Kundu is a

pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...

name in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

for an

hourglass drum Hourglass drums are a sub-category of membranophone, or drum, characterized by an hourglass shape. They are also known as ''waisted drums''. Drumheads are attached by laces, which may be squeezed during a performance to alter the pitch. The categ ...

used to accompany formal occasions, religious ceremonies and for celebrations (such as the Sing-sing). This drum is emblematic of

and it appears on the country's coat of arms.

Characteristics

The sizes of a kundu drum vary. A small finger-drum might measure 30 cm (11.81 in), while a large drum might be 200 cm (74.84 in) long. The drum is made of carved wood with a

possum Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum ...

or lizard-skin drumhead, with some instruments possessing a handle placed on the narrowest part of the drum. Not all kundus have handles, depending on the instruments' style. Traditionally, the lizard skin was held in place with a layer of human blood (as glue). Depending upon who made it and where it was made, a kundu may be carved plainly, or decorated with "high-relief" carved handles, or relief carvings on the instruments' bodies with open mouthed crocodiles, human faces, dancers, and "spirit figures." Often, the kundu is decorated with animal figures on its edges. On some instruments the handle may have intricate sculpture in (

openwork In art history, architecture, and related fields, openwork or open-work is any decorative technique that creates holes, piercings, or gaps through a solid material such as metal, wood, stone, pottery, cloth, leather, or ivory. Such techniques ha ...

style). For the Papuans, the sound of the Kundu represents the voice of "spirits". Examples of formal religious or civil occasions where one might hear the Kundu include burials, the opening of a new house or the launching of a new boat.

Other names

The

is widespread in New Guinea and many surrounding islands, a land with more than 700 different languages. There is no tradition for the instrument in "New Ireland, Manus, Buka / Bougainville or Rossel Island." While different people's may have the drum, their names and traditions for the instrument vary. Other names include the ''apa'' (Elema People, Papua Gulf) and the ''warup'' from the

Torres Straits The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( ">�zen̪ad̪ kes/nowiki>), is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost e ...

Tifa

In the Indonesian western end of New Guinea, the tradition of making kundu drums has been affected by the drum-making tradition of other Indonesian Islands, especially the Maluku Islands. The Maluku Iskands drums are known under the name '' tifa''. That name has become used for some New Guinean hourglass drums. The Asmat people in the

Papua province Papua is a province of Indonesia, comprising the northern coast of Western New Guinea together with island groups in Cenderawasih Bay to the west. It roughly follows the borders of the Papuan customary region of Tabi Saireri, and is divided in ...

of Indonesia, make hourglass drums covered with decorative symbolic carvings, including the handle. One thing that is different on the Asmat's drums from the kundu drums is that the Asmat secure the skin with a tightly fitted, slip-on ring of rattan, after the skin is glued down. They use ''tifa'' for their carved hourglass drum. Although drums such as the Asmat's and Marind's are now called "''tifa''", it may not be appropriate to use the word as a synonym for all ''kundu'' drums. The Indonesian word has been applied to hourglass drums, but not exclusively. Other drums that ''tifa'' applies to include goblet drums, and to the barrel drums played in the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonics, Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West ...

Tifa totobuang A ''tifa totobuang'' is a music ensemble from the Maluku Islands, related to the ''kulintang'' orchestra. It consists of a set of a double row of gong chimes known as the ''totobuang'' (similar to set of ''Bonang, bonang gong chimes'') and a set ...

ensemble and in the Papuan '' Sing-sing''.

Gallery

File:National emblem of Papua New Guinea.svg, Coat of arms for Papua New Guinea, featuring a Kundu drum underneath a

Raggiana bird-of-paradise The Raggiana bird-of-paradise (''Paradisaea raggiana''), also known as Count Raggi's bird-of-paradise, is a large bird in the bird-of-paradise family (biology), family Paradisaeidae. It is distributed widely in southern and northeastern New Gui ...

File:Apa drum, Papua New Guiney, late 19th century.jpg, Apa drum, Elema culture,

Papuan Gulf The Gulf of Papua is located in the southern coast region of New Guinea. It has a total surface area of . Geography Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River, Purari River, and Wawoi River flow into ...

, Papua New Guinea, Website: new-guinea-tribal-arts.com late 19th century. This drum also has crocodile-like art File:Musicians of Papua New Guinea.jpg, Musicians playing kundu drums at

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

. File:Kundu, tambor.jpg, Skin head on a kundu at

Museu de la Música de Barcelona The Museu de la Música de Barcelona (English: Music Museum of Barcelona) is a museum in Barcelona, Spain that houses a collection of musical instruments from around the world as well as biographical documents, from ancient civilisations to new ...

File:Hand Drum Papua New Guinea, East Sepik Province, Eastern Iatmul People, circa 1909 (Side vie).jpg, Papua New Guinea, East Sepik Province, Eastern Iatmul People, circa 1909 File:SingSing Wabag Enga PNG.jpg, Wabag,

Enga Province Enga is one of the provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Enga is geographically situated in the northern region of Papua New Guinea and was separated from the adjacent Western Highlands at the time of national independence in 1975. The majority ...

, Papua New Guinea. Performers at a Sing-sing. The kundus have rings around the skin head, like those made by the Asmat. File:Hand Drum (warup) LACMA M.2008.66.12 (1 of 2).jpg, Warup people, Papua New Guinea, Torres Strait Islands, circa 1850 File:Papua ceremonial Dema drum, Marind-Anim people.jpg, ''Kandara'',

Marind-Anim The Marind or Marind-Anim are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the province of South Papua, Indonesia. Geography The Marind-anim live in South Papua, Indonesia. They occupy a vast territory, which is situated on either side of the Bi ...

ceremonial Dema drum. File:WLANL - Pachango - Tropenmuseum - Dema-vitrine.jpg, ''Kandara'' and Dema costume. File:Kundu, a Papua crocodile log drum.jpg, Large kundu, log drum

''Tifa'' drums

File:Tifa drum from Manokwari (Dorei).jpg, "''Tifa''" drum from

Manokwari Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital city, capital of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of West Papua (province), West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status in Indonesia, city ...

(then called Dorei or Doreh, 1885. The Asmat people are among the inhabitants of Manokwari. File:Penari tifa papua.jpg,

Biak Biak is the main island of Biak Archipelago located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The largest popula ...

. ''Tifa'' drum. By putting the narrow part of the hourglass near the bottom, this drum begins to resemble a goblet drum. File:Penabuh Tifa dalam Suling Tambur.jpg, ''Tifa'' drums at a Papuan Sing-sing. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Enkelvellige cilindrische trom TMnr 1071-4.jpg,

, Indonesia. ''Tifa'' drum (also ''tiwa'' and ''tiva''.)

References

External links

Video. Shows making of Asmat people's ''tifa'', How the instrument is carved.Video. Shows making of Asmat people's ''tifa'', including his to put on and assemble the drumhead.Website with photos and origins of a variety of Kundu drums
{{Percussion, state=collapsed Oceanian percussion instruments Melanesian music Music of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinean musical instruments