Ramu / Sepik area drum / Trommel / Tambour New Guinea


The handle terminating in two ancestor faces with beak-like noses.
The drum was carved and hollowed out by burning from a massive tree-trunk.
Hourglass shaped Kundu drums are typically played during ritual ceremonies such as sing sings, funerals and other major events.
Held in one hand while the other is used to strike the lizard-skin drum head.
Small black pellets of beeswax, used for fine tuning the sound quality of the drum, are attached in a circular pattern around the center of the head.
Tuning is accomplished by heating the head over fire.
The use of drums are very important to all traditional ceremonies where drumming and singing relate stories of ancient ancestral beings who are invoked for protection and fertility.


Bibliography: Craig, Barry ; Busse, Mark; Eoe, Soroi;(2010) : Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes - The Masterpieces Exhibition Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery.
Fischer, Hans (1958) : Schallgeräte in Ozeanien. Sound-producing instruments in Oceania.
Martinez-Jacquet, Elena; : Invocando a los espíritus : instrumentos musicales de Indonesia y Oceanía en la colección Helena Folch.