Island Strings, Briefly is a term used to describe the traditional stringed instruments of Hawaii, which are the ukulele (UKE) and the ukuleles (UKES). The ukulele is a four-stringed instrument that originated in Hawaii in the 19th century, while the ukuleles is a larger version of the ukulele with eight strings. Both instruments are popular in Hawaiian music and have become increasingly popular in other genres of music as well.