Flute/Whistle

Totemic Flute

Middle Sepik River Region
Melanesia - Papua New Guinea

Wood / lime / cowrie shells
Early - Mid 20th Century

Length: 54 cm

This instrument comes from the Tambanum village along the Sepik River in Eastern New Guinea. The crocodile-shaped flute represents the spirit Nashut, and reveals male faces carved in the sides. In Papua New Guinea, both flutes and bull roarers are symbols of male power, and are used both in dramatizations during ceremonies of initiation and ritual ceremonies that are connected to the cult of this worshiped totemic animal. They are also used for physical protection. It has a single hole in which to blow, giving it a pointed sound, much like blowing in the neck of a bottle.

Owner:
Catalog#: HWMC

© Hartenberger World Music Collection