Hawaiian ukulele music...what a journey it made so many years ago

I search through Google to find out more information on the Ukulele and Hawaiian ukulele music and its beginnings, I was quite surprised to find out that in1879 on August 23 a ship called the Ravenscrag arrived in Honolulu, this ship had 419 Portuguese immigrants on board from the island called Madeira these immigrants were looking to work in the sugar cane fields.

Also interesting was the fact they travelled a distance of 15,000 miles over 4 months period. As I researched further I found the guy who is lead to be the one who came off the Ravenscrag with a braguinha (member of the guitar family) from another person on board, and wanted to celebrate arriving safely from a long journey, his name was Joao Fernandes. Joao started playing traditional folks songs on this braguinha, which drew the Hawaiian people on the wharf around him, they wanted to see what this incredible sound was, and where it was coming from.

They were amazed at the speed of his ' fingers as they danced across the fingerboard and they called this action "ukulele", which translates into English as "jumping flea”, that was the image those flying fingers gave them. I have to agree that the flying finger movement is a great metaphor for what they saw.

"Hula Music"

There are many other stories about the origins of the Hawaiian ukulele music especially from Hawaiian historians. I found information on a Queen from that period, Lili'uokalani who thought ukulele came from the Hawaiian words for the gift that came here, "uku" (gift or reward) and "lele" (to come). Other historians claimed that these instruments were originally called "ukeke lele" or "dancing ukeke" (ukeke being the Hawaiian's three stringed musical bow). Mispronounced over the years, it became "ukulele".

There was also a story told of an English army officer, the Assistant Chamberlain to the Kings court, who was very skilled at playing the braguinha. Since he was small and lively, the rather large Hawaiians nicknamed him "ukulele", the whole "jumping flea" thing all over again. There are still more and more different accounts of Hawaiian ukulele music

and the word ukulele and its origins and no doubt there will be those who believe and those who have their own versions of this word. I am just grateful that I am able to share with you a small part of my journey of this unusual term for a stringed instrument, that can mesmerise and enchant those that listen to its sound.

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