Mimika Drum (Mimika, South Papua, Indonesia)

The Mimika people, also known as the Kamoro, traditionally inhabit the extensive coastal and riverine region of southwestern New Guinea. Their cultural traditions are characterized by a close relationship between ceremonial life, mythology, artistic production and concepts of human regeneration and fertility. Among the most important ethnographic studies of Mimika culture is Simon Kooijman's Art, Art Objects and Ritual in the Mimika Culture, which documents the relationship between material culture and ceremonial practice through objects preserved in European museum collections.

Mimika artistic traditions are particularly rich in representations of the human body and in highly developed geometric and figurative motifs. One of the most characteristic motifs is the mopere, literally referring to the navel. The motif is generally represented as an oval, lozenge or diamond-shaped form and occurs on a wide range of Kamoro objects. In Mimika thought, the navel is associated with the maternal origin of human life. The motif can also represent the articulating joints of the body, including the knees, wrists, elbows and ankles. Because movement was understood as one of the essential signs of life, the mopere carries a meaning extending beyond simple anatomical representation.

The present drum is particularly remarkable for the relief carving on its upper section, where an asymmetrical composition incorporates the characteristic mopere motif. Its presence connects the instrument with the wider visual language of Mimika art, in which representations of the human body, fertility and the processes of life are repeatedly transformed into abstract and symbolic forms. The decoration therefore forms an important part of the cultural meaning of the instrument rather than serving merely as ornament.

Drums were essential instruments in Mimika ceremonial life and accompanied many forms of dance, song and communal celebration. The traditional ensemble was relatively simple and could consist of several male drummers together with a chorus. The drums provided the rhythmic foundation for songs, while the transition from slow initial tapping to increasingly rapid beating created the framework for the vocal performance. The close relationship between drumming, singing and dance reflects the importance of collective performance within Mimika ritual life.

Historical ethnographic accounts also demonstrate that the sound of the drum was actively controlled during performance. Because the reptile skin could quickly become slack, the drumhead was repeatedly warmed near a fire to restore its tension and pitch. When more than one drum was used, the instruments were not necessarily tuned to the same pitch; Wollaston recorded that a small interval was deliberately maintained between them. The resulting combination of contrasting pitches contributed to the characteristic sound of the ensemble.

The ceremonial significance of Mimika drums extended beyond their musical function. According to Jan Pouwer, drums were indispensable components of ceremonial feasts and dances and were owned and used exclusively by men. They were particularly associated with the Kaware myths, which form an important part of the ritual and mythological system of Mimika society. Drumming therefore participated in a wider ceremonial language in which music, dance, mythology and visual art were closely interconnected.

The present drum should therefore be understood not simply as a percussion instrument, but as part of the integrated artistic and ceremonial traditions of the Mimika people. Its mopere ornament connects the musical object with the wider Mimika conception of the human body, fertility and life, while its use in dance and song places it within the communal ceremonial world in which music, movement and ancestral traditions were inseparable.

Ethnographic Source

"The orchestra is simple and consists of two or three men who beat drums and sit before a small fire in the middle. Round them are grouped the chorus all sitting on the ground. The drums are hollowed cylinders of wood, which are often elaborately carved ; one end is open, the other is closed by a piece of lizard’s or snake’s skin.When this skin becomes slack, as it very quickly does, the drummer holds it towards the fire until it regains its pitch. It is not the custom to tune up both drums, when there are more than one, to the same pitch, usually an interval of about half a tone is left between them. The most usual kind of song begins with a slow tapping of the drums, then these are beaten quicker and the singer (one of the drummers) begins a sort of recitative song, to which the chorus contributes a low humming accompaniment."

Excerpt from: Wollaston, A. F. R. (1912): Pygmies and Papuans – The Stone Age Today in Dutch New Guinea. London: Smith, Elder and Co.

Bibliography:

Kooijman, Simon (1984): Art, Art Objects and Ritual in the Mimika Culture. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
Kunst, Jaap (1967): Music in New Guinea – Three Studies. 's-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff.
Pouwer, Jan (1955): Enkele aspecten van de Mimika-cultuur (Nederlands Zuidwest Nieuw Guinea). The Hague: Staatsdrukkerijen Uitgeversbedrijf.
Pouwer, Jan (1988): “The Presentation of Art: A Museologist's Dilemma.” Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 144(4): 557–564.
Wollaston, A. F. R. (1912): Pygmies and Papuans – The Stone Age Today in Dutch New Guinea. London: Smith, Elder and Co.