Definition of pahu
: a sacred Polynesian drum having a slightly tapered wooden body with a carved openwork base and a sharkskin head stretched by ropes that is played with the hands The Hawaiian pahu (sharkskin drum) is both the oldest instrument on the islands and a symbol of the ancient links to Polynesia. — Simon Broughton and Mark Ellingham, World Music, 2000
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Origin and Etymology of pahu
borrowed from Hawaiian, Tahitian, or Marquesan pahu “drum,” going back to Central-Eastern Polynesian *pasu
First Known Use: 1829
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