiian. While I speak Spanish, being from Texas originally, I would never correct someone who refered to the small, donkey-like animal as a "burrow" instead of burro (boo-rrrrow) with its difficult, though technically correct, roll of the "r's. I myself use the anglisized pronunciation of Spanish words 99% of time, as do most gringos. The fact is, the difference between the Hawaiian and the mainland pronunciation amounts to the difference between "toe-MAY-toe" and "toe-MAH-toe." I have actually been corrected several times since becoming a uke fan and I find it quite pedantic and rude. The English have a name for folks like that... I believe the correct pronunciation is "WANK-ah."

I must say that I don't play much Hawaiian music on the uke, and that I don't do the Hawiian shirt - tiki bar - hula skirt thing much at all. I play mostly rock and folk songs, as do most of the folks I play with. There are two uke clubs here in Eugene: one that focuses on an eclectic assortment of mostly mainland songs, and one which is exclusively Hawaiian. I love hearing both kinds of music, but I have my personal preference. I've been asked more than once how I can be so into the uke but not into the Hawaiian thing and all I can say is that that's not where my taste lies. I think that it's cool that so many uke fans find immense pleasure in island music and cuture, and that the ukulele plays such a major role in that enjoyment. It is indeed the happiest of instruments. Play whatever makes you happy!

Update:

I have started attending the local Hawaiian ukulele club here in Eugene, called "Kaikapila," and I must report that it is a total blast! I felt very welcome from the outset and, despite my complete ignorance of the language and traditions of Hawaiian music, quickly got into the spirit of the occasion. I had been there less than 30 minutes before I was standing before the large gathering helping to demonstrate a Mouri tribal dance and chant - truly a surprising development for this somewhat shy luthier. Indeed, people would often jump into the center of the circle of players to dance traditional Hulas, adding an even more festive touch to the joyous atmosphere.

And, I must add, not once was my pronuciation of the instrument corrected!

IS IT A UKULELE?

While I'm being opinionated about my favorite instrument, I might as well put in my 2 cents worth about what I consider a ukulele and what I don't. First of all, I'm not big on any instrument with more than four strings being classified as a uke. When I see makers advertising a "six string baritone ukulele," I have to restrain myself from firing off an email that asks, "Isn't that a short-scale classical guitar?" I mean, if a baritone (which I'm iffy about anyway - isn't it really a short-scale, nylon-stringed tenor guitar?) is tuned DGBE, then a six-stringed baritone is tuned EADGBE, which is the standard guitar tuning, right? How is that a ukulele? Because it's got a 20" scale? I don't think so. That's a parlor guitar. And how about a taropatch, with eight strings in four courses? Okay, that one is a little more undestandable to me because it's really just a regular concert-sized uke with four pairs of strings tuned GCEA, and the pairs are tuned in unison, not an octave apart like a mandolin or a twelve-stringed guitar. But four pairs tuned GCEA, with the pairs tuned an octave apart? That's a mandolele!

Now don't get me wrong; I'm all for inventing new instruments and modifying existing ones. Indeed, there would be no "ukulele" if someone hadn't adapted the braguina to hawaiian-style music, But call your new instrument something original!