ʻukulele

In 1879, the ship Ravenscrag arrived in Honolulu carrying Portuguese workers from Madeira to labor in Hawaii's sugar cane fields. Among the immigrants were cabinet makers who brought their machetes and rajaos—small four-stringed instruments from the Azores and Madeira.

Hawaiians were enchanted by the instruments and the nimble fingerwork of the players. They gave the instrument a new name: ʻukulele, commonly translated as "jumping flea." The name may describe how the player's fingers hop across the strings, or it may have been the nickname of Edward William Purvis, a small, energetic Englishman who popularized the instrument at the Hawaiian royal court.

King Kalākaua championed the ukulele, incorporating it into royal performances and Hawaiian music. It became inseparable from Hawaiian identity. When Hawaii became a US territory and then a state, the ukulele traveled to the mainland—featured in Tin Pan Alley songs, vaudeville acts, and eventually the hands of musicians like Tiny Tim and Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.

The instrument has seen multiple revivals. Today it's one of the world's most popular instruments for beginners—portable, affordable, and genuinely joyful to play. The jumping flea has hopped around the world.