The lyrics of traditional Okinawan songs have been found to record the past 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 alongside Ryukyuan music practitioners. Their research, published in Geoscience Communication, was notably 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,” stated Justin Higa, the study’s lead author 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 described the winds, waves, and volcanoes they encountered. With Higa’s geological expertise and the musical insight of master instructors June Uyeunten and Kenton Odo, the team combined Indigenous Ryukyuan knowledge in song with Western scientific literature to identify where these bodies of knowledge intersected.
All authors of the study are practitioners of classical Ryukyuan music with the Ryukyu Koten Afuso Ryu Ongaku Kenkyu Choichi Kai USA, Hawaiʻi Chapter, a music school with groups located on Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, and in 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 wind directions mentioned in the songs align with seasonal changes associated with the East Asian Monsoon. Additionally, rough ocean conditions described in the songs may correlate with Pacific Ocean circulation patterns and historical as well as contemporary typhoons. The study also interpreted a record 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.”
Connecting Past and Present
With 2025 marking the 125th anniversary of Okinawan immigration to Hawaiʻi, incorporating geoscience and his Okinawan heritage in this publication is especially meaningful to Higa. He expressed hope that this work could help connect the descendants of Okinawan immigrants in Hawaiʻi, who may no longer speak the language, with the arts and knowledge recorded in these songs.
“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,” said Higa. “More of these descendants may then be inspired to become scientists or Indigenous practitioners, or both.”
Future Directions
Looking ahead, the authors aspire to catalog more classical and folk Ryukyuan songs to document additional historical records of environmental science, including water resources, ocean life, and flora and fauna. This endeavor could further enrich the understanding of how traditional music can serve as a repository of environmental and cultural history.
The post Okinawan songs uncover centuries of climate, geological history first appeared on University of Hawaiʻi System News.
