Gary Lewis’s Reviews > Hawaiian Son: The Life and Music of Eddie Kamae > Status Update

The 'ukulele: Originally from Portugal,. They called it the braguinha, named for the northern town of Braga. . . . the braguinha arrived (1878), and . . . the fellow who brought the first one ashore: Joao de Freitas. Hawaiians took to it immediately. They called it pilali'i li'i (little fiddle), and then came up with the name that stuck, 'uku lele (jumping flea).