A Polynesian adaptation of the word ‘hymn’ applied to Christian and secular repertory that share choral performance style. In Hawaii the term ‘hīmeni’ applies to songs not used for the hula; in Tahiti to indigenous but expanded multipart choral style; in the Cook Islands and Easter Islands to the adopted Tahitian genre.See Polynesia, §I, 2(ii).
BARBARA B. SMITH/AMY STILLMAN