EMEESON] UNWKITTEN LITERATURE OF HAWAII 145 



was struck against the larger, producing a clear xylophonic note. 

 While the pitch of this instrument is capable of exact determination, 

 it does not seem that there was any attempt made at adjustment. A 

 laau in the author's collection, when struck, emits tones the predomi- 

 nant one of which is d (below the staff). 



8. The o]ic\ or ohe-hano-ihu (fig. 3), is an instrument of undoubted 

 antiquity. In every instance that has come under the author's 

 observation the material has been, as its name — ohe — signifies, a 

 simple joint of bamboo, with an embouchure placed about half an 

 inch from the closed end, thus enabling the player to supply the in- 

 strument with air from his right nostril. In every nose-flute ex- 

 amined there have been two holes, one 2 or 3 inches away from the 

 embouchure, the older about a third of the distance from the open 

 end of the flute. 



The musician with his left hand holds the end of the pipe squarely 

 against his lip, so that the right nostril slightly overlaps the edge of 

 the embouchure. The breath is projected into the embouchure with 

 modulated force. A nose-flute in the author's collection with the 

 lower hole open produces the sound of f# ; with both holes unstopped 



^ 



«22S±i*S^^±^ 



Fig. 3. — -Ohe-liano-ihu, nose-flute. 



it emits the sound a; and when both holes are stopped it produces 

 the sound of c#, a series of notes which are the tonic, mediant, and 

 dominant of the chord of F# minor. 



An ohe plaj-ed by an old Hawaiian named Keaonaloa, an inmate 

 of the Lunalilo Home, when both holes Avere stopped sounded f ; with 

 the lower hole open it sounded a, and when both holes were open it 

 sounded ^. 



The music made by Keaonaloa with his ohe Avas curious, but not 

 soul-filling. We must bear in mind, however, that it was intended 

 only as an accompaniment to a poetical recitation. 



Some fifty or sixty years ago it was not uncommon to see bamboo 

 flutes of native manufacture in the hands of Hawaiian musicians of 

 the younger generation. These instruments were avowedly imitations 

 of the D-flute imported from abroad. The idea of using bamboo for 

 this purpose must have been suggested by its previous use in the 

 nose-flute. 



" The tonal capacity of the Hawaiian nose-flute," says Miss Jennie 

 Eisner, " which has nothing harsh and strident about it, embraces 

 five tones, f and g in the middle register, and f, g, and S an 

 25352— Bull. 38—09 10* 



