Kirjahaku

Music Worlding in Palau: Chanting, Atmospheres, and Meaningfulness is a detailed study of the performing arts in Palau, Micronesia as holistic techniques enabling the experiential corporeality of music’s meaningfulness – that distinctly musical way of making sense of the world with which the felt body immediately resonates but which, to a significant extent, escapes interpretive techniques. Drawing on long-term ethnographic research alongside Pacific Islander and neo-phenomenological conceptual frameworks, Music Worlding in Palau distinguishes between meaning(s) and meaningfulness in Palauan music-making. These are not binary phenomena, but deeply intertwined. However, unlike meaning(s), meaningfulness to a significant extent suspends language and is thus often prematurely considered ineffable. The book proposes a broader understanding of how the performing arts give rise to a sense of meaningfulness whose felt-bodily affectivity is pivotal to music-making and lived realities. Music Worlding in Palau thus seeks to draw the reader closer to the holistic complexity of music-making both in Palau and more generally.

The Austronesian-speaking Sama peoples make up one of the most widespread cultural groups within the Southeast Asian island world. The so-called sea-nomadic Sama Dilaut, part of the linguistic sub-group of the Sama-Bajau, form a very distinct community both socially and culturally. The performing arts are a crucial part of their life and cultural identity. Yet, previous studies of Sama Dilaut societies have hardly touched upon their music or dance forms. This edited volume attempts to close this gap in our knowledge. Contributions focus on kulintangan and other types of instrumental music, song repertoire and dance. Other topics include: Continuity and transformation in Sama Dilaut performing arts; Issues of globalisation and identity negotiation through music; Transnational flows and their impact on Sama Dilaut music and dance; The relationship between Sama Dilaut performing arts and those of surrounding communities; The impact of constructions of nationhood on Sama Dilaut music-making.

Music Worlding in Palau: Chanting, Atmospheres, and Meaningfulness is a detailed study of the performing arts in Palau, Micronesia as holistic techniques enabling the experiential corporeality of music’s meaningfulness – that distinctly musical way of making sense of the world with which the felt body immediately resonates but which, to a significant extent, escapes interpretive techniques. Drawing on long-term ethnographic research alongside Pacific Islander and neo-phenomenological conceptual frameworks, Music Worlding in Palau distinguishes between meaning(s) and meaningfulness in Palauan music-making. These are not binary phenomena, but deeply intertwined. However, unlike meaning(s), meaningfulness to a significant extent suspends language and is thus often prematurely considered ineffable. The book proposes a broader understanding of how the performing arts give rise to a sense of meaningfulness whose felt-bodily affectivity is pivotal to music-making and lived realities. Music Worlding in Palau thus seeks to draw the reader closer to the holistic complexity of music-making both in Palau and more generally.