The lyrics of traditional Okinawan songs have been found to record the climate and geological history of the Ryukyu Islands, now known as Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. This discovery comes from a new study conducted by a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Earth scientist and fellow Ryukyuan music practitioners. Their research, published in Geoscience Communication, was selected as an Editor’s Choice article by the journal’s publisher.
“This paper is a proof-of-concept for using classical Ryukyuan music as records of Indigenous knowledge,” said Justin Higa, the lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences at the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). “This work aims to show how science and culture are not two distinct entities, but can be combined to teach both Indigenous arts and Indigenous science.”
Bridging Science and Culture
The study evaluated a repertoire of Indigenous Ryukyuan classical music that documented the 18th-century ocean voyages of envoys from the Ryukyu Kingdom. These songs detailed the winds, waves, and volcanoes observed during their journeys. With Higa’s geological expertise and the musical knowledge of master instructors June Uyeunten and Kenton Odo, the team combined Indigenous Ryukyuan knowledge with Western scientific data to find correlations.
The authors, all classical Ryukyuan music practitioners affiliated with the Ryukyu Koten Afuso Ryu Ongaku Kenkyu Choichi Kai USA, Hawaiʻi Chapter, worked across locations including Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, and Los Angeles.
Matching Ancient Observations with Modern Data
By comparing the observations in these songs with 20th- and 21st-century scientific literature, the researchers found that the wind directions recorded in the songs align with seasonal changes following the East Asian Monsoon season. Additionally, rough ocean conditions described in the songs may relate to historical and current Pacific Ocean circulation patterns and typhoons. The study also interpreted records of an 18th-century volcanic eruption on an isolated island.
“Indigenous knowledge, tied to the land someone is most familiar with, is one avenue for applying place-based learning to make complex environmental science more accessible to general learners,” said Higa. “Identifying sources of Indigenous knowledge, by the knowledge holders/practitioners themselves, is a unique opportunity to make new connections between art and science, improve how we connect science to the daily lives of Indigenous Peoples, and ensure the correct interpretation and usage of Indigenous knowledge.”
Implications and Future Prospects
With 2025 marking the 125th anniversary of Okinawan immigration to Hawaiʻi, incorporating geoscience and his Okinawan heritage in this publication holds special significance for Higa. “I hope this work can help connect the descendants of Okinawan immigrants in Hawaiʻi, who generations later, may not speak the language, with the arts and knowledge recorded in these songs,” he expressed. “More of these descendants may then be inspired to become scientists or Indigenous practitioners, or both.”
Looking ahead, the authors aim to catalog more classical and folk Ryukyuan songs to document additional historical records of environmental science, including information on water resources, ocean life, and flora and fauna. This endeavor not only enriches the scientific community but also preserves and revitalizes cultural heritage, offering a unique interdisciplinary approach to understanding our world’s history.
