kala'au (English spelling) kalaau

...The basic instruments that accompany the hula dance are the pahu, a one-sided drum made of a hollowed-out palm log covered with sharkskin, the pūniu, a one-sided drum made of a coconut shell covered with fish skin and tied to the knee, and the ipu, a huge gourd played by pounding it on a mat or hitting it with the fingers or palm. The instruments that the dancers themselves mainly hold in their hands include the kala'au, which is two hard pieces of wood that are struck together, the ulī'ulī, a feather-decorated rattle made of a small gourd or coconut shell with pebbles and seeds inside, the pū'ili, which is a bamboo tube split into thin strips like a comb and struck against the body, and the 'ili'ili, which is a pair of flat stones held in both hands and struck together like castanets, each with its own unique tone, creating a rich and varied sound world. In the mele, a type of singing accompanied by musical instruments, and in the unaccompanied recitation-style singing oli, lyrics related to knowledge of nature, social life, love, and religion are given expressive power through the extensive use of vibrato and glissando, and are believed to exert cosmic power, or mana.

*Some of the terminology that mentions "kala'au" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…ヤシの丸太をくりぬきサメ皮を張った片面太鼓パフpahu，ヤシ殻に魚皮を張り膝に結びつける片面太鼓プーニウpūniu，巨大なひょうたんをマットの上で搗奏したり，指や手のひらで打奏するイプipuなどは舞踊フラhulaの伴奏楽器として基本的である。おもに踊手自身が採物として手に持つ音具としては，2本の硬い木片を打ち合わせるカラアウkala’au，小さなひょうたんやヤシ殻の中に小石，種子を入れた羽毛飾つきがらがらとしてのウリーウリーulī’ulī，竹筒を櫛のように細く裂いたささら竹を身体に打ちつけるプーイリpū’ili,2対の平らな石を両手に持ってカスタネットのように打ち合わせるイリイリ’ili’iliがそれぞれ特有の音色により変化に富んだ音響世界をつくり出す。こうした楽器の伴奏による歌唱メレmele，また無伴奏の朗唱風歌唱オリoliにおいては，自然知識，社会生活，恋愛，宗教に関連した歌詞が，ビブラートやグリッサンドの多用により表現力を与えられ，ひいては宇宙的な力すなわちマナを発揮すると考えられていた。…

※「kala'au」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報