Waropen Coast Drum | Geelvink Bay | West Papua
Waropen Coast Drum | Geelvink Bay | West Papua
This drum is attributed to the Geelvink Bay region of West Papua, probably the Waropen Coast. Comparable drums are documented in historical photographs from the Waropen region and in museum collections.
The drumhead was traditionally made from iguana skin. Jaap Kunst describes how the fresh skin was scraped clean, stretched over a frame and dried in the sun. When a new skin was fitted, the rim was treated with the sticky substance of mangrove fruit before the moistened skin was pulled tightly over it and secured with cane. The resulting tension was essential to the quality of the sound.
For the Waropen, the sound of the drum was of particular importance. G. J. Held records that drums were repeatedly adjusted over a low fire and modified with small pieces of resin in order to produce the desired pitch. Some drums were given individual names, and experienced players could recognize them by their sound.
Drums formed part of the ceremonial life of the Geelvink Bay region and were played for important communal occasions, often together with dancing. Their sound could be understood as the voices of ancestors or supernatural beings, giving the instrument a significance that extended beyond its musical function.
“The most important instrument is the drum (siwa), mainly imported from the Haarlem and Moor Islands, where the population possesses noticeable skill in wood-work.
At the dance the drums have to harmonise on two levels; for this purpose the drum-skins have to be constantly adjusted over a low fire,whilst small pieces of resin have to be stuck on them.
Evidently, the Waropen are rather demanding as regards the sound of the drum, the degree of the tension of the skin and the manner of beating.
To many drums they give a name of their own and even at a distance they recognise them by their sound.”
Excerpt from: Dr. G. J. Held, The Papuas of the Waropen, p. 355. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1957.
“The skin of the iguana, moiwa, which abounds here, is used for the drumheads. The skin is scraped clean while it is still fresh, stretched over a frame made of laths and dried in the sun. When a man wants to renew the skin on his drum, he first smears the rim with the sticky parings of the fruit of the mangrove. The skin is then made pliable by wetting it, pulled taut over the rim and bound tightly with a piece of cane. After that, the skin is thoroughly dried in the sun to fix it firmly to the drumhead and the strip of cane is then removed.”
Excerpt from: Jaap Kunst, Music in New Guinea – Three Studies, pp. 106–107. Brill, 1967.
“Muziek heeft vaak te maken met het contact tussen de mens en de bovennatuurlijke wereld. Het geluid van bepaalde instrumenten, zoals van deze trom, kan ervaren worden als de stemmen van de voorouders. Dergelijke instrumenten worden dan ook bij belangrijke ceremoniële gelegenheden bespeeld. Vaak wordt er ook bij gedanst. De bevolking van het Geelvinkbaaigebied houdt veel van feestvieren, of het nu ter ere van een eerstgeborene is of ter gelegenheid van een geslaagde haaien- of schildpaddenvangst. De feestelijkheden kunnen dagen en vooral nachten achtereen duren. In sommige streken maken mannen en vrouwen samen rondedansen, in andere, met name de oostelijker gebieden, danst men afzonderlijk. Als het kan wordt op het strand gedanst.”
Copyright: HI en DS, 1999, collectie@wereldculturen.nl
Bibliography:
de Clercq, F. S. A. (1893): Ethnographische Beschrijving van de West- en Noordkust van Nederlandsch Nieuw-Guinea. Leiden.
Greub, Suzanne (1992): Art of Northwest New Guinea – From Geelvink Bay, Humboldt Bay and Lake Sentani.
Held, Dr. G. J. (1957): The Papuas of the Waropen. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
Kunst, Jaap (1967): Music in New Guinea – Three Studies. Brill.