Drum (Kundu)

ClassificationsTools and Equipment-musical instruments-drums

Culture Iatmul

Date20th Century

Made AtEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea

MediumWood, raffia and pigments

Dimensions24 × 8 × 6 1/4 in. (61 × 20.3 × 15.9 cm)

Credit LineGift of Anne and Long Shung Shih

Object number2020.14.107

DescriptionThis is a drum made by the Iatmul culture of Papua New Guinea’s Middle Sepik River. Instruments were important along the Sepik as a mode of communication and for playing music on varied ceremonial occasions. The spines along one side of the drum are representative of crocodiles. The animals play a central role in the art and culture of the Iatmul people, as the motif is often associated with strength, power, and manhood. According to an Iatmul creation myth, the Earth was initially covered by an ancient ocean, and the crocodile would dive to the bottom and bring back mud masses on its back which became an island when it surfaced. The land of the island would grow and harden, continuing to rest on the back of the crocodile. Traditionally Iatmul men practiced scarification to give their backs the appearance of crocodile scales.

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