Etëtung, known in English as Vanuatu Women’s Water Music, is a sonically and visually striking performance tradition that is found in several communities in the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu. Standing in a circle or semi-circle in waist-deep water, the women rhythmically slap the surface of the water using a variety of hand techniques that create a diversity of sounds. These sounds reflect those in the natural local environment – the call of a particular species of bird, for example, an oncoming cyclone, or waves over the reef at low tide. Contemporary Etëtung performances often comprise a handful of “pieces” each lasting a minute or two (though this depends on pe...