The pōkihi (box-drum) from behind the rows of dancers controls the accelerating tempo and mounting excitement which is the distinctive feature of the fātele dance. The plywood box-drum is at the centre of a small group of singers and instrumentalists who are also known as pōkihi; the pōkihi support and control the dance. The pōkihi drum is obviously a modern instrument but far from being “any old box” or piece of flotsam, floated inshore and casually employed in the fātele, it is a constructed instrument whose sound and musical role are precisely conceived and integrated into a specific Tokelau aesthetic. For Tokelauans the pōkihi is a central feature of their performance art. This chapter focuses on the instrument and its rhythm, the dance features associated with the rhythm, and their significance.

The Instrument and its Voice

In informal circumstances almost any noise-making surface can be used as a drum for the fātele: in a bus a suitcase may be used, in a hall the bare boards of the floor or plywood stacking chair, elsewhere the side of a canoe or a mat on the floor. But for a performance the properly prepared plywood box instrument is used. The instrument is often a tea-chest reinforced and reconstructed so that it is at a comfortable height to be played from a seated position on the floor. Plywood is preferred as the material of the drum, over the older plank boxes, for the relative ease with which a loud sound may be made and the particular quality of the sound, even though on occasions such a plywood instrument will split under the impact of heavy drumming. Today's drummers express surprise at the strength needed to make the old wooden plank boxes sound. Inside the box, empty cabin bread tins or kerosene tins may be incorporated. This makes the instrument more resonant, and also adds a jangle to the sound—an effect which is further increased when pebbles are placed inside the tins. A box-drum is typically about two feet high and has a playing area measuring four feet by four feet or it may be a more oblong shape.