The pahu is a traditional musical instrument found in Polynesia: Hawaiʻi, Tahiti, Cook Islands, Sāmoa, and Tokelau. Carved from a single log and covered on the playing end with a stretched sharkskin, the pahu is played with the palms and fingers of the hand.

The “pahu” (meaning drum in Hawaiian) is a type of drum indigenous to Hawai’i and, more generally, Polynesia. It is made from a hollowed-out log and a sharkskin drumhead. Different types of pahu are used for religious ceremonies and for Hula dances.

Feb 11, 2025 · Pahu have long been sacred to Hawaiians, who made different types of pahu for religious ceremonies (heiau pahu or pahu puʻule) and for hula (hula pahu). It is the official traditional instrument of Hawaiʻi (with ‘ukulele being the modern one).

May 30, 2024 · The pahu is an instrument of power and sacredness that exemplifies traditions of ritual music and dance that are steeped in time. The drum is both a sound producer and a symbol. Its music represents the fundamental principles of Hawaiian perceptions of time and timing in traditional music.

May 11, 2021 · The voice of a pahu (drum) can resound in a deep boom or light tap from the kumu hula. The pahu is considered by many to be one of the most important in hula, as it both accompanies and guides dancers.

Niu (coconut) wood is the medium of choice for the pahu drum as it yields “a better sound.” Getting the wood to make the pahu is “half of the drum-making process.” People often phone Uncle Kala and his wife of nearly 50 years, Aunty Leikini, with offers of segmented tree trunks.

The pahu, or hula drum, is the primary instrument of the kumu hula (hula teacher) and considered sacred. The beat of the pahu guides the dancers, dictating the pace of the dance with the rhythm of the drum.

Hula Pahu...Volume 1 makes a courageous attempt to trace and describe the origin of the Hawaiian hula drum and the accompanying sounds and movements performed in conjunction with it.

Did you know that drums were related to temple ceremony and ritual…it being the voice of Kunuiakea and those likened to that Element? Most within the hula realm was usually accompanied by the ‘Ipu Heke or other percussives…and only ceremonial dance was accompanied by the pahu…usually atop the temple or other sacred enclosures.

Apr 16, 2023 · The pahu drum is played by kumu hula (hula teachers) and ho’opa’a, or hula chanters, who produced sound by lightly striking the drum with the fingers and palms of their hands. A smaller coconut drum, called puniu, is tied to the musician’s/chanter’s knee and played with the left hand.