Skip to main content
Slit Gong Drum (Garamut), mid 20th Century
Govermas village, Blackwater River, Middle Sepik Ri…
Slit Gong (Garamut)
Slit Gong Drum (Garamut), mid 20th Century
Govermas village, Blackwater River, Middle Sepik Ri…
Slit Gong Drum (Garamut), mid 20th Century Govermas village, Blackwater River, Middle Sepik River region, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia Wood and pigments; 19 × 15 × 71 in. 2017.10.108 Anonymous Gift

Slit Gong (Garamut)

ClassificationsTools and Equipment-musical instruments-drums
Datemid 20th Century
Collection SiteEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Made AtEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
MediumWood and pigments
Dimensions19 × 15 × 71 in. (48.3 × 38.1 × 180.3 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous Gift
Object number2017.10.108
DescriptionA Slit Gong Drum (Garamut) collected from the Govermas village near the Blackwater River in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. Because it is carved from a single log of the hardwood known as the garamut; it is extremely heavy and would have been used only in the men's house. Smaller, more common slit gongs are portable and taken to dances and other ceremonies. Garamuts are kept in ceremonial houses and only men are allowed to play them. They are used for music during ceremonies, especially initiation ceremonies, and for signaling. The deep resonating voice of the slit gong carries for miles along the river and surrounding area. Garamuts are considered to have a spirit and they have names. They are powerful like masks and figures. They are thought to be so powerful that they can kill people or make them sick. A garamut is said to have the capability of taking on other forms and walk at night. According to James Leach in his article in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (Dec. 2002) entitled "Drum, and Voice: Aesthetics and Social Process on the Rai Coast of Papua New Guinea" the garamuts are denoted as a man, and is the focus of a process which brings forth a form of social relations.
On View
Not on view
Slit Gong Drum (Garamut), late 20th to early 21st Century
Middle Sepik River Region, East Sepi…
late 20th to early 21st Century
Slit Gong Drum (Garamut), late 18th to 19th Century
Govermas village, Blackwater River, Middle…
late 18th to 19th Century
Slit Gong Pounder, late 19th - 20th Century
Wogamus Village, Sepik/April River region, East Se…
late 19th - 20th Century
Hook Figure (Yipwon), 20th Century
Yimam culture; Korewori River, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia
…
Yimam
20th Century
Water Drum, early 20th Century
probably Chambri culture; probably Chambri Lakes area, East Sep…
Chambri
early 20th Century
Sculpture (Yipwon), 20th Century
Yimam culture; Korewori River, East Sepik Province, Papua New…
Yimam
20th Century
Sculpture (Yipwon), 20th Century
Yimam culture; Korewori River, East Sepik Province, Papua New…
Yimam
20th Century
Sculpture (Yipwon), 20th Century
Yimam culture; Korewori River, East Sepik Province, Papua New…
Yimam
20th Century
Slit Gong Drum (Yemnu), before 1930
Lumi people; Torricelli Mountains, Sandaun (West Sepik) Pr…
Lumi
late19th to early 20th Century
Slit Drum, mid 20th Century
Palau, Micronesia
Wood and cloth; 14 1/4 × 3 1/4 in.
2019.17.15
…
mid 20th Century